Heavy Rain
Intense rainfall brought chaos to the road network in Ibiza, as once again various tunnels flooded, causing long delays. Police had to close several roads due to the rain, which fell at its heaviest on Tuesday evening. The Ibiza-Airport road was again one of the first to be affected, as 74 litres of water per square metre fell over a twelve hour period. Fire crews were quickly on the scene of the tunnel on the airport road, but traffic had to be diverted for several hours.
For the first time the tunnel at San Rafael on the Ibiza-San Antonio road was severely affected and had to be closed for five hours after mud slides blocked part of the road at the entrance to the tunnel. The tunnel at Puig den Valls, close to Jesus was also affected and had to be closed during the early hours of Wednesday, up until mid-afternoon.
However, as far as litres of water, San Juan recorded the most rain with 107 litres per square metre. Several restaurants and bars were flooded and emergency
crews had to help staff at the Hacienda Hotel in Na Xamena for several hours after the heavy downpour.
The following day the minister for transport, Albert Prats, revealed he had informed workers in his department to close the tunnels at Puig den Valls and San Jordi the next time the island was under the threat of heavy rain. He claimed that at the moment it was the only option open to him to ensure safety, after several cars became stuck in the tunnels on Thursday, one of the vehicles driven by a 75 year old woman. He continued by adding that it was his administrations priority to try and assess what exactly is the problem with the tunnels. If it proves to be a design fault, then it will be the Consell who have to foot the bill for the work of re-doing them.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Complaint Procedures
The Minister for Health and Consumer Affairs at the Govern Balear, Vicenc Thomas, made his first official visit to the island of Formentera on Monday, promising to defend the rights of the consumer. The minister claimed he had been alarmed over the rise in complaints over the past few years concerning air and maritime transport. He continued that most foreigners did not make official complaints due to the language barrier and a lack of information on the correct procedures. However, this is all to change with the installation of an extensive computer network across the continent, which is going to aid the complaints process for all foreign travellers.
The computer network is linked to a central European office and will enable qualified staff to act as intermediaries for those passengers who feel they have a genuine complaint. Those who feel they have not received the appropriate services contracted will be able to fill in a complaints form on the computer, which will then be dealt with by the various Consumer Services affected.
The first computer was set up yesterday in the port of Formentera, but Thomas said he hoped seven more could soon be set up at other points in Ibiza. The system was the brainchild of the Consumer Affairs Department at the European Union, and is being slowly introduced across the continent.
However, the system will not be available to residents of the country in which the complaint is made. These people will have to continue, for the time being, to make their complaints through the normal channels, which in Spain will mean a visit to the local Consumer Affairs office of the municipality concerned.

Crash Cancelled
The accident simulation which was due to take place at Ibiza airport last Monday was eventually cancelled, due to the bad weather. The risk of heavy rain and high winds predicted during the morning meant the emergency services could not risk being unavailable to any public emergency which arose.
The simulation would have been the first since 1998 and would have included all of the emergency crews on the island. The reproduction would have involved a plane crash landing at the airport and bursting into flames. Although the fire services regularly carry out emergency procedures, it would have been the first full simulation for nine years. No new date has so far been set.

Wheelchair Access
The Town Halls of both Ibiza Town and Santa Eulalia revealed they would soon be starting with plans to make all public buildings wheelchair friendly. From May 2008 all public institutions must be accessible to wheelchair users, which will mean a great deal of work for most administrations over the next six months.
After a damning report on the state of its public areas by an independent watchdog last year, Ibiza Town has been somewhat forced into action to try and make the town more user friendly for wheelchairs. To begin with, this will involve changes being made to several public buildings, including the Museum of Contemporary Art and the old Town Hall building. The police station, which came in for heavy criticism in the report, is not to be changed as the new installations, which will be totally accessible, are due to be completed by early next year. So far there has been no word about the necessary work which needs to be undertaken on the pavements within the municipality.
A spokesman for the Town Hall of Santa Eulalia claimed technicians were currently putting together plans to make the municipality completely accessible. Although only very limited work had so far been carried out to create ramps in certain public areas, a complete renovation would start at the beginning of 2008. The Town Hall also warned the shops and bars in the area that they would start to control the abuse of public pavements far more.
This was a theme seized upon by the opposition party in San Antonio, who wrote a formal letter to the mayor, Jose Sala, expressing its concern over the use of the pavement by shops and bars. The letter was accompanied by several photos illustrating their point. The photos showed several bars and cafeterias within the centre using the pavement as a makeshift terrace, severely obstructing the way for pedestrians. They claimed the situation was very common, especially in the summer months, and called on the mayor to take action. There has so far been no word on what will be done within the municipality.

Taxi Walk Out
Calls by the Transport Minister at the Consell Insular, Albert Prats, to hand out 150 temporary taxi licenses next summer have been met with disdain by the various taxi associations. The minister claimed this was the only way to put an end to the continued shortage of licensed vehicles during the two busiest months of summer. However, his views were not shared by the president of the Ibiza taxi association, Jose Serafin, who walked out of a meeting with the minister on Tuesday, with the other representatives, having failed to reach an agreement.
However, it appears Serafins concerns have more to do with who, in fact, gets the licenses. The minister insisted that 50 per cent would be granted to those working within the industry, currently on salaries. Serafin has objected to these moves, saying the licenses should be granted, in their entirety, to the owners of the taxis, who would buy more vehicles and ensure a control on the standard of service. He claimed the temporary taxi license holders would arrive in July and August, take all of the good fares and ignore the small, everyday trips that do not make the taxis as much money.
However his views, which are shared by the nine taxi associations on the island, were described by the minister as unacceptable, and he promised to forge ahead with his original idea. He added that the views of the associations were undemocratic, and unfair on those currently earning salaries who had been working as taxi drivers for the last ten years. He claimed the greedy attitude of the taxi owners would not be tolerated, and that his administration would not be bullied like those in the past.

Television Plans
The Consell Insular has put plans for a public television station on hold. The Minister for Communications, Pilar Costa, explained that the previous administration had begun the project and the Consell now had the relevant permission to undertake the project. However, she said the plans were being temporarily put on hold because, although she thought it was a good idea, the high cost meant it would have to be shelved for this year at least.

Co-op Calls
Ibiza needs to increase the numbers of co-operatives, according to local experts, in order to reach the levels of other autonomous communities. A co-operative is defined by the International Co-operative Alliances Statement on the Co-operative Identity as an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs, and aspirations, through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. In Spain this type of business can be set up with a minimum of just three members and is very common on the mainland. In Murcia there are over 800 co-operatives. Within the Balearics there are just 60.
On the island, at present there are ten businesses of this type. The majority are agricultural-based. However there are co-operatives within tourism and the construction industry. The head of Commerce and Citizen Participation within the Town Hall of Ibiza, Vicent Ferrer, has backed the scheme for the last few years under the name Eivissa Crea. He sees it as a way of creating more employment, and to enhance the interests of the worker within the public domain.

Baby Milk
The island will have its first milk bank by early next year, according to the director general of the Foundation for Donations, Josep Muncunill. The idea of collecting milk from lactating mothers is not new, and a very common practice on the mainland. However, the system has so far not been set up in Ibiza, something which is to change in the very near future.
The mothers who want to co-operate will be given all the material necessary and the milk will be later collected, pasteurised and stored. Organisers claimed the system is extremely safe and the risk of contamination extremely slim. One of the many beneficiaries of this milk will be premature babies, who thrive on the goodness of the milk.
One of the other projects of the foundation is the donation of the umbilical cord after the birth of a child. The process is completely risk free for both child and mother, and would take place after the cord has been cut.
The donation of the umbilical cord would create new hope for those suffering from incurable diseases such as leukaemia, as the blood contained within the cord includes elements capable of regenerating blood cells in adequate amounts. Can Misses recently asked for permission from the National Health Department to begin this process, and will hopefully be given the green light within the New Year.

Private Back Track
The Minister for Social Services at the Govern Balear, Fina Santiago, revealed on a visit to the island last Monday that she would not be making any of the places currently available at the various centres for social care, private. The plan of the previous administration, which had initially been backed by the incoming president, Francesc Antich, was to make one in four places at the different institutes, private, in order to help with running costs. However the idea has now been scrapped and all of the places available, including the Alzheimer Centre in Santa Eulalia, as well the day centre in Cas Serres, will now be available to the public for free, and funded by the health service.
The minister was here to visit the new resident centre currently being built in San Jordi. The centre will look after patients with mental illnesses who are unable to be cared for in the home environment.

Bullying Attack
Representatives of the Guardia Civil, police officers and members of the Ministry for Education were visiting the island this week, as part of their campaign to stop violence in the classroom. The organisers, who have all received specialist training, are attempting to encourage children to take a more proactive view of violence within the schoolyard, by opening up communication between themselves and both parents and teachers.
The initiative, which first began last year in Madrid, centres on the problems of bullying within school, teenage gangs, the risks involved in using the internet, and the consumption of drugs and alcohol. The project is all part of the ongoing work being undertaken by the Consell Insular to ensure a healthier generation of teenagers.

Don Pedro Debate
Whilst the cleaning operation of the sunken ship, Don Pedro, draws to a close this week, the debate about the future of the vessel continues. The Consell Insular has decided they would prefer to raise the ship. However the high cost of doing so, added to the potential risks, is ensuring an increasing lobby of people who believe the Don Pedro should remain where it is.
It is unsure of how the work would be carried out, but experts believe the best option would be to cut the ship up into small pieces and slowly bring the parts to the surface. It is an operation which would take around two years, and prove extremely costly.
Meanwhile, the first phase of the cleaning operation is drawing to a close. There are just litres of fuel left to be extracted, a process which is now being undertaken by divers with suction machines, as the process used to remove the majority of the fuel, known as hot-tapping, will not work on such small quantities. The chances of contamination were described by Madrids representative on the island, Jose Manuel Bar, as minimal. When this process is finally complete, the second phase will commence, which will involve removing all the solid waste material including batteries.

Flu Jab
The Health Service on the island began their annual campaign against the flu last week. This year they will administer 18,000 flu jabs to those deemed most at risk. The Govern Balear has spent 960,000 this year, to ensure the Balearics will be well protected this winter. In Ibiza last year, 68 percent of the population over 65 years of age (9,071 people) were given the jab.

Flight Discounts
On Wednesday The Govern Balear and the Consell Insular revealed they were close to finalising a deal concerning discounted flight tickets from the islands. Both administrations have been working hard over the last few months, in order to come up with the best solution for residents on the island. They finally believe they have found it in the form of fixed prices which can be varied by fixed percentages. According to the Minister of Transport at the Consell, Albert Prats, this will ensure those booking months in advance receive the very best prices, most of which will be below 30 per journey. This would take the island back to the price of the mini-tariff enjoyed several years ago, but scrapped by the last Government.
Prats sees this idea as the most logical, as it will benefit those who book early seeking the cheapest prices, and prove detrimental to business travellers and those booking flights at the last minute. The standard price will be 88 return. The flight companies will be able to play with this tariff by a maximum of 25 percent in both directions, depending on demand for the flight.
A meeting is to take place next week with Clickair, the company now responsible for the Ibiza-Barcelona planes. However, Prats remained confident about the outcome.

Numbers Up
Air traffic registered an increase of 8 percent during September, with a total of 738,069 passengers passing through the airport in Ibiza. This took the total passed the 4.2million mark for the year (between arrivals and departures) and meant the airport was sure of increasing numbers for the entire year from 2006. Of the total number of passengers, 499,241 arrived from international airports, whilst the remaining 238,828 came from national airports. Regarding the type of flight used, 464,768 arrived aboard a schedule flight, whilst 273,067 did so aboard a charter.
The Brits were again the most numerous, with a total of 253,924 arriving. This was closely followed by Spanish nationals (243,330), with the Germans (107,678) and Italians (86,739) quite a way behind.

Large Bill
Compensation claims of individuals and businesses affected by the Don Pedro crisis is set to hit the 1million mark by the deadline on 15th November. According to a spokesperson for the Consell Insular, Pilar Costa, the institution has already received 22 claims which amount to 934,797. However, the figure is sure to rise over the next three weeks as there are still several people who need to calculate the exact amount of their claims. The majority of the claimants are from businesses located at the beaches of Playa den Bossa and Talamanca.
Costa underlined the Consell would not be compensating any of the affected. She said there was a clear culprit for the damage caused, who had an insurance company, and they would both need to foot the bill. She added the Consell would, however, spend money in organising events to try and revitalise the areas.

Fashion Show
The 23rd Adlib fashion show, the annual event which pays tribute to Ibiza fashion, took place over the weekend. Although white, the traditional colour, could be seen amongst many of the designs, it was by far the most cosmopolitan show in the history of the event, with bold colours and black again proving very popular. The event on Friday was attended by more than 1,000 people with over 150 members of the fashion press also in tow.
The show on Friday kicked off with the spectacular designs of the Brazilian designer, Kathia Alves, who combined white, green and lilac with hand-painted flowers to unveil some daring cuts.
Both Francisca Ferrer and Melania Piris opted for more traditionally Adlib designs, both using designs inspired from the 60s.
However, without doubt the star of the night was Elisabetta Gregoraci, fiancé of Flavio Briatore, the owner of the Renault Formula One racing team. She inaugurated the show, and wore by far the most popular designs.
The event ended on Saturday in Formentera, and was once again hailed a great success. It seems that the show, which was under threat at the beginning of the year after arguments over who would pay the expenses, will continue on the island for at least a little while longer.

IBIZA TOWN

Costa Hopes
Ibiza Town is to have three new bus lines according to the mayor, Lurdes Costa. Her administration is keen to reduce the number of cars within the municipality and one of her ideas is to increase the number of public bus services, meaning people have to wait less time for a bus, as well as the buses using more direct routes. She also said she is studying the possibility of cheaper multi-journey tickets.
Costa continued by saying she wanted to encourage people to use their feet within the town, and said she would create car parks at the entrance to the centre. However, she admitted that much work needed to be done before her ideas became a reality.

Tax Rises
Those people living in Ibiza Town will have to pay substantially more taxes from next year, it was announced on Wednesday. The Council Tax (IBI) will rise 7.3 percent from 2008, an increase, according to the Councillor in charge, Santiago Pizarro, of five per cent less than the rate of inflation over the last four years. He claimed that although the increase appeared to be high, the figure had not been touched for the last four years, and so would always initially seem high. The IAE tax will also be raised by 15 per cent, but Pizarro was quick to point out that this tax affected very few people as it was only paid by those earning over 1million.
However, the situation was not quite so moderate when it came to refuse collection tax (basuras), which is set to rise by 20 per cent next year. However the rise is not so steep when put in financial terms, and will mean a rise for the average family of just 10 per year. Bars and restaurants will be stung slightly more, with increases of 30 per cent, but they should consider themselves lucky in comparison to the 50 per cent rise which was slapped on supermarkets.
The rises were blamed on the increased costs of dumping rubbish in the waste tip at Ca na Putxa. From next year the Consell have increased their charges, and it will cost every Town Hall 30 per tonne of rubbish dumped, an increase of 60 per cent.
Pizarro was also pleased to announce a new dissuasive tax which will have to be paid by anyone cutting off a public road for any reason, including to carry out building work. He claimed it was a problem which had become more prominent over the last few years, and needed to be addressed. The tax will currently stand at two euros per hour for every square metre of road blocked off, hopefully dissuading people from blocking off entire streets for hours on end.

SAN ANTONIO

Tragic Death
Rachel Turner, the girl who fell from the second floor of the Tanit building in San Antonio, has had her life support machine switched off. The victim had been transferred to a hospital in her home town of Birmingham, but her condition failed to improve and on 7th October, the decision was made to turn off the machine.
Tragically, Turner fell from the second floor of the Tanit building on 1st October. The exact circumstances of the accident remain, for the time being, a mystery but it has been claimed that the girl fell whilst talking on a mobile phone. However this has not yet been confirmed by the police. The girl was with her boyfriend at the time, but it is unsure what they were doing in the building, as they were not residents.
The victim had arrived on the island at the beginning of July and had been working handing out flyers within San Antonio.

Cretu Hope Disappears
The Romanian musician and producer, Michel Cretu, has failed in his final attempt to legalize his house, built on a mountain top in Santa Innes. The ruling by the judge now means it is almost certain the mansion will have to be destroyed by the demolition date, which is November next year. The house was supposedly built after the music producer had received all the necessary papers from the Town Hall of San Antonio. However, it was later discovered this permission should never have been granted on a number of different accounts.
The case has been a problem for the current mayor, Jose Sala, for the last five years, but after standing together with Cretu, and claiming the permission given was correct, he has now resigned himself to the fact the mansion will have to be destroyed. Sala, who spoke after the latest decision by the judge, said that his administration had long since changed its tack on the subject and they had resigned themselves to the demolition taking place. He stated his administration would now do everything to ensure the ruling was carried out.
Sala revealed that the quantity surveyor of the Town Hall was currently preparing plans for the demolition, although it is still not clear who will be paying for the work undertaken, although it appears it will be done with public money.

SAN JOSE

Owners Proposal
The Vista Alegre saga continued last week after a proposal by the owners of the apartments to rebuild the complex on the same piece of land was presented to the Town Hall of San Jose. The complex, in its final stages of construction, collapsed after heavy rain in 2005 due to subsidence, causing part of the front building to fall into the sea below. Fortunately there was nobody working there at the time. However, the battle has raged ever since about what should be done with the apartments. The Town Hall has suggested the complex should be moved to a new piece of land close by.
However, the proprietors are insisting, surprisingly, on the apartments being rebuilt on the same piece of land, after work has been carried out to ensure the plot is completely safe. They claim the engineering company, Jolsa, has assured the owners in a study carried out, that the land can be made completely safe with the installation of an underground drainage system which would divert all rainwater away from the area and ensure, according to experts, that the risk of another mudslide was impossible.
The work is expensive at 3million, which has caused another problem. Within the complex there are two other buildings which were not affected in the mudslides. Both are flatly refusing to contribute to the costs, leaving the situation very much up in the air.

SANTA EULALIA

Gas Scare
On Tuesday a gas leak in Cala Llenya led to three apartments being evacuated whilst experts fixed the problem. It seems the leak was caused by a flash of lightening during the heavy rain in the afternoon. Police were called to the area after neighbours complained about the strong smell of gas. They immediately closed off the area close to the Club Cala Azul in Santa Eulalia, and set up a 600 metre perimeter around the zone. A technician from Repsol was called to the area, and by late afternoon had mended the problem. However, as a precaution police had to evacuate three families from a building close to the incident.

Drain Claim
The mayor of Santa Eulalia, Vicent Mari, on Wednesday announced his priority over the next two years would be to substitute the current drainage system in calle San Jaime, in order to avoid further flooding. The system will be separated and split into a sewage network and a drainage network. This work was described by Mari as extremely complex, and for this reason had been divided over two years.
His administration will also improve the access road to the football stadium at Jesus, as well as building new changing rooms. He also promised to improve social care within the community with more home visits. Finally, he said that he would be building a kindergarten, although at the moment he could not reveal its exact location.
Mari, like all of the other mayors, has been in the job for one hundred days now and he described his first few months as challenging. However, he claimed his administration had a great deal of energy and were excited about the projects lined up over the next two years.

FORMENTERA

Hospital Work
The Health Minister at the Govern Balear, Vicenc Torres, made his first official visit to the new hospital in Formentera on Monday. Having met with staff and patients, Thomas said the new installation had changed the lives of the residents immeasurably. The institution has, during its first nine months, meant 50 patients who would previously have had to have been taken by emergency helicopter to Ibiza, have received treatment within the hospital. In total, staff have attended to 42,900 patients, including 3,289 specialist consultancies, 119 surgical operations and 22 births.
The hospital attends a population of 7,087 residents all year around, however this population is dramatically increased during the summer months, with around 35,000 visitors recorded on the island on a daily basis. This statistic was highlighted by the fact that of the 10,175 emergencies catered for during the first nine months, just over 25 per cent occurred during the month of August.

New Station
The project of the new Guardia Civil station to be built in Formentera can be viewed over the next week in the Consell Insular in Ibiza. The plans include 22 living quarters for officers. This will comprise of ten three-bedroom apartments, all of 110 metres in size, with the rest one-bedroom apartments. The cost of this housing project will take up around two-thirds of the entire cost of the building, which is estimated to be in the region of 2million.
The installation will be constructed next to the public health centre on the Savina-la Mola road. The main building will comprise of two floors, with most of the ground floor (537 square metres) occupied by garages. The main offices and the detention centre will be located on the first floor, with a special office being built to cater for those suffering from domestic violence.
Formentera is currently one of the least appealing places to work, due to its lack of staff housing. Those who do come from the mainland are housed in makeshift rooms within the health centre, a situation described as untenable by the Central Governments representative on the island, Jose Manuel Bar. He stated that while the living quarters for officers were not improved, the island would continue to struggle to find first rate officers.
The public has 15 days (starting from 15th October) to make any formal complaints about the project, and after a brief consultation period, the work will begin at the start of 2008.

Sharp Rise
Taxes were increased in Formentera last week, after a meeting of the Town Hall/Consell on Friday. Council tax (IBI) will increase 31 per cent, while refuse collection tax will also rise 36 per cent. This will mean an increase for the average family home of around 35 per year. The increases were attributed, according to the Councillor in charge of Finance Bartomeu Escandell, to a recent economic report which showed the Town Hall actually spends more than it receives, a situation he claimed was not economically viable in the long term. He also claimed the increases in the costs of dumping rubbish, introduced this year by the Consell, have forced taxes up.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Man Sentenced
A 35 year old Italian man was sentenced to three months in jail after hitting his girlfriend, following a row in Ibiza Town. The incident took place outside the couples rented apartment at 3 a.m. on 11th August of this year. The argument began as the girl was sitting at the wheel of her vehicle. Her partner reached in to the car and tried to grab the keys to the flat, causing damage to her chest area. He then proceeded to strike her several times. The girl managed to escape from the car, and was assisted by neighbours who had heard the commotion. Although the victim immediately contacted police about the incident, she later withdrew her complaint. However, the judge decided to prosecute the man after a witness to the attack came forward. The defendant was also issued with a restraining order which will prohibit him from coming within 100 metres of the girl.

Lorry Overturns
A drunken lorry driver was arrested on Friday morning after overturning his truck at a roundabout close to the port in Ibiza Town. Emergency services had to rescue the driver from inside his cabin after they found him inside semi-conscious. The accident occurred at around 3.40 a.m.
The driver had just arrived at the port and had the lorry loaded with furniture, which he was due to deliver that morning. After police released the man, having had to smash the windscreen, they soon realised he was not in a semi-conscious state due to the accident, but because he was, in fact, drunk. He refused to take a breath test and was arrested after he was released from hospital. Staff at Can Misses also confirmed to police officers that the man had consumed cocaine. He was detained overnight while a trial date is set.

San Raf Fire
A fire inside a bakery in San Rafael destroyed the entire contents during the early hours of Thursday morning. The fire began at around 2.45a.m. when there was nobody in the building. The bakery, next to the hippodrome in San Rafael, is not open to the public, and merely bakes bread and pastries for distribution to shops and supermarkets. The alarm was raised by one of the delivery men arriving at the scene. He immediately called the fire service, which was quickly on the scene. It took them several hours to bring the fire under control, but they eventually put it out at around 6 a.m. Everything inside the ground floor building was completely destroyed in the blaze, including machinery, tables and chairs. The building however is not thought to have been structurally affected. Police are unsure, at the moment, how the fire started.

NEWS FROM THE MAINLAND

Arrests Made
A resident in the San Jose area is under investigation after the largest operation against child pornography in Spains history. In total there were 30 people arrested with 43 more under suspicion. The arrested are accused of downloading and distributing images via their computers, in which graphic scenes of child pornography were shown, most involving children under the age of thirteen.
The raids were part of an international operation against the distribution of child pornography which involved officers from thirteen countries. In total 81 computers have been confiscated within Spain, but the grand total around the world exceeds 1,000. In total 637 were seized in Europe, 240 in North America, 211 in South America and 213 in other parts of the world.

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