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ORIHUELA COSTA TO GET THE CARNIVAL TREATMENT
As much of the world has been dressed in splashes of colour, danced to the rumba and partied day and night, it is the turn of Orihuela Costa to get into the carnival spirit.
What began last year as a collaboration between the Orihuela Costa town hall, local business group Pro Orihuela Costa Platforma and local schools, has this year exploded into a fiesta that will be the closing fiesta that adds the cherry to the top of the icing on the fruit filled fiesta that was carnival 2012.
The councillor for fiestas in Orihuela, Carolina Gracia, along with the councillor for the coast, Bob Houliston, officially presented the event this week that will take place on Saturday 25th February, starting at 6pm.
Surrounded by excited representatives from the business group and those representing parent associations, Carolina Gracia of the PSOE explained that the town hall is “happy to work with the Councillor for the Coast, Bob Houliston and Platforma, in the spirit of integration, so that everybody can feel part of the municipality”.
Meanwhile, Bob Houliston said that he himself is “very impressed with everybody´s efforts and the strength of the civic bond that has been shown by the residents of the coast, even in these difficult financial times”.
The Multicolor Parade will have around 13 carnival floats from around the entire area, encompassing those from the likes of Torrevieja, and will start from calle Nícolas de Bussí at 6pm and make its way to the Playa Flamenca Mercadona car park, where a huge tent will be waiting, complete with stage, bar and snacks, and crammed full of entertainers for young and old.
There will be prizes for the best float, the best dance, the best costume and a presentation to the highly skilled designer who created the poster advertising the event, although adding it to her design portfolio is probably the last thing on the mind of 7 year old Alisa Kasakova, a child of a Russian family who attends Los Dolces school.
With the weather set to be fine, temperatures predicted to rocket, there is no question that the Orihuela Costa will be the hottest place to be this weekend, whether you take a trip to the beach, or support this festival in only its second year and enjoy the fruits and colour that carnival brings, under the multicultural banner of Multicolor.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33069/
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LOCAL NEWS - THURSDAY 23 FEBRUARY 2012
FLU OUTBREAK CAUSES HOSPITAL OVERLOAD
The winter flu outbreak across the area had already forced the reopening of “mothballed” hospital wards at the Vega Baja hotel, but the addition of these 16 beds is still not enough to cope with the demand and the hospital has already ran out of beds.
All 342 beds in the hospital are now occupied, resulting in patients being transferred to hospitals in both Elche and Torrevieja, in an attempt to maintain medical care for those in need. IN an further attempt to try to control the outbreak, medical experts have reminded the importance of having a flu jab for the vulnerable and elderly which will help prevent the spread.
RUBBISH SERVICE FEELS THE STRAIN
The Orihuela town hall is starting to feel the burden of having taken direct responsibility for the garbage collection across the municipality away from the contractor who had previously been operating the service.
The waste transfer site for the Orihuela Costa has now closed down, due to a dispute with the land owner, resulting in collection vehicles having to transport the rubbish to locations much further away until an alternative transfer depot can be arranged in Orihuela city, causing an increase in running costs and could potentially result in the collection service suffering delays as the strain is placed on the vehicles and crews who would normally be operating on a much smaller area.
The additional running cost will not help the financial position of the town hall, but they are currently working hard to ensure that the service provision is maintained to all residents across the municipality.
CAM SELLS TRAVEL AGENCY STAKE
Troubled CAM Bank has sold its 5.1% of capital share of the German tourism group TUI for 77.54 million euro, which also removes the financial entity from the travel sector.
This move represents a profit in its consolidated accounts of 27.72 million euro, according to a statement released by the market securities commission.
EXTRA CHECKS ON SPEEDING CARS
Local police officers in Pilar de la Horadada have seconded a traffic vehicle from the DGT, which is currently being used to monitor and prevent speeding vehicles on urban roads in the municipality.
The car, which is fully marked and labelled by the DGT is operating in addition to the undercover monitoring being carried out by unmarked Guardia Civil vehicles, is equipped with photographic equipment and snaps vehicles automatically as they pass. So far it has photographed 201 vehicles, of which 5 drivers have already been fined.
OFFICIAL TOWN HALL CAR GETS TOWED AWAY
An Audi A6, parked in a spot reserved for official town hall vehicles on calle Maldonado in Torrevieja, was towed away this week after a novice local police officer authorised the removal by the municipal tow truck for illegal parking in an unauthorised zone.
However, this particular car was one of the official vehicles waiting to take the mayor and councillors away on an official trip. The vehicle, along with a similar Volkswagen Phaeton, was not on the list of those authorised "because everybody knows these are municipal vehicles with their respective drivers".
Observers watched with some joy as the car was taken away, commenting that it may be the ultimate way that the town hall has found of collecting additional revenues, although it is doubtful that any fine was paid before the vehicle was returned.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33068/
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LOCAL NEWS - WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2012
DAVID BISBAL CONCERT WILL GO AHEAD
The councillor for culture and festivities in the city of Torrevieja, Luís María Pizana, has issued a statement confirming that the concert by Spanish singer David Bisbal, which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday of this week, will go ahead despite the accusations by the Los Verdes green party that the building does not have a license to be open.
The councillor has confirmed that all necessary work to satisfy the licensing requirements and previous deficiencies are now being carried out and will be completed in time for the license to be issued for the weekend performance. However, this statement has prompted the green party to reaffirm that their accusation was therefore correct and that the building should never have been opened for the concerts previously held in the venue.
DISMISSED WORKER STARTS HUNGER STRIKE
A former employee of the City of Calpe has started a hunger strike at the gates of the municipal building in protest of his dismissal, which occurred on Friday and without compensation, after working for the town council for the last eleven years.
Antonio Simón Rojas, who also worked to support his 80 year old mother, was relieved of his duties along with another 70 council workers, as part of a restructuring of council resources in a bid to cut back on wage bills.
VALENCIA POLICE MAKE ANOTHER TORREVIEJA ARREST
Regional Police Officers of the Generalitat Valenciana have arrested a person in a residential area of Torrevieja, who was wanted on an arrest warrant for an alleged offense of threatening behaviour.
This is the latest of nearly 900 actions that have resulted in nearly 6,000 vehicle checks, the identification verification of nearly 1,500 people and now 5 successful arrests.
ORIHUELA LOOKING FOR NEW POLICE CARS
Orihuela City Council has tendered a contract for the three year lease of eight hybrid vehicles for patrols by local police officers in the municipality, with a value of 11,900 euro per month.
The contract is worth 428,400 euro, although the town hall are looking for lower bids to enable the successful bidder to be granted the deal which will also include routine maintenance, all-risk insurance, 24 hour assistance and the ability to provide replacement vehicles if necessary.
WEEKEND EXERCISE MAY NOT BE HEALTHY
Rafael Florenciano, cardiologist at the USP San Jaime hospital in Torrevieja, has issued a report that stresses that regularity when exercising "is critical to cardiovascular risk”, and that the chances of suffering a heart attack during intense physical exercise are duplicated in patients performing less than four hours per week of regular exercise, which also means that it is “unwise to exercise intensively only during the weekends”
The statement was made ahead of a lecture by the renowned medic, which will be held on Saturday at the hospital, offering an insight into sports related medicine.
The report concludes that "clearly, sedentary life is bad and that we should practice exercise, but we must do so judiciously, but above all, regularly".
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33066/
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BRITISH MAN BURNT TO DEATH IN CARAVAN FIRE
A charred body of a man was found inside a burnt out caravan parked on an industrial estate in the town of El Rodriguillo, on the outskirts of the popular town of Pinoso.
Initial investigations reveal that officers believe the body to be that of the 56 year old British owner, who had limited mobility, but scientific tests are required to confirm the identity due to the condition in which the body was found.
A caretaker on the industrial site is believed to have alerted the emergency service, who were quick to attend, but it was only once the flames had been extinguished that the body was found inside. The Guardia Civil are now investigating the incident.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33065/
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LOCAL NEWS - TUESDAY 21 FEBRUARY 2012
HOMELESS MAN BURNT ALIVE IN VALENCIA
Police in Valencia are investigating the death of a 62 year old homeless man, who was found burnt alive whilst resting on a bench on plaza de Juan de Vilarrasa near the central market. Two other homeless people were sleeping at the same location.
Police officers were quick to attend and covered the burning man with a blanket to extinguish the flames, before the fire crew arrived but could do nothing more to save him.
Officers are keeping an open mind as to whether the fire was started deliberately or if it was a tragic accident, although a previous complaint had been filed with the police of an individual who had allegedly tried and failed to set fire to a homeless person on a previous occasion.
MUNICIPAL VEHICLES CAN´T AFFORD FUEL
The company that supplies fuel for municipal vehicles in the Alicante town of Villajoyosa, including vehicles driven by the local police, has announced that it will no longer provide fuel to these vehicles because of outstanding payments of previous bills.
Through a press release, unions representing the company said that from midnight on Monday, municipal vehicles are not allowed to refuel at the station service department. The unions predict that this may affect public safety and "jeopardize" the movement of police vehicles through the streets of the town.
FRAUD ARRESTS IN TORREVIEJA
The Guardia Civil in Torrevieja have arrested the alleged mastermind of a criminal gang who defrauded around 11,000 euro from the Instituto Social de la Marina (ISM), along with three other members of the group, one of whom is reported to be a government official of another agency.
Those arrested, all of Spanish nationality, are charged with the offenses of forgery following an investigation that started in December last year and resulting in the group obtaining unemployment benefits or accessing training courses using forged documentation.
WARNINGS OVER BOGUS POLICE MAGAZINE ADVERTS
Murcia City Council has issued a warning relating to a scam by people pretending to be representing the local police and asking companies to pay to advertise in a police magazine.
Municipal sources reported that this method of fraud and was used some years ago in various locations across the regions but then disappeared, but has now become active once again. The same sources have indicated that the local police of Murcia do not edit any type of publication, and does not carry out any advertising campaigns, institutional or private.
ITALIANS – COME TO ORIHUELA
The councillor for tourism in Orihuela, Pedro Mancebo, has met with some thirty Italian tour operators, in a bid to try to encourage them to tempt more Italian travellers to enjoy the delights of Orihuela city.
The aim was to try to enhance the promotion of the town and the influx of Italian tourists in particular, but not only during the summer months, but all year round because of the rich cultural and culinary heritage of the city.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33064/
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MORE PARKING CONTROLS IN ORIHUELA
The Department of Infrastructure for the city of Orihuela, has announced that the “blue zone” parking restrictions have spread into a further three streets in the city.
The additional area takes in calle Limón at its junction with calle Castellón as far as Reyes Católicos, calle Valencia and Avenida Teodomiro from Avenida de la Vega as far as the estación intermodal train station.
A spokesperson for the town hall said that the implementation of this expansion coincides with the new availability of more than 80 car park spots on avenida de la Vega.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33063/
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NINTENDO CARTRIDGE IMPORTER ACQUITTED
The Audiencia Provincial de Oviedo has dismissed an appeal by Nintendo against business owner, Alejandro Fernández Gutiérrez, who runs a company called Alechip, for selling cartridges that can play downloaded games on the Nintendo DS handheld console.
The case dates back to 2009, when customs officers acted, at the request of Nintendo, to seize imported cartridges which the company claimed were being used to avoid purchasing games through the retail outlets and were being used to download illegally copied games via the internet.
Court number 1 acquitted Alejandro Fernández Gutiérrez in his first trial as the judge did not consider the explanation from Japanese company Nintendo proved the mechanism by which the console recognized a cartridge as "legal".
In addition, the judge ruled that a crime of intellectual property had not been committed as it was the console software that was protected in the case raised, not the contents of the cartridge. The court also ruled that the physical design of the cartridge was not an infringement of intellectual property rights in this case.
The Audiencia Provincial de Oviedo confirmed the acquittal in a statement, also declaring that there are insufficient legal grounds for a retrial.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33062/
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SEMIFINAL KINGS CUP 2012, 19TH FEBRUARY, 2012
C.R La Vila V Cetransa El Salvador
The Kings Cup Semi-Final was played on Sunday 19th February at the C.R. La Vila home ground in Villajoyosa. This was the second part of the semi-final and El Salvador came into the game with a 5 point lead, following their 27-22 victory at Vallodolid.
El Salvador started off as the stronger team and completely dominated the first half. Fortunately for La Vila El Salvador missed a number of opportunities to put points on the board but Dani Brown scored a try after 19 minutes which was unconverted. A first half yellow card for La Vila player Mike Fitton put the home team under further pressure. Whilst Fitton was in the sin bin, El Salvador kicked a penalty however James Knight scored a try to close the points gap which was converted by Alexei Hebrard. The half time score was 7-8.
The second half saw a re-energised La Vila team take to the field. Within the first nine minutes Edu Sorribes kicked a penalty, scored and converted a try to bring the score to 17-8. Errors in the home teams own third, including the yellow card awarded to Matt Cook, allowed El Salvador back into the game. Mamea took advantage and scored a try, but Sorribes hit back with a penalty kick for La Vila.
Two minutes later, El Salvador scored and converted a try to bring the score line to 20-20. Fans of both teams were feeling the pressure and running the gamut of emotions from dismay to euphoria and everything in between.
La Vila dominated much of the last 40 minutes with effective continuity of passages of play leading to a try by Nathan Read and conversion by Sorribes. 27-20
A penalty kick for El Salvador brought the game back up to 27 -23, but Javier Carrion hit back for La Vila scoring a try also converted by Sorribes. 34-23
Deep into injury time El Salvador managed to break through the defence of La Vila and scored a try and conversion to bring the score to 34-30 on the referee's full time whistle.
Unfortunately for La Vila the 4 points difference was insufficient, leaving El Salvador 1 point up and going through to the final of the Kings Cup.
Team C.R La Vila
1.-Vázquez, 2.-Phipps, 3.-Hutchinson, 4.-P. Martínez (cap), 5.-Fitton, 6.-G. Carrión, 7.-González, 8.-Cook, 9.-Hebrard, 10.-Sorribes, 11.-López, 12.-Knight, 13.-Reid, 14.-Poggi, 15.-J.Carrión, 16.-Fuster, 17.-Vásquez, 18.-Cleary, 19.-Henry Davis, 20.-Coronel, 21.-Quirante y 22.-Quirelli
Team El Salvador
1.-Marcial, 2.-Marrón, 3.-Serrano, 4.-Núñez, 5.-Sánchez, 6.-De la Llana, 7.-Molina, 8.-Mamea, 9.-Feijoo (cap), 10.-Ibarra, 11.-Rodríguez, 12.-Carter, 13.- McDougall, 14.- Díaz, 15.-Martín, 16.-Fuente, 17.-Sanz, 18.-González Altes, 19.-Del Moral, 20.-Raposo y 21.-Haddar
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33061/
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MONTE MADE TO SUFFER
THADER "B" 1 - 2 CD MONTESINOS
CDM Team: Cubano, Ruben, Javi, Becker, Fernando, Omar, Sanchez, Andres, M & A, Vazquinho and Edu
Subs: Chulo on for Vazquinho after 20 minutes, Dimitry on for Omar after 55 minutes and Cristian on for Ruben after 70 minutes
Goals: Edu (30mins) and Cristian (85mins)
CD Montesinos took all three points from their visit to Rojales where they played local side, Thader B, and took a 1-2 victory, although for much of the game, the result was in doubt. Having won away last week with a much depleted side, this week they were still without 3 first team regulars and they lost another after just 20 minutes of this game.
Monte dominated from the start and had this been a boxing contest it would have been stopped on points at the half way stage. To say Monte was wasteful in front of goal is an understatement and if the first half finished 0-6 to the visitors, it would have been flattering to the home side.
Vazquinho missed three great chances in the first 15 minutes before being taken off injured again, all with only the home keeper to beat. Edu also missed two clear chances and last week's hero, youth player Omar, also missed two clear cut chances. But it was the Monte top scorer, Edu, who broke the deadlock when he eventually beat the home keeper after 30 minutes to send his team into the half time break with a narrow lead.
The second was a far more even affair although it was Montesinos who again missed all the chances, especially from substitute Chulo who fluffed three good chances.
Having had most of the game and missed a hatful of chances, the inevitable happened and Thader equalised in the 65th minute when they were awarded a penalty after a Montesinos player was adjudged to have handled inside his own area.
With the result 1-1 and time running out, Montesinos manager, Juanpe, threw caution to the wind, changed his format, and played the final 20 minutes with three up front, having taken off a defender.
The alteration worked as youth player, Cristian, took his only chance of the game when he kept this cool and lobbed the home goal keeper with just 5 minutes left on the clock. The Montesinos players and their travelling Full Monte Supporters' Club, celebrated the goal as if it had won them the championship; something that may still happen, especially as the team continue to grind out results even when they are not playing at their best.
Sunday 26th February CD MONTESINOS are at home to Grupo Caliche in a game which will kick off at 4.30pm.
For further information about CD MONTESINOS and its Supporters' Club, The Full Monte, go to www.cdmontesinos.com, email thefullmonte2011@hotmail.com or telephone 637 869 602.
In association with CajaMurcia
VAMOS MONTE!!!
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33060/
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HAH VALENTINES FUNDRAISER
Help At Home Costa Blanca held a Valentine's Dinner Dance at Asturias Restaurant Tuesday 14th February where 120 guests enjoyed a great evening, dining and dancing to the fabulous T.A.A.B.S Show Group, even 'Elvis' made a guest appearance followed by the wonderful Cathy Carson.
The event raised a staggering €500 from the raffle and tickets sales. The hamper was won by a lovely couple who kindly donated it to feed a family in need in Orihuela Costa. A big thank you to everyone who supported the event from Help At Home Costa Blanca.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/33059/
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