ARCHIVED - Murcia and Spanish weekly news round-up week ending 21st July 2017

Summer festivities in full swing in the Costa Cálida as environmental and agricultural issues dominate the Murcia news

Despite the unusual weather forecast this Friday, with rain reportedly on its way to northern and central areas of Murcia after a week of baking hot weather, there is no doubt that the summer is well and truly with us here on the Costa Cálida, and the last week has seen plenty of festivities and fiestas for both residents and visitors to enjoy as well as a rise in the inevitable call-outs for emergency services as the visitors get themselves into trouble!

Last weekend San Pedro del Pinatar celebrated the 125^th anniversary of its annual maritime procession in the Mar Menor featuring the figure of the Virgen del Carmen, while on Wednesday over 5,000 people enjoyed a free classical music concert given by the Region of Murcia Symphony Orchestra on the seafront in Santiago de la Ribera,  just two of the large number of events laid on for summer visitors throughout the peak holiday season.(See What's on weekly bulletin for forthcoming events)

The issue of water and drought has also been prominent during the week, as Friday’s light showers, if they materialize, will do little to ease the three-year drought, and the news this week contained elements which will have both pleased and worried the region's agricultural sector: scroll down below for more details …

Starting with the weather; Murcia loses highest Spanish temperature record: Spain has been suffering from a major heatwave and the maximum of a blistering 47.3 degrees recorded last Thursday in Montoro was one tenth of a degree higher than the figure recorded in the city of Murcia on 4th July 1994, relieving the regional capital of the dubious honour of having seen the hottest day ever in mainland Spain.

Environmental news

Positive signs of recovery continue in the Mar Menor, and on Tuesday at the latest meeting of the scientific monitoring committee which was set up to oversee the regeneration and protection project in the lagoon the conclusion of the experts was that the effect of the first summer heatwaves has not been as negative as many had feared.

The latest data, which were gathered after the first two episodes of extreme heat this summer, show that the gradual improvement in water quality has continued: transparency and oxygen levels are both up, while chlorophyll measurements are low, and nitrate and phosphate levels also continue to fall. But the experts are of the opinion that at the same time any optimism should be cautious and guarded, and are calling for a long-term “route map” to be drawn up in order to coordinate all of the studies and monitoring projects initiated and the resulting government action.

Murcia firefighters kept busy on Sunday: Hot weather inevitably leads to an increased workload for regional firefighters and there was no rest for the personnel involved in the annual Infomur campaign to prevent and extinguish wild fires in the tinder-dry countryside of Archena and Albudeite.

Wild fires were also in the news on Thursday close to built-up areas in Molina de Segura and Calasparra: helicopters joined ground staff to minimize the effect of the fires .

Agriculture news

Water has been very much in the news this week, as the region enters its third year with lack of rainfall increasing the need to control available water resources:

Desalinated water brings good and bad news for Murcia farmers: on the one hand, the intention at the desalination plant in Torrevieja is to treble output by 2019 to help plug the gap created by lower rainfall, but on the other hand farmers who have bought water from the Valdelentisco desalination plant in Isla Plana in Cartagena are upset at being fined on the grounds that they do not hold the requisite licences which formally allow them to do so. Having purchased the water in good faith, they are thus to be punished for an administrative discrepancy which they maintain is not their fault, but is the responsibility of the authorities who have still not issued the licences years after they were applied for.

Meanwhile it has also been announced that waste water treatment plants in Murcia are to be powered by solar energy: costs are to be cut and ecological benefits are to be increased by the installation of solar panels at 12 treatment plants.

Flood prevention dam for Rambla de las Moreras in Mazarrón: the intention of this infrastructure is to reduce the risk of flash floods in the Rambla of the kind which ended in disaster on 7^th September 1989, when part of the campsite in Bolneuvo was washed away, and water accumulating in the reservoir behind it will be made available to local irrigation farmers.

This rambla is regularly in the news when there are major episodes of rainfall, as this same rambla receives water from the flood control network which prevented a major disaster in Lorca during a gota Fría, causing substantial damage to the bridge on the nearby Camposol Urbanisation.

Murcia farmers emerge from the courgette crisis into the bimi boom! Bimi, which is grown in Murcia, is a “super-vegetable” which looks very like broccoli, and the taste is not dissimilar, but the flowers are rather less extravagant and the stalk is bulkier, and it is apparently proving a runaway success in supermarket vegetable sales this summer.

Murcia agriculturalists fear the arrival of “olive tree ebola”: Xylella fastidiosa has spread as far as Guadalest in the neighbouring province of Alicante and is causing concern throughout Spain, a nation where olive oil is part of the national identity.

Tourism news and beaches!

Mazarrón beach fishing restrictions in force until October: anglers all along the 35-kilometre coastline are urged to take note as a new town hall ruling changes the rules to avoid disturbing bathers and dog walkers.

Improved disabled bathing facilities at Mar Menor beaches: the calm water of the Mar Menor makes the lagoon a preferred bathing area for beachgoers of limited mobility, and in order to cater for these visitors improvements have been introduced in both Los Alcázares and San Pedro del Pinatar this summer to the facilities provided for disabled bathers.

Águilas switches dog beaches and makes a special exception for guide dogs: it's all change in Águilas as the council changes the allocated dog beach for the summer and makes special provisions for guide dogs, so the Cala de Mijo next to the Matalentisco beach in Águilas welcomes dogs this summer.

San Javier police on beach patrol for the summer: a special beach patrol in La Manga del Mar Menor clamps down on dogs on the sand, unlicensed street vendors, angling on the beach and boats and jetskis venturing too close to the shore, and night patrols are in place in La Manga and Santiago de la Ribera.

Águilas to repeat as venue for Spanish triathlon championship: Águilas is becoming one of the most important triathlon venues in Spain, and last year during the national triathlon relay championships 3,000 athletes converged on the town from all over Spain.

Playa Paraíso included on Cartagena-La Manga bus route at last: residents will no longer have to travel to Playa Honda to catch the bus, having gained a public transport service which many have been demanding for years.

Other items in the Murcia news this week

8 rescued from sinking boat off Mazarrón coast: the 8-metre motor boat was reported to be sinking half a mile from the lighthouse in Puerto de Mazarrón and two Red Cross rescue vessels rushed to the scene.

Arguments rage on over Cabo de Palos lighthouse: all parties appear to be in agreement that in one way or another more use should be made of it, but there are disagreements over to to what degree and in what way the lighthouse should be “opened up”, with a hotel and a visitors centre among the options.

Cycling’s Tour of Spain returns to Murcia for Caravaca Jubilee Year: the tenth stage on 29^th August consists of a 171-kilometre ride from Caravaca de la Cruz to Alhama de Murcia via Lorca, Sierra Espuña and Librilla, and the following day the riders set out from Lorca and pass through Águilas on their way to Calar Alto in the neighbouring province of Almería.

Ancient rhinoceros and bison bones found at Caravaca archaeological site: although a rhinoceros tooth is arguably the most eye-catching discovery at Cueva Negra this year the remains of small mammals which have also been retrieved are equally crucial, as they help to gain a deeper understanding of how our forefathers belonging to the species of Heidelberg Man and Neanderthal Man survived and prospered in the landscape of north-west Murcia.

Bullas burglars arrested in connection with eight robberies: the thieves took food and clothes as well as electronic goods and jewelry.

Part of Jumilla-Yecla motorway officially opened to traffic: the western end of the A-33 Altiplano motorway is the first of those which are to be opened by the end of 2017.

80-year-old survives 5-metre fall in Cieza: after lying all afternoon in a ditch the victim eventually completed his intended journey to hospital!

Jumilla farmer crushed by tractor: the 46-year-old died on Thursday morning when his tractor overturned and crushed him in La Perlita, a day after a lorry driver was killed by falling pallets in Molina de Segura.

Murcia couple drown at Guardamar del Segura beach: a 39-year-old mother of two was carried out to sea by the tide, and without a thought for his own safety her 48-year-old husband rushed into the Mediterranean to save her: neither returned to the shore alive, and it is reported that the red “no bathing” flag was being flown at the time.

Murcia and Spanish property news

Murcia property sales soar in May but fail to reach the peak of last year: May was once again a positive month for the property market in the Region of Murcia, with the 1,281 sales registered being the second highest monthly total since September 2010. However, the only time in the last seven years that the figure has been exceeded was in May last year, resulting in the disappointment of a 12.9-per-cent year-on-year decrease!

May’s figures in Spain as a whole, on the other hand, show a year-on-year increase of 22.9 per cent to reach the highest monthly total since September 2008, a trend which was mirrored in all but three of the country’s 17 regions.

Spanish government plans to facilitate changing to fixed mortgages: the national government has announced that it is drawing up plans to make it easier for those who are currently repaying variable-rate loans to switch to fixed payment terms whenever they wish, thus locking into the current low interest rates.

Spanish property valuation firm reports 2.3 per cent price rise across the country: the figures for the first half of 2017 paint an even more dynamic picture, with the overall index 2.8% higher than at the end of December 2016.

Spanish property prices outperform EU and Eurozone markets: average prices in Spain are reported to have risen by 2.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2017, as opposed to only 0.7% across the EU.

Spanish national news

Salvador Dalí and General Franco vie for top spot in the news decades after their deaths

The biggest single event dominating the news in Spain this week was the discovery on Wednesday morning of the dead body of Miguel Blesa, the former president of the Caja Madrid bank who was convicted earlier this year of systematic credit card fraud and sentenced to six years in prison. He was killed by a single rifle shot in the chest, and it has since been confirmed that this was a case of suicide.

But Señor Blesa was not the only deceased man making headlines over the last few days, and there was huge curiosity surrounding the exhumation of the embalmed remains of Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí on Thursday evening. The purpose of the exhumation was to take DNA samples which will be used to resolve a paternity suit, but the media appear to have been more interested to learn that the artist’s outrageous moustache is still intact 28 years after his death.

Even longer dead is General Franco, but 42 years after his demise the former dictator became embroiled in the Catalan independence debate this week when his portrait was featured on posters urging people to vote in the referendum which is proposed for 1^st October. Franco was reviled for his oppressive attitude towards Catalan culture, and the implication of the posters was that to oppose independence is to share his ideology.

Elsewhere, the Guardia Civil were alerted to the presence of a massive marijuana plantation in Huelva by the familiarly sweet smell of the smoke emanating from a wild fire, motorists in Sevilla found themselves delayed by a sea of tomato purée on the SE-30 road, and although Basque terrorist group ETA have abandoned their armed struggle one of the members was sentenced this week to 535 years behind bars for an attack in Madrid 12 years ago.

And the good news for short-tempered parents this week is that a woman who was taken to court by her 11-year-old son in La Coruña after she slapped him has been found not guilty by the judge on the grounds that the disobedient youngster got exactly what he deserved: a controversial judgement, but one which will be welcomed by many!

For more stories in the Spanish news this week scroll down below…

Would you like to receive this bulletin?

If you enjoyed this free weekly round-up, then please forward it on to your friends. If you have received this from a friend and would like to have it sent directly, then click Register for weekly bulletin to sign up.

NONE OF THE TODAY PRODUCTS HARVESTS OR SELLS EMAILS IN ANY WAY and we GUARANTEE your details will not be passed on, sold, or used for any other purpose, and are maintained in an off-site facility from which you can unsubscribe at any time.

We also welcome contributions from local charities or clubs, including post event reports, news items and forthcoming events. Use the contact button in the top header to contact our editorial team.

Images: Copyrighted Murcia Today and Efe. Full or partial reproduction prohibited.