August 8th News Ibiza

OFF THE HOOK
The former mayor of San Jose, Jose Serra Escandell, has been cleared in the Puig den Serra trial which took place in June of this year. The mayor and four of his team at the time were accused of knowingly issuing a licence for the construction of a mansion in the protected Puig den Serra area in May 1992. The Green party on the island, (GEN), had continually made complaints about the building, until the men responsible for issuing the licence were eventually brought to trial.
The licence was granted despite the project not possessing the 30,000 square metres necessary to build in the area. It should also have been denied as the land was on top of Ibizas second highest peak, which had been deemed a protected area a few years earlier. The land was also 300 metres above sea level, when the limit at the time on building was 200 metres. However, despite all of these obstacles, the licence was granted in May 1992 because the mayor and his team had based their decision on a previous licence that had been granted in 1984, for a much smaller building on the same plot of land. They claim that they were unaware of the changes in the law.
The judge maintained that it would have been obvious, even to the average person, let alone a Mayor and fellow Councillors, that the licence should not have been granted. He continued that the issuing of the licence was an error, and did not believe their defence that they had not known about the regulations banning such a construction. He continued by declaring that they had wilfully ignored two reports from qualified staff within the Town Hall.
However, despite all of this, the judge said that legally he could not punish any of the men, as ten years had passed since the issuing of the licence, therefore nullifying any wrongdoing.
The decision was no surprise to most, as the law, revealed by Serras barrister during the trial, was quite clear. However, it has been an uncomfortable few months for the former mayor who, many believe, lost the last elections due to the scandal.
It also may not be the last we hear of the issue. In the judges summing up of the verdict he revealed that although the defendants could not be legally punished, they could be disciplined by the administration (i.e. the Town Hall). This left the door open for the new administration to take action, if they think it appropriate.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Man Drowns
Sunday saw the waters of Ibiza claim their eighth victim of the year so far. At just after 10a.m. emergency services were called to the S´Arenal beach in San Antonio after the body of a man was discovered floating in the water. He was later identified as Juan V, a 52- year old Czech man, who had been living in the municipal for the last few years. He was known in the area as El Checo. Police believe that he arrived at the beach in the early morning to swim. There were no witnesses to the accident and the body of the man was eventually found by the first arrivals at the beach. Emergency services were immediately called but El Checo was pronounced dead on their arrival at the scene. An investigation was immediately opened as the body was found in very shallow water and, although police were not treating the death as suspicious, the actual cause of death could have been influenced by other factors including a heart attack.

Jellyfish Sting
Despite all the foreboding in the run up to the season, it seems that warnings of an invasion of jellyfish to the island have been somewhat exaggerated. In San Antonio, in June, lifeguards attended to 152 jellyfish stings as opposed to 522 last year. This significant decrease was credited to more vigilance by bathers, but more importantly, less jellyfish in the water. Of the five beaches in the municipal, Cala Gracio suffered the most, with 78 cases. Es Reguero beach had the least with just four.

Fuel Extraction
The laboriously slow extraction of fuel from the sunken vessel, Don Pedro, continued during the week. The company in charge of the task is the Dutch firm, Weijsmuller Salvages. They are using a system called hot-tapping, which will eventually empty the fuel tanks of the ship. However the process is very slow and has not been helped during the week by rough seas.
First, divers have had to ensure that the vessel is secure and will not move when work begins. This task has taken most of the week and has involved several excursions by divers into the waters off the coast. The ship is currently on its side at a 90 degree angle, but to complicate matters is on an incline of 3 per cent.
The second phase involved the placement of airtight suction pads in key areas around the vessel. These were then connected to tubes which carry the fuel inside the ship to a boat above the sunken disaster.
A spokesman for the company said that so far everything was going to plan and that by the weekend 22 tonnes of fuel had been extracted. He revealed that divers had discovered a few minor leaks, but that his team had closed these by adding suction pads. He claimed that the job had been made slightly harder because of the incline the boat is on. This means that the fuel is not evenly distributed, and is finding different hiding places.
On Friday the owners of Don Pedro, Iscomar, announced that next week they would start to compensate the many pleasure boats which were affected by the fuel spillage. Those affected are to receive between 70-90 per metre. The Town Hall of Ibiza, on the other hand, revealed that it had received ten official complaints from businesses in the area seeking compensation. Six of the affected businesses are in Talamanca.

Compensation Claims
Ferry company, Balearia, is preparing a compensation claim against the company, Iscomar, for the delays that all of their fleet are now suffering due to the work being undertaken in the entrance to the port on the sunken ship, Don Pedro. The company which runs, among others, the line that links Ibiza with Formentera claims that the speed restriction now in place within a two-mile radius of the Don Pedro has caused delays of 10 minutes on every single journey between the islands, resulting in a delay of 80 minutes by the end of the day. Speed has been restricted to 12 knots, when the boats running the line are able to reach speeds of up to 30 knots. The company said that they hoped to reach a settlement with Iscomar, but would take legal action if an agreement could not be reached.

Botafoc Reforms
The new president of the Ports Authority has begun talks with the president of the Consell, Xico Tarres, and the mayor of Ibiza Town, Lurdes Costa, about the remodelling of the new port in es Botafoc. Francesc Triay, who has only been in office for a few days, has revealed that the work is high on his list of priorities. The reforms, which are set to cost 100m, will attempt to take the majority of the traffic away from the Marina area, and to the new port in es Botafoc. This would involve the building of a docking area of around seven hectares, as well as the construction of two 200m wharfs. The new installations would become the centre of commercial transport, and help to ease the traffic from the centre of town.
Triay claimed that the current installations on the island were wholly insufficient, and needed to be changed urgently. For her part the mayor, Lurdes Costa, said that the current setup was very dangerous, and that is why the project had been earmarked as urgent. She said that the burden on the current port in the Marina had become too great and the businesses in the area were suffering because of the high traffic levels at all times of the day. She added that when the powers that be talk of quality tourism, these projects were vital to ensure that the dream becomes a reality.
It is hoped that the project will be started by next year, and will take a total of three years to complete.
The news came three days before the minister for the environment at the Govern Balear, Miguel Angel Grimalt, announced that his government would not be granting licences for any new marinas during the next four years. Plans for new ports at es Viver in Ibiza Town, Punta Xinxo in San Jose and a remodelling of the port in San Antonio have now all been shelved.

Money Raised
Three associations for foreign excursions have raised 1,100 euros in order to improve the access path to the caves in es Cuieram. The head of one of the groups claimed that the money, which had been collected between November and April, has been voluntary, and symbolised their integration into a community which they wanted to help maintain. The money has been made available to the Consell, and will be used to improve the very dangerous descent from the car park to the caves in San Juan.

Digital Advance
With less than three years to go before analogue is switched off, the authorities remain confident that every house should be able to receive digital television before the deadline. Tradia, the company in charge of fixing the digital antennas revealed that there are still 18,500 homes unable to receive the new digital signal. However, they claimed that they were ahead of schedule and were working in stages. The next area to receive an antenna will be San Jose, where currently there are just over 5,000 inhabitants (32.89 per cent) who do not have access to the new technology.
The situation is just as bad in Santa Eulalia with 27.77 per cent of the municipal unable to receive TDT (digital television). This is in marked contrast to San Antonio and Ibiza Town, where nearly the entire population are now able to enjoy the advantages of digital television. However, it is Formentera that is leading the way. Tradia recently installed two new antennas, which now mean that the entire population is now able to enjoy TDT.

Transport Revamp
Joan Rubio, the new Minister for Transport at the Consell Insular, has claimed that the improvement of the public transport system is going to be one of his priorities over the next year. Ibiza has long since had a problem with a lack of taxis during the very high season (July and August). At certain hotspots, which include Ibiza Town and the Airport, people sometimes have to wait for hours until a taxi becomes available. Each year the authorities hand out a few more licences but the current taxi-drivers immediately complain and therefore the licences are kept to a minimum. This has led to a surge of illegal taxis which can often prove dangerous, as many of the cars are not insured. However, at the prospect of having to wait several hours for a licensed taxi, the temptation is great.
Rubio underlined the current problem, and said that the bus network had to be improved greatly to try and alleviate the strain on the taxis. He said that as well as improving the frequency and reliability of the buses, the location of bus-stops also needed to be looked at.
Laughably, a taxi driver interviewed by a local newspaper outside the airport claimed that the fault of the long queues was not in fact that of the taxi drivers themselves, who continually vote against the issuing of new licences, but in fact that of the Airport Authorities who did not space out the arriving planes well enough.

Foreign Increase
The amount of non-Spanish students studying in both public schools and private academies increased by 11.8 per cent last year in the Balearics. The figure is slightly below the national average of 14.5 per cent. In total there are 21,751 foreign students studying here at non-university level, 82.5 per cent of whom are studying in the public system.

Internet Bonanza
Internet hotel reservations in Ibiza are expected to rise by 50 per cent this year, according to figures released by the president of the Travel Agents Association, Mateo Pau. He revealed that companies such as MedHotels, Lastminute and Hotelbeds were revolutionising the market, and that their growth over the next few years would have an enormous effect on hotel reservations.
With the fall from power of the tour operators, and the more frequent low cost airline flights, internet companies have taken advantage of their flexibility and now carry a great deal more weight with hoteliers. Their contracting has become a vital source of reservations for the island, as the modern day tourist looks for flexibility in his travel agenda. This has reduced the minimum occupancy during the six-month tourist season, as long-weekend stays become more popular. However, the recent figures have shown that internet companies are now a force to be reckoned with, especially in the British market place, where hotel reservations are set to increase by 60 per cent on 2006.

Still Critical
The young British holiday-maker who set himself on fire early in July was said to still be in a critical condition, despite several operations. The youngster, who has mental health problems and had tried to commit suicide several days earlier, doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire on 7th June in the petrol station in Avenida Dr.Fleming, at the entrance to San Antonio bay. He was immediately evacuated to a specialist hospital in Barcelona where he has remained in a critical condition ever since.

Organ Donation
Can Misses carried out its third multi-organ extraction of the year, last week. The specialist department, with the help of a team from Vall dHebron Hospital, Barcelona, managed to recover the kidneys and part of the heart in the operation. Although this year has been fairly quiet for the team, last year they managed to extract over thirty organs from deceased bodies.
Organisers of an island wide campaign within the Balearics have recently targeted residents to be more aware of the advantages of organ donation, and exactly what needs to be done in the aftermath of a fatal accident. A spokesperson for the hospital said that the most important thing was for the next of kin to be made aware of the wishes of the deceased, because invariably the decision would be theirs.

Sex Change Op
The Govern Balear announced on Monday that it would help finance sex change operations, with the help of public money. The decision comes on the day that the Govern also revealed that they would ensure that the morning after pill was available free, on prescription.
The move was celebrated by the Lesbian, Gay and Trans-sexual society who revealed that there was a high demand for this type of operation within the islands. The group encouraged other communities to follow the example of the Balearic Government.

Portinax Slick
A large yellow slick continued to alarm bathers in Portinax beach last week. According to locals the slick has appeared in July for the last ten years. It stays for around three weeks and then disappears. It was first spotted this year on 20th July. The Councillor for the Environment in the Town Hall of San Juan explained that there had been several samples taken and analysed, and that the water was completely safe, and that there were no signs of any faeces whatsoever. He said that he understood the concern of the bathers, but assured them that bathing in the sea was completely safe.

IBIZA TOWN

New Hospital
The new president of the Consell of Ibiza, Xico Tarres, announced last week that he hoped the new hospital was just a year away from being started. The PSOE party confirmed during their election campaign that a new hospital was high on their list of priorities. Tarres has not disappointed, and in his first presidents meetingwith the head of the Govern Balear, Francesc Antich, he confirmed that the new hospital was crucial for the island.
Tarres continued that the hospital would be built close to the existing one, Can Misses, and that this would be used as a support hospital. He confirmed that there was no immediate rush, and that the plans should be drawn up carefully. He said that they would only have one chance and that things should be done correctly. He added that they were already in talks with the owners of the land in the area.
Several days after these statements, it was announced that the Consell and Town Hall of Ibiza had set up a commission that would specifically deal with the project. The working group will be made up of the ministers at the Consell, Miguel Ramon and Tomas Mendez, as well as the Town Hall councillors, Santiago Pizarro and Vicente Torres. For her part the minister for health, Patricia Abascal, underlined what Tarres had said earlier in the week, claiming that if all went smoothly, it could all be finished within three years.

Car Park Opened
Finally the parking problem in Ibiza Town received a much needed boost on Monday with the opening of a car park below the New Market (Mercat Nou). The facility has room for one hundred cars, and will be open from 8a.m.-10p.m. Monday to Saturday. The cost will be 1 for the first hour, 1.50 for the second hour and 2 for the third hour. The car park, will be run by the market association whose president, Agustin Pineda, made known his delight that the project, which the association had been demanding for several years, had finally been built. He said that the car park was intended to be a short-term facility, principally for those who were using the market. There is a lift which links the car park with the market.

Budget Increase
The Town Hall in Ibiza collected 1.4m more in parking fines last year, than had been initially predicted. This, added to the increase in rates, meant that the Town Hall was able to increase its budget for this year by 1.7m, having amassed a total of 4.2m in 2006. This will enable the institution to pay off some debts that had built up over the year, including 87,000 euros to meet the costs of the Medieval market enjoyed in May.

SAN ANTONIO

Law Agreement
Tough new laws, announced last week by the Town Hall of San Antonio, have been well received by the many bar owners of the municipal. The laws include a crackdown on the after-hour sale of alcohol by supermarkets, the consumption of alcohol from glass bottles in the street, and illegal parties organised in public places. Most bar owners supported the moves, which it is hoped will clean up the tarnished image of the town. They claim that it is the responsibility of everyone, and that only together will positive strides be made.

Cretu Decision
The new minister for building, Miguel Ramon, has warned that the Consell will not help out the Town Hall of San Antonio, over possible compensation claims over the Cretu mansion. The Romanian music producer, Michael Cretu, built a mansion several years ago after receiving permission from the Town Hall. However after complaints from several protection groups, the high court ruled that the Town Hall was in fact wrong to grant permission for the construction in Santa Innes, and ordered the building to be demolished, an order that has to be completed within the next year.
Cretu has already made it clear that he will seek compensation if the house is eventually demolished, because he claims that he was granted all the legitimate licences, and is not to blame.
The minister claimed that the people who granted the permission should be the ones who front up to the compensation. He said that they had acted illegally and that the citizens of San Antonio should not suffer because of their indiscretions.

Recycling Success
The councillor for the environment in San Antonio, Maria Jose Sanchez Ripoll, has revealed that the collection of used cooking oil has so far been a great success. Over five hundred homes are currently cooperating in the scheme that has collected just over 910 litres. There are a total of six collection points in total the bay of San Antonio, the centre of town, ses Paises, Santa Ines, Can Ramonet and San Rafael. Those wishing to join the scheme only need to go to the Town Hall, where the plastic containers are available.
The used oil is collected by the Majorca based company, Ecorecicling, and taken to a 20-tonne storage facility in Can Bufi. When this container is full it is then transported to their base, where the majority is sent on to Barcelona to be turned into bio-diesel.

SAN JOSE

Town Hall Support
The new planning Councillor in the Town Hall, Josep Antoni Prats, has sent a report to the Coastal Department, pleading with them to legalise the five restaurants in danger in ses Salinas and es Cavallet. The five restaurants face an unclear future after a report by the Coastal Department revealed that their presence was having a serious effect on the natural dunes in the area, and that the restaurants had in fact been built on public land. It said that, at worst, they needed to be demolished but would certainly have to reduce the size of their establishment to one hundred and fifty square metres. Considering that two of the restaurants are currently over seven hundred square metres, this would be a considerable reduction.
Prats revealed in a press conference on Wednesday, that if the establishments were demolished they would be unable to be rebuilt, due to restrictive building laws now in place in the area. All of the establishments have been in existence since the 1970´s. The Councillor went on to say that he had asked for the Department to reconsider their verdict, as the destruction of the restaurants, which include Jockey Club, sa Trinxa and Malibu, would seriously effect tourism on the island. He continued by saying that the five establishments had become a symbol of excellence, and a haven for quality tourism. He said that a compromise would have to be reached.
A representative for the five businesses claimed that reducing the sizes of the restaurants was simply not an option. He claimed that reducing a seven hundred square metre establishment down to one hundred and fifty would have serious consequences on all of the restaurants, and eventually reduce them to merely beach kiosks.

Beach Cleanliness
After a number of complaints from local businesses in the area, councillors in the newly run Town Hall of San Jose, Pere Ribas and Pilar Ferrero, visited the Playa den Bossa area, and claimed that they would ensure that a solution is reached. Businesses have long been protesting the lack of cleanliness in the area, and that there are many hot spots where the accumulation of rubbish has spiralled out of control.
The restaurant owners in the area are blaming the concession holders of the beach, whom, in theory, are supposed to keep the beach and surrounding area clean. However, how far this commitment is undertaken is now to be resolved by the Town Hall. Ribas said that he would not rule out the signing of a contract at the time of the winning of the concession, which would ensure that the person running the beach concession had complete responsibility.

Jellyfish Project
The Town Hall of San Jose announced on Monday that they were temporarily suspending the anti-jellyfish project which was to be carried out this summer in Cala Vadella. The project was given the go-ahead last year by the previous administration, and the trial was to get underway this year, following lengthy meetings with the marine biologist, Diego Ponce. Various businesses in the area also assisted in the meetings, which culminated in field work being undertaken in La Manga.
However, the councillor in charge of beaches, Angeles Mostazo, announced that because of the lateness of the season, the project had been cancelled and that the Town Hall would use the time to study alternative measures.
The businesses in the area said that the postponement was a setback, but confirmed that the jellyfish problem had not been as bad this year as last, when the beach was forced to close several times.

Salinas Fine
The owners of the car park built in ses Salinas last year have been fined 25,494 euros for opening the installation without the appropriate licences. The car park drew heavy criticism last year, after the owners of the land, (Dunasal Park SL), decided to build the facility. As well as reconditioning the ground, they also built two huts. This was all done without the appropriate permission, which has led to the fines.

SANTA EULALIA

Cala Llonga Fire
A grass fire started in the valley of Cala Llonga at around 5pm on Wednesday afternoon which fortunately due to the quick response of the emergency services was soon extinguished The drama did not last too long and was over by 6 pm. A total of six fire-fighting vehicles, a helicopter, and a fire plane were all involved in the incident. Luckily not too much damage was caused, but it was another reminder of how easily a fire can start, and we don't want to be in the same situation as the people of the Canary Islands, so please everyone take care.

Business Forum
All businesses in Santa Eulalia were invited to a meeting in the Town Hall on Monday, in an attempt by the councillor for tourism, Carmen Ferrer Torres, to make the municipality even more attractive to potential tourists. The open meeting asked for the opinions of all the business owners present, on how to improve the competitiveness of the area, and become more attractive to visitors to the island.

Robbers Caught
Police in Santa Eulalia arrested a gang of seven women on Monday, after reports of several robberies in different clothes shops in the area. Four of the thieves were found in a car trying to make their escape. Inside the car several bags were found full of stolen goods. The seven are to face trial next week.

FORMENTERA

Trial Verdict
The former girlfriend of Bartomeu Ferrer, the ex-mayor of Formentera, has been cleared of manslaughter, as the trial drew to a close last week. Ferrer died in January 2005 from a massive brain haemorrhage caused by a blow to the head. The defendant, Maria Rosa Perez Bouzas, confirmed during the trial that she had caused the cut after throwing a mobile phone at the victim. Although she was cleared of manslaughter, the judge did find her guilty of the slightly lesser charge of injuring the victim, an injury that eventually led to his death. However in sentencing the judge said that the defendants actions had clearly only meant to cause minor injuries to the deceased, and that in no way was she directly responsible for the death of Ferrer. However, she was sent to prison for four months and ordered to pay compensation of 300,000 euros to the family of the former mayor.

Parking Problems
Wednesday saw the start of a new programme in Formentera to try and ease the growing traffic problem in ses Illetes. Eight workers have been assigned the task of controlling the traffic in the area, and ensuring that everyone parks in the designated areas. They will be aided by the police, who are legally the only people that can redirect traffic.
The plan is that when the car park in the area is full, the road will then be closed, to ensure that no more cars can enter. In the past, drivers have literally parked where they wanted to, causing untold problems in the area to both car circulation and to the environment. There will also be buses run from a near-by car park to the beaches. These will initially be free, but a charge may begin later on in the month.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Credit Card Arrests
The Guardia Civil ended an operation against the falsification of credit cards on Friday, with the arrest of seven people, all of Romanian origin. The arrests were made in a chalet in Cala de Bou, and resulted in the recovery of a far greater quantity of goods then the authorities had at first imagined.
The gang used video cameras on cash-point machines to duplicate the existing cards of unsuspecting owners. They then remade the cards using machinery found on the premises, and then proceeded to use the cards to buy a whole host of luxury items. At the house Guardia found plasma televisions, fifty telephones, laptop computers, video cameras, digital cameras, etc. All of the goods were still in their original boxes with the receipts attached. Also on the premises police found hundreds of falsified cards, 40,000 in cash and an E-class Mercedes parked in the driveway, believed to have been bought from the proceeds of the fraud. The total goods found on the premises were calculated to be in excess of 250,000. Because of this large quantity, it is believed that the four women and three men arrested belong to a much larger organisation.
The operation was described by the Central Governments representative on the island, Jose Manuel Bar, as the most important carried out in Ibiza, and he praised the cooperation of all parties involved.

Balcony Fall
An Italian youth remained in a critical condition after falling from a balcony in Playa de Bossa, on Tuesday. Emergency services were called to the scene of the accident just after midday, as the victim fell from the balcony onto the terrace of the Zeus apartments. The cause of the accident remains unclear, but it was reported that an argument could be heard by neighbours moments before the fall.

Boat Collision
The ship, Carmen del Mar, has been ordered to be held in the port of Ibiza until further notice, after colliding with a buoy as it entered the islands waters. The cemented buoy was in place just to the north of the island of Espalmador, and was there to direct ships entering the port. The ferry was detained after the captain failed to report the incident to the Marine Authorities.
The ship has been plagued by problems over the last few months, and has just spent two weeks in Denia, having been held in port for a series of irregularities. The ship that was used to take over the ferry crossing in its absence was the fated Don Pedro, that sank off the coast of Ibiza two weeks ago.
The company which owns the ferry, Iscomar, tried to play down the incident, saying that the vessel had merely scraped the cemented buoy after the captain had had to make a harsh manoeuvre to avoid various sailing boats. They claimed that the captain has reported the incident to authorities in the port, knowing that they would, in turn, advise the Marine Authorities.
Urgent messages are currently being transmitted to all vessels entering the area, to warn them about the temporary displacement of the buoy. Work is due to start soon on fixing it, but was described as laborious and could take several days.

Forest Fire
A fire near Cala Bassa beach destroyed a hectare of forest and had to be controlled by 75 volunteers. The blaze broke out at around 5p.m. on Tuesday. The emergency services were quickly alerted to the incident, and in addition to the two fire-helicopters and the fire-plane which arrived on the scene from the island, a further two planes arrived within twenty minutes from neighbouring Majorca. The fire was quickly under control and within an hour and a half the planes and helicopters were able return to base, leaving the 70 strong fire team to control the blaze. They continued working into the early hours to ensure that there was no possibility of the fire starting up again. Investigations got underway immediately into the cause of the incident.

Jail Break
A Moroccan youth was detained on Wednesday as he tried to escape from the prison in Ibiza. The man had tied together various sheets and was caught climbing down the outside wall of his cell block. After his capture the man claimed that he had only wanted to go and see his mother in Morocco. The youth was arrested at the beginning of the year, and sentenced to three and a half years in prison for his involvement in two robberies on the island.

Drug Death
An Italian youth has become the first casualty of the year as a result of an overdose of drugs and alcohol. Francesco Nannucci began to feel unwell whilst partying at the club, DC-10. His friend drove him to Can Misses hospital, where he was admitted with a pulse rate of over two hundred. His friend admitted to doctors that the victim had consumed vast quantities of ecstasy, cocaine and alcohol. After a 24 hour battle to save the mans life, he eventually died on Wednesday morning from multi-organ failure. He is the first victim of this kind in 2007, following the death of three tourists last year due to the consumption of drugs.
To reiterate the problem, two days after the death of the youth, a second person was admitted to intensive care suffering the effects of an overdose of the drug, MDMA, and alcohol.

Ibiza News powered by Ibiza Sun

By modern day standards Ibiza is an extremely safe place to holiday. This is a weeks worth of news and so its effect is magnified. Please do not fret while you are here - you are quite safe!!

If you have any stories for our incidents section then call or fax 971-348-271 or e-mail on: editor@theibizasun.com