ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish news round-up week ending 28th April 2017
Umbrellas may be more useful than suncream as we head into the Bank Holiday weekend and the Crosses of May
The British expat community in Murcia shrank by 5 per cent last year, and the Region prepares to appoint a new president on Saturday
The focus of attention in the regional press in Murcia this week has been firmly on developments in the regional parliament, where the investiture debate which is currently under way is almost certain to result in the appointment of a new president on Saturday. However, while regional politics occupies the front pages there have also been plenty of interesting developments elsewhere: the British expat community in the Costa Cálida lost around 5 per cent of its members last year according to statistics published this week, the long road towards the eventual opening of the new airport in Corvera suddenly seems a little shorter with the news that Aena are interested in bidding for the management contract, and after the summer weather during the Easter weekend the Mayday celebrations look set to be wet, drying out in time for Bank Holiday Monday.
Political news
Fernando Lopez Miras set to become president of the Region of Murcia on Saturday: the four 
representatives of the Ciudadanos party voted against the candidature of Sr López Miras (PP) in the first parliamentary vote on his investiture this week, although have agreed to abstain in the second, potentially allowing him to succeed Pedro Antonio Sánchez as president of the PP minority government this Saturday, so providing there are no last minute hitches, the region may have a new president taking power next week.
Murcia becomes the first region in Spain to eliminate judicial immunity for MPs: this pioneering step has been agreed as part of the deal by which Murcia will hopefully appoint a new president on Saturday.
As things stand at present in the Statute by which the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia is governed, members of the regional parliament and the governing cabinet cannot be detained and investigated within the boundaries of the Region except in cases of “flagrant” transgressions of the law. However, in order to secure the support during the investiture debate of the four Ciudadanos MPs in the regional government, the governing PP party has been obliged to agree to reform Articles 25 and 33 of the Statue of Autonomy, thus making Murcia the first of Spain’s 17 regions to approve the elimination of a privilege which the majority of the public neither comprehend nor support.
The session of parliament at which the reform was approved was attended by former president Pedro Antonio Sánchez, who resigned from office on 4th April after being called by the courts to answer questions in the "Caso Auditorio", but still holds his seat in the regional parliament as a member of the PP “rank and file”.
PP accuses Podemos of employing hate tactics in Murcia corruption bus visit: the “Tramabus” or "Corruptobus" 
campaign launched by the Podemos political party reached the Region of Murcia on Tuesday, when the coach whose livery is decorated with the images of well-known public figures suspected of benefiting from their time in public office made the first stop on its tour of Spain after leaving Madrid.
For the occasion of the visit to Murcia the “special guest” on the Tramabus, with his image adorning the top left corner of the windscreen, was former regional president Pedro Antonio Sánchez. Sr Sánchez has not actually been found guilty of any offence, but he was thus awarded the dubious privilege of becoming only the second special guest on board the Podemos coach, following the appearance of Ignacio González, the former president of the region of Madrid, following his arrest last week.
Prior to the arrival of the Tramabus in Murcia and Cartagena on Tuesday Víctor Martínez, the spokesman of the regional PP party, warned that the party led by Pablo Iglesias was on its way to the Region with the intention of causing division and conflict, dubbing the vehicle the “odiobús” (bus of hate). According to Sr Martínez, the Tramabus and the party behind it both feed off hatred and people’s misery.
Corvera airport
Aena reported to be preparing Corvera airport bid: just a couple of days after lodging an objection over the terms of the management contract at the Region of Murcia International Airport in Corvera which has been put out to tender, Aena, the partly State-owned company which runs almost all of Spain’s operational airports, is reported to be an almost certain bidder for the contract while the validity of the terms is being established.
For the time being the tender process is partially suspended, meaning that the regional government can receive bids but cannot award the contract until the doubts over the contract terms have been resolved. Furthermore, any potential bidder who fails to register interest in this first phase of the process would automatically be excluded from the second phase, an outcome which it is reported that Aena is keen to avoid.
In the meantime José Manuel Vargas, the president of Aena, stated on Tuesday that decisions regarding the facility on the shore of the Mar Menor would be taken depending on developments at Corvera.
Murcia, Brexit and expats
Murcia continues to analyse Brexit implications: a Murcia government official reiterates that top priority must be given to the rights of Britons living in the EU and European nationals in the UK while the Region attempts to minimize any negative effects of Brexit.
British population in the Costa Cálida falls by 5 per cent: of the 197,000 foreign residents in the Costa 
Cálida over 78,000 are Moroccan and 23,000 are from Ecuador, while the total for UK nationals is the third highest at 13,081, not far ahead of Rumania (12,375). During 2016 it is reported that the number of British residents in Murcia fell by 698, or just over 5%.
Environmental news
Manual clean-up starts on Los Urrutias beaches in the Mar Menor: twelve people aged over 55 (the age 
group amongst the unemployed which is least likely to find work) have been contracted to undertake the manual cleaning and maintenance work on the inland beaches of the lagoon, aided by the presence of a boat and the assistance of a multidisciplinary team from Murcia University which forms part of the group working towards the recovery of the Mar Menor.
The water is currently clearer than it has been for some time, work continues to limit the leaching of agricultural chemicals into the Mar Menor and the various projects which aim to find long-term solutions to the conflict between agricultural practice and the fragile eco-system of Europe's largest area of non-tidal saltwater continue on their course, with hopes high that the algal soup of last summer can be prevented this year as the condition of the lagoon improves.
Portman residents worry over regeneration project budget: after three decades of campaigning for action to be taken to regenerate the bay of Portmán in the municipality of La Unión the local residents can at last see visible evidence that progress is being made, with bulldozers having already completed the first of the three large pools in which harmful sterile substances will be allowed to dry out before being sealed off in the old San José mine in the mountains behind the town, but nonetheless many are concerned that not enough funding has been set aside for the job to be completed.
Meanwhile, the local branch of the PP party have suggested that 1% of the concession value for the Portmán Bay regeneration, namely the 321,000 euros which the law requires be invested into protecting historic buildings and monuments (patrimony), should be devoted to moving a further mine restoration project forward in order to bring more tourists to the Parque Minero and the town.
Medical news
Surgery waiting times drop by 6 per cent in Murcia: the average waiting time has fallen since the December 2016 from just over 100 days to 94 days and there have been improvements in all nine health areas in the Region, but on the other hand by the end of March this year the number of patients who had been waiting for operations for over a year had increased by 76.4%.
Murcia health service extends online appointment facilities: 30 per cent of all medical centre appointments in Murcia are now made online, and many patients use the app which can be downloaded onto all major platforms.
Other items in the news this week
Mazarron Town Hall faces 4.5-million-euro fine over illegal building at Camposol: the CHS water authority blames the Town Hall for allowing excess building on Camposol, and has raised the proposed punishment from 3 million to 4.5 million euros.
well past the half-way point in the creation of his first mural in Spain, which is being painted on the Puertas de Castilla cultural centre in Avenida Miguel de Cervantes in the north of the city of Murcia, and it has been confirmed that the central motif of this work is a portrait of surrealist artist Salvador Dalí.Kobra was invited to contribute to the decoration of Rio de Janeiro for last year’s Olympic Games with a 2,500-square-metre work, and is also in the Guinness Book of Records after creating the largest graffiti mural in the world, which occupies a surface area of 6,000 square metres in Sao Paolo.
Cabo de Palos lighthouse hotel plan rejected by Cartagena Town Hall: a proposal to convert the historic 
lighthouse of Cabo de Palos in the municipality of Cartagena into a privately owned luxury hotel has met with the opposition of the Town Hall, following the passing of a motion in council to reject the idea in order to protect the interests of the four families who operate and maintain the lighthouses of the Costa Cálida.
Drowning at Percheles beach in Mazarron: medical staff were unable to resuscitate a 74-year-old bather at Percheles.
10 illegal immigrants intercepted off Cabo de Palos coastline in Cartagena: the recent wave of illegal immigrants attempting to reach the Spanish coastline by boat continued on Tuesday as 10 illegal migrants were rescued off the Cabo de Palos coastline within the municipality of Cartagena.
900,000 people see the Entierro de la Sardina in Murcia: the Entierro was attended this year by twice the population of the municipality of Murcia – while the Bando de la Huerta last Tuesday attracted some 600,000, 
and during the two weeks of Easter and the Fiestas de Primavera the city’s hotels did better business than has been the case for many years. For the night of the Entierro, the hotel room occupancy rate in the city reached 95.71%.
Puerto de Mazarron thieves arrested after a dozen burglaries: the burglars took keys and used the properties as if they were their own, sleeping in them and even eating food which they found in fridges and freezers.
Priceless cross back on display at Murcia cathedral museum 40 years after being stolen: when thieves broke into the Capilla de los Vélez in Murcia cathedral in January 1977 they made off with over 20 items of almost incalculable value, among them the cross which the Virgen de la Fuensanta wore on her chest and the crowns of the Coronation and the patron of Murcia.
Unemployment in Murcia down by 11 per cent over the last year: the jobless total has fallen 136,900, and the number of people working rose more sharply in Murcia than in almost any of the other 16 Autonomous Communities of Spain.
Cartagena researchers invent cardboard to prolong fruit and veg shelf life: the new cardboard could open up new export markets for Spanish farmers as it increases the shelf life of fresh fruit and vegetables by as much as 30 per cent.
Marriage and parenthood for Alcantarilla couple under restraining order: when the order expires the couple will set up home in Puebla de Soto, but by then the woman will be seven months pregnant!
Calls for use to be made of abandoned gun batteries in Cartagena: Hispania Nostra advocates the conversion of abandoned gun batteries, fortifications and other military installations into tourist attractions or items of cultural interest, with backing from the regional government of Murcia.
Chocolate art exhibition opens in Murcia: eleven items on display at the Mubam museum in the regional capital are inspired by paintings which can also be seen display in the museum, and can be seen until 18thJune.
Torre Pacheco burglars caught red-handed: the two men were caught in the act of breaking into a home on Calle Dinamarca.
Weather
North-west battered by heavy rain and hailstorms: the Northwest of Murcia was hit by storms on Tuesday evening, with torrential downpours and hailstones the size of conkers damaging many crops and causing yet more woes for the farmers who are still recovering from the damage caused by the floods and snow earlier this year.
Bullas was one of the worst-affected areas, receiving over 10 millimetres of rain in just 10 minutes, and Caravaca avoided most of the rain but had to scramble the emergency services after a lightning strike caused a fire in the Cerro Gordo area.
Meanwhile, the forecast for the first part of this coming long weekend (Monday 1st May is a holiday) makes sad reading for anyone planning on a spot of sunbathing: temperatures are likely to be more typical of February than late April and early May, and snow is even predicted to return to the north-west of the Region of Murcia!
However, there are dozens of great events to enjoy this coming week, so click here to read the What's on bulletin for the Murcia Region this week.
Murcia property news
Minimal February decrease in Murcia mortgage activity: the figures mirror those for Spain as a whole, 
with a fall of 2.1% in the number of new property mortgages constituted in February, although the running 12-monthly total for mortgages constituted on residential properties purchased in the Costa Cálida stands a healthy 7.8% higher than a year ago at 7,618 loans since 1st March 2016.
In Spain as a whole the results were similar, with the number of loans constituted on properties purchased falling by 2.7% across the country, although the average loan capital on new mortgages is calculated to have been 115,883 euros during the month, 7.1% higher than in February 2016.
For much of the week the Spanish news has continued to be dominated by the issue of political corruption, both alleged and proven, although there has also been plenty of attention devoted to the negotiations as a result of which the new president of the Murcia regional government was voted into office.
However, apart from political topics there has also been a wide variety of other issues hitting the headlines, with recurrent themes including the interception of small boats carrying immigrants from Africa to Andalucía and the arrests of more Daesh activists, on this occasion including an Egyptian imam who was detained at the mansion on the Costa Blanca where he lives with his four wives and 15 of his children. On the economic front there was quietly positive news regarding unemployment and economic growth and further confirmation that the tourist sector is continuing to experience a long-lasting boom, and for those with an eye for the quirkier issues important breakthroughs have been announced this week regarding a 4-d space fabric and the humble silkworm!
Scroll down the window below for a selection of Spanish news items over the last week…
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