Daily Bulletin points of interest.

[Sparky]

Andrew thanks for clarifying. Whilst the DB is a good source of info, sometimes, i think because it's parent publisher is the "Ultima Hora", things tend to get lost in translation.
In my opinion, as i have said before, the ash cloud was nobodies fault, but the insurance companies are the one's who should be paying up, for TC to penalise the already struggling hoteliers is totally wrong and i hope the law makes the right and fair decision.

 

[Belladonna]

Pedestrianise seafront plans withdrawn

Looks like another "improvement" has gone by the wayside partly due to financial problems;

Quote;

Pollensa council withdraws plans to pedestrianise seafront
STAFF REPORTER
THE town council in Pollensa has decided to withdraw the contract it had awarded for planning the pedestrianisation of the seafront, independent political party “Altnerativa” confirmed yesterday, apparently because technicians had found the project to contain too many “flaws and inconsistencies.” Paperwork is now in progress to withdraw the commission from the company which had mapped out plans to eliminate traffic from the seafront, and the Council has anulled the payment of almost 19'000 euros which was to be made to the firm’s owner, a relative of a group which had lobbied for the pedestrianisation programme. “Alternativa” spokesman Pepe Garcia said:“For months, different council factions, tourist business and residents’ associations were finding fault with the blueprint of what had been termed “a sustainable transport” programme. The payment couldn’t have been made anyway because there were insufficient municipal funds,” Alternativa claimed.
Garcia said that two opportunities to secure financing had been wasted as a result of the Council’s incompetence in settling the seafront issue.
Technicians who had looked at the company’s plans said that they were “too vague” and that designers had made assumptions based on “out-of-date” material.

The technicians said that there was also no evidence that were the pedestrianisation programme to have gone ahead, that the traffic and tourist business problems of Pollensa were going to be solved as a result.

Unquote.

Obviously there are problems with spending the money in the first place if it is not thought to be able to generate any extra income.
Its a vicious circle.

 

[lollipop]

Some work has started on replacing broken slabs on the seafront ,marina end. Hopefully they will continue along the whole front which will make things look better.

 

[Belladonna]

Holiday interest begins.

Good news for the island! The last sentence about the longest season for a few years has got to put a smile on the faces of all businesses!


FLIGHT SEARCHES TO MAJORCA TO SOAR ON “BLUE MONDAY”
By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
WE all hate Mondays, including Sir Bob Geldof who has spent his summer holidays in Majorca for well over a decade, and UK travel industry experts are predicting that January 24, dubbed the most depressing day of 2011 is going to witness a surge in searches for sunshine holiday flights to top destinations including Majorca.

We are all familiar with the Monday morning blues but Monday 24 January 2011 is tipped to be the most depressing day of 2011, Blue Monday, according to WhichBudget.com thanks to the distant memory of Christmas and the dreary weather combined in Britain with broken New Year’s Resolutions and enormous credit card bills.

Whilst many people will spend Blue Monday under the duvet after calling in “sick”, WhichBudget.com, a leading flight search engine and destination finder, expects many people to spend the day looking for an escape resulting in a significant increase in the number of searches for flights on 24 January.

Recent consumer research by WhichBudget.com has found that the most popular time for travellers looking for cheap flights is on Mondays between 11am and 12pm, with almost 10% of all searches taking place during this time.


SEARCHING WHILE AT WORK
Martino Matijevic, CEO and Founder at WhichBudget.com comments: “WhichBudget data shows that people search for flights during the day while they are at work and the hour just before lunch is the busiest time. “The majority of people tend to be more productive in the mornings clearing their inboxes and preparing for the day ahead, and when these tasks are finished there is a natural lull in productivity. “Our figures show that people are using this break to use the internet and search for flights. Mondays are particularly busy because most people experience that ‘back-to-school’ feeling and searching and booking a flight to visit friends and family, experience a new city or simply to flop on the beach, creates something to look forward to. “We expect to see an increase in overall searches, particularly to warmer destinations such as Spain and Portugal, towards the end of the month with a peak on 24 January,” he added.

The top ten destinations on Blue Monday last year, which fell on January 18, included Majorca and the island, which is already enjoying a considerable improvement in sunnier holiday sales, is expected to feature very high up on the list again.

Agents have already reported a positive start to 2011. Agents were apparently upbeat about the start of the January selling period, despite recognising it was going to be a tough year.

A Tui spokesman said sales on Monday and Tuesday were strong, particularly for the summer and other industry chiefs have said that despite fears about job losses, there were signs of returning consumer confidence.

SALES UP ON LAST YEAR “People will have less disposable income, but apart from the public sector people seem to be a lot more confident,” one source said.
So far, summer holiday sales this month are between two and eight percent up on this time last year and January is the key selling month for the UK travel industry. By the end of this month, the Balearics will have some clear indications as to how this summer season is going to pan out.

But, with Easter coming late at the end of April, it may mean that hotels will remain closed for longer than usual but once they do open, will remain open for the duration of the Easter and Summer holiday period thus creating one of the longest seasons in recent years.

 

[Belladonna]

We all love a uniform!

This may be a good idea, as long as they are made to wear their uniforms all the time eh ladies!!?


Port of Pollensa air base opens its doors to European military tourism
STAFF REPORTER
POLLENSA
THE air base in the Port of Pollensa is opening up its facilities to the new European markets fulfilling its function as a holiday destination for staff of the military of NATO member states.

Last year, there were 40'000 overnight stays registered at the base, largely made during the high tourist season. For the first time, it was visited by soldiers coming from Austria and the Czech Republic.

The Colonel in Chief of the military base, Vicente Sanchez Salgado, released the figures last month during a speech made on the occasion of an annual Air Force celebration.

Sanchez took the opportunity to explain the importance of the Pollensa base in terms of the recreational facilities it provides to military personnel and their families. “Housing is provided to personnel from other European army staff as part of established agreements over exchange,” he said.

The base also acts as a training ground for air crews being schooled in the art of emergency survival, and search and rescue. At any given time, there is a rotating presence of some 45 military staff, said the Colonel in Chief.

The Ministry of Defence insists that the military base in the Port of Pollensa is of strategic national importance and has refused to allow members of the general public to use the facilities there, despite moves to the contrary by both Pollensa town council and by Central Government Congress itself. Both Council and Congress have wanted to set up an investigating committee to see what part of the base can be feasibly used by the general public.

The Majorcan Socialist party (PSM) said in its local magazine published this week that the Ministry of Defence is making “much ado about nothing” about the importance of the base in Pollensa.

A PSM commentator said that if the base was really of such significance, there are no circumstances under which the Ministry would allow it to be used by military staff from other countries for holiday purposes.

 

[Belladonna]

On TV again!

So lets all go and try and be in the background!


Award-winning British comedy to shoot film on location in Majorca
By Humphrey CarterPALMA
MAJORCA is going to be the location for part of the shoot of The Inbetweeners the movie over the coming months.
The Inbetweeners is a British sitcom which aired for three series from 2008 on E4 and now, with the series having apparently runs its course, Channel 4, through Channel 4 Films, has already begun shooting the film for the award-winning comedy which took Britain, and the United States, by storm.

Written by Damon Beesley and Iain Morris, the show follows the life of suburban teenager Will, and three of his friends at the fictional Rudge Park Comprehensive.

The comedy has become a teen hit sensation and the internet is alive with blogs and chatter about how to become an extra on the film.
According to reports in the UKmedia, the currently-in-production big screen adventure has already secured itself a release date. Entertainment Film Distributors is said to be putting the film out in the UK, and it has reportedly earmarked Friday 19th August 2011 as the day that The Inbetweeners arrives in UK cinemas.

And, according to leaks of the script, the boys meet a group of four girls while on holiday to Malia, Crete and these are the scenes which it is understood are going to be shot here in Majorca over a period of four to five weeks.

Scenes are said to include fantasist Jay being terrorised by a nine-year-old local who pulls his swimming trunks down; Neil getting intimate with a dinner lady from his junior school as well as getting a dodgy tattoo.

The boys indulge in shambolic skinny-dipping and “suicide shots” of tequila, while Simon nearly drowns after a boat trip.
Palma Pictures, the Mediterranean Production Company, which helped produce the highly anticipated drama Mad Dogs for Sky1 last year, is providing the production services for the Majorca shoot and extras are being sought on the island.

Managing Director and Executive Producer Mike Day, confirmed to the Bulletin yesterday that the shoot is more or less all set to go ahead and that being involved in the making of the movie is another good result for Palma Pictures and Majorca which has recently set up a Film Commission to promote the island as an international audio visual centre for shooting films, television series and advertisements, something Palma Pictures have been doing for well over a decade with considerable global success and acknowledgment.

 

[Belladonna]

The aliens are taking over the farms!!

OTHER NEWS
FARMERS USING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY TO FIGHT THE FREEZING COLD
NEWSDESK
PALMA
FARMERS across Majorca are using the very latest technology to combat the cold and protect their crops from the big freeze.
Mini robots are watching the crops and monitoring weather conditions controlling either irrigating systems or special heating units. And, according to farmers in Sa Pobla, the rural heartland of Majorca’s agricultural industry, technology is serving to protect the island’s valuable potato and artichoke crops. The President of the Balearic Farmers’ Union, Gabriel Company said yesterday that people may have a simple image of farmers with their flat caps “but, we’ve got state-of-the-art robots monitoring our crops and other systems which we are controlling with our mobile telephones and, as soon as the temperature drops below -1ºC we get an alert from our robots and then text message the robots with the instructions of what they need to do, begin watering or activate the heating systems,” he explained.

Other farmers have also “double glazed” their greenhouses to protect the summer crops.

Seriously!!?? Is it April 1st already?!

 

[Belladonna]

Continuing previous post from November of last year;

OTHER NEWS
Subsea electricty cable will be a world record breaker
NEWSDESK
PALMA
ONCE completed, the subsea electricity cable link between Santa Ponsa and the mainland will be the longest ever single piece of cable used for a subsea interconnection. It will also be the second deepest in the world, reaching 1'485m below sea level, and will make up the first HVDC subsea connection in Spain. The connection will consist of two 250kV DC cables and one return cable, jointly manufactured by Nexans and Prysmian as part of a 375million euro contract awarded by Red Electrica. Initially, the link will provide around 25 per cent of the electricity consumed on the islands. Laying of the first cable began in mid-January and now the engineers are getting ready for the second leg, where it will lay the cable from Santa Ponsa to the coast of Sagunto near Valencia. With only two vessels able to do the job, the engineers are under a strict deadline to get the cables under water before holidaymakers hit the beaches.

So much is being done to the island "before holiday makers hit the beaches"!

 

[eleanor]

This is all good news but lets hope this project is completed before the holiday makers hit the scene. May bring a few sparks to the island! lol

 

[Gommar Goffer]

Oil rigs in PP bay?

This is the report in the DB that has got me worried:-

OTHER NEWS
Pressure mounting against Balearic oil prospecting
By H. Carter

PALMA
THE President of the Balearics, Francesc Antich, yesterday spoke out against plans to begin prospecting for oil in Balearic waters.
Opposition to the project is widespread both here in the Balearics and in Valencia, as Valencian waters will also be affected, and Antich said that “tourism and oil prospecting” is totally incompatible.

The Minister for Tourism, Joana Barcelo, voiced her fears earlier this week and it appears that Antich and the Balearic government has the support of the tourist industry and the Majorcan Chamber of Commerce which threw its weight behind any campaign to stop the oil prospecting from going ahead.

Apparently, the multinational Cairn Energy has been given permission to begin prospecting in the Gulf of Valencia near the coasts of Valencia and the Balearics.

Joan Gual de Torrelall, the President of the Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday that he totally rejects the proposal claiming that such heavy industrial activity will pose a threat to the local environment, economy and tourist industry.

Torrella yesterday held a meeting with the Balearic Senator, Pere Sampol, in an attempt to have the issue raised in Madrid and with central government.
There are serious concerns that, if oil is found, then drilling platform will begin appearing off the coast of the Balearics.

 

[favie]

BATTLE LINES DRAWN TO FIGHT SMOKING BAN
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]STAFF REPORTER[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]PALMA [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]THE Balearic Confederation of Businesses Restaurant Association and Pimem, the small to medium sized business sector, has joined forces to fight the new anti-smoking ban which, according to the service sector, is literally killing off revenue, restaurants and jobs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]The two association, which represent the vast majority of bars, restaurants and cafes in the Balearics, is going to hold its first meeting on march 7, to decide upon its strategy. The location has yet to be decided but it expected to be central to the island so that as many members as possible can attend the preliminary meeting.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]According to both association, since the new law came in to force on January 2, the restaurant and bar sector has seen takings fall by between 20 and 50 percent.[/FONT]

Wonder how successful that will be!!

 

[favie]

This is the report in the DB that has got me worried:-

There are serious concerns that, if oil is found, then drilling platform will begin appearing off the coast of the Balearics.

GG's Full post on previous page

Pros & Cons if it does come to anything but if so, let hope "it's not in our beautiful backyard"!!

 

[Belladonna]

Gas Inspector Scam

Thank goodness their investigation has resulted in arrests. This has been a problem locally in the past year.


11 arrested in island-wide gas inspector scam
By Humphrey Carter
PALMA
A total of eleven people were arrested by the Guardia Civil over the weekend for apparently running a bogus gas inspection company which has allegedly conned people out of at least 40'000 euros.

The investigation was carried out by the Palmanova Guardia Civil but the bogus company was operating all over Majorca, especially in north east, east and south of the island.

The investigation was mounted just two weeks ago and over the weekend, the Guardia Civil arrested the so-called director of the company, his two sons and eight employees.

The bogus company’s lawyer has also been implicated in the scam.
The suspects were passing themselves off as employees of two different companies which had been subcontracted by a bona fide and authorised outfit to inspect gas fittings and installations.

They would present potential clients or victims with false documents and then provide them with hugely inflated bills.
Over the weekend, the Guardia Civil swooped on the offices of the bogus company and apparently found boxes of false documentation and sources close to the investigation reported that the company conned its victims out of at least 40'000 euros. However, the investigation remains open and the number of victims could rise over the coming days.

The typical victims were either the elderly, disabled or foreign residents.
Only yesterday, a British resident who lives in Costitx contacted the newspaper to report that she had been fleeced of over 1'000 by a bogus team of gas inspectors and on Saturday, another reader called to complain about a “suspicious” visit from an alleged Endesa electricity board engineer.

However, the British bar owner did the right thing and sent him packing.

 

[Lorenzo]

Gas inspector scam

That is great news Bella!

Guests staying at my place were taken in by this scam on two separate occasions and I witnessed a local hotel owner being pressurised by them as well. Luckily she sent them packing but not without a lot of effort on her behalf.

 

[Sparky]

Yes it is good to read that these conmen have been caught but lets not drop our guard, i am sure someone else will be trying to find a way to swindle people out of their money.


Don't let anyone in without an appointment.

 

[eleanor]

Well done them in catching these people. Thanks Bella for letting us know. It is a worry when guests are in the property they feel pressured. I have added to our info in the villa but obviously don't want to worry the guests too much. I ensure the number of our housekeeper is available for them to check before allowing anyone entry. Anyone attending the villa will do so with prior arrangement via the housekeeper and guests will be informed. The problem is that sometimes it is easy to feel intimidated and those who do this sort of thing well know how to intimidate.

Yes it is good to read that these conmen have been caught but lets not drop our guard, i am sure someone else will be trying to find a way to swindle people out of their money.

You are so right Sparky. No sooner has one scam been stopped then another comes along. This of course happens the World over and certainly not just in PP. As you say we need to keep our guard up.

Don't let anyone in without an appointment.

- should become our motto!

 

[Belladonna]

Proud to be British

It just makes you proud.

OTHER NEWS
Majorca helping the heroes again this year
By Humphrey Carter

PALMA


THE British community here on the island is again this year opening its hearts to British servicemen and women who have been wounded while serving in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The initiative of helping the heroes here on the island began nearly two years ago when a former Irish Guard resident on the island made a plea through the Bulletin for help in entertaining a young Royal Marine, Andy Grant, who was seriously wounded during front line action in Helmand Province.

He has since lost the bottom half of his right leg.

The British community jumped to the marine’s help and he and his girlfriend enjoyed a wonderful holiday on the island courtesy of the local British residents.

Of the many people who came forward offering free meals at local bars and restaurants, tickets to shows, boat trips, BBQs etc., a few made their homes available to the wounded.

From apartments to an enormous finca in the north east of the island, the campaign to help the heroes in Majorca quickly gathered momentum.


LAST YEAR


Last year, three groups from the Light Dragoons came over to the island while a number of individual cases were also entertained.
And, this year, the initiative continues.
There is going to be another fund raising cricket match over Easter and the Mallorca Cricket Club and three groups of wounded, some seriously, servicemen and women from the Grenadier Guards will be coming out for a fortnight at the beginning and end of the summer.

A few wounded members of the Light Dragoons may also be coming over after having heard what a great time their fellow colleagues had last year.
The Anglican congregation of St. Andrews Church in Puerto Pollensa has been vital in making the large group holidays a success.Not only is part of the weekly collection set aside for helping the heroes, the local community rallies round to help in any, shape or form when the soldiers are here but extra help is always welcome because these trips have become a very important part of their recuperation and rehabilitation.

Coming to Majorca with their partners gives the wounded a chance to get away from their every day surroundings and medical routine.
For the more seriously wounded, frustration can often set in when the rehab stalls along with boredom of the routine, so coming to Majorca on holiday serves to give the troops a major boost and new determination to overcome their injuries and get fit and healthy again.


CONFIDENTIALITY


Those housing the elite Grenadier Guards and the Light Dragoons would be grateful for any extra help in looking after or entertaining the wounded soldiers when they are here and should any one wish to offer their assistance, then please email the Bulletin and all mail will be passed on to those responsible in strict confidentiality.

 

[Belladonna]

It's Electrifying!

Why does no one ever check the Red Tape before they start these huge projects!


Spanner in the works in cable link
STAFF REPORTER
THE town council in Sagunto on the mainland’s east coast caused shock waves in the Balearics yesterday by saying that it was bringing the works on the electricity cable link-up between the Islands and the mainland to an immediate halt.

The council said that its concerns lie with the land-based section of the infrastructure because national grid operators, Red Electrica Española, do not apparently have the necessary permits to be using municipal land for the link-up.

The project, to enable the Balearics to become an integral part of the national electricity supply network, is of key importance to energy planning in the Islands and is being financed by Central Government.

Sagunto town council is now saying that Red Electrica Española must pay them a fee if they want the works to continue but claim that their demand is only at the level of municipal taxation and not some vast sum devised spontaneously to penalise the company.

Red Electrica Española is now seeking legal advice because halting the works at this stage will apparently jeopardise the whole project.
The company began the cable link-up at the beginning of the year. The project, which is costing 375 million euros needs to be finished before the summer.

The infrastructure will mean that the Balearics will be able to tap into a power supply the equivalent of an entire generating station, or a quarter of what the Islands are currently capable of producing. The connection will also mean that supply to housholds and industry will be more reliable.

Sagunto council has now “put a spanner in the works,” a Red Electrica Española spokesman said yesterday.

 

[Belladonna]

Animal refuge change

Where do the animals go which are caught by the council now?

Pollensa animal refuge breaks with Council
STAFF REPORTER
POLLENSA’S animal refuge centre will no longer be collaborating with the local council, Josefina Vivancos who has managed the shelter for the past 28 years said yesterday.

Vivancos had already said last week that from now on, she will stop providing homes for stray and abandoned animals that the council catches through independent operators. “We want to continue functioning under our own rules as an animal refuge,” she explained. “We will never put a healthy animal down.” For eight years, the Pollensa Animal Refuge has had a close professional relationship with the Council. An agreement had committed the town hall to paying the refuge 60'000 euros a year for catching and keeping abandoned animals at the shelter but the council is now owing last year’s instalment.

The council has decided to change the modus operandi and said that it would now have a direct contract with a company for catching the strays and that it would put a maintenance contract out to public tender for those organisations interested in housing the animals.

The Animal Refuge Centre refused however to become part of the arrangement because were it to have accepted the council’s most recent terms and conditions, then there would have been a limit on the time that they would have been funded to keep animals at the shelter.

Vivancos made it crystal clear yesterday: “It is I who have broken off the relationship with the council,” she said. Vivancos claimed that since its inception, the ethos of the shelter was to rehouse abandoned animals.

She said that now the council were wanting to impose their own rules which included the destruction of healthy animals if they were not rehoused within less than a month. “I won’t take in the animals which the council catches if I have to accept their terms,” she insisted. “I have decided not to have anything more to do with the council in this regard.”

 

[Belladonna]

Walkers take note!

Landowners want rights respected
STAFF REPORTER
PRIVATE landowners in the Tramuntana mountains called yesterday on the Balearic government to respect their rights to privacy on their own property.
Gathering yesterday after a conference at the Raixa country estate at which the Council of Majorca’s Environment department said it would continue to back the right of the public to use cross-country paths, the landowners said that the Balearic government is not acknowledging their legal right to privacy.
Marilena Tugores, representing the department, said that the Council of Majorca wanted to “show respect” to everyone and was aware that there was periodicaly conflict over land use.

But Tugores said that the Council represents public rather than private interest and that if a cross-country path on private land is shown through registers to be a right of way, then the public’s interests must be defended.