News
Toddler poisoned
Three British adults were arrested in
Marbella during December after a 17-
month-old girl was admitted to hospital
with cannabis poisoning. They include
the child’s parents and uncle who, police
say, were all at home when the toddler
accidently ingested the drug. The child
was treated and released but her relatives
now face charges of child abandonment
and public health offences.
No coal
Mainland Spain achieved its first-ever
day free from coal-fire power generation
on December 14. The grid operator REE
said it was the first such achievement
since records began. Wind power
generation also hit its highest daily
volume on December 13.
Lithuanian arrests
Two people arrested in Vélez-Málaga
and Arenas are believed to be the leaders
of gang operating in Lithuania which
sexually exploited women from the
former Soviet republics. Around 25
victims are reported to have been freed.
Those arrested in Spain are believed to
have been sending large quantities in
cash to Lithuania.
Attempted murder
A 47-year-old Ecuadorian woman was
detained in Rincón de la Victoria in
December accused of the attempted
murder of her husband. She is suspected
of striking him on the head which
caused a haemorrhage leading to cardiac
arrest. The ambulance crew who took
him to hospital on November 27 were
told he had committed suicide, but as he
recovered, he claimed to police had had
been attacked.
Outdoor only
Concerts will no longer be held inside
the Nerja Caves at Maro. The
Foundation which manages the site
announced last month that all future
events during the annual music and
dance festival will be staged outside the
complex. The move follows
recommendations of experts consulted
on ways to conserve one of Spain’s most
important natural sites.
Lost control
Two people were injured in a late-night
traffic accident in Vélez-Málaga last
month. A driver is reported to have lost
control of his vehicle in calle Camino
Viejo and collided with five parked cars.
Two of the four passengers in his own
car were slightly injured while the driver
himself tested negative for alcohol.
Torrox car park
problem
The fate of La Almedina car park in
Torrox took a new twist late last month
when the Town Hall ordered the
concession holders to keep the facility
open until its future is resolved.
In October, the joint venture group
which operates the car park advised the
town council of its “final and
irrevocable” intention to close on
December 31. Torrox mayor, Óscar
Medina, criticised their plan
“unilaterally” to abandon the facility.
The car park which has space for 385
vehicles opened in 2009 with an
investment of nearly €8 million, but
the operator says they have
accumulated losses of €33 million in
the intervening decade. They claim
that it has not met the expectations of
the economic-financial and feasibility
plan, and have even tried to sell it to
the Town Hall for €5 million. So far,
the Partido Popular council has
rejected the offer. The present
concession holders were given ten days
in which to submit their allegations,
and technical reports have been
promised to assess the situation. The
Town Hall says opinion of an
independent consultant will also be
sought “in case of opposition by the
contractor to the resolution.”
Meanwhile, Vélez-Málaga Town Hall is
considering extending its blue zone
parking scheme when they put it out to
tender again in April. The town’s
commercial sector has been pressing
for additional short-term parking
spaces to force vehicle rotation and
encourage more people into the main
shopping zone.
Marina plan revisited
Councillors in Torrox have
unanimously agreed to urge the
regional government to revisit the
project to build a marina on the border
with Nerja. Plans for a such a project
have been around for at least ten years,
but now, with the Andalucían
government and the town halls of
Torrox and Nerja all controlled by the
same political party, the Partido
Popular, hopes are high that the
marina could become a reality.
The proposal was presented last month
by Torrox’ mayor, Óscar Medina, who
is calling on the Junta de Andalucía to
move forward in the shortest possible
time. He has added that the Calaceite
zone, where Torrox and Nerja meet, is
the ideal location for a development of
over 3,000 homes and a golf course,
alongside the marina itself. Sr Medina
described the project as “paramount”
to the tourism sector with a consequent
impact on the local economy. In 2009,
it was announced that an 18-month
environmental impact study at Vilchez
Beach, the area proposed for the
18
marina, had given a green light to the
project which was planned to have 508
moorings. However, since then little
further progress has been made.
Accidental drowning
A 54-year-old man from Lancashire
drowned after becoming separated
from his friends in Benalmádena last
month, The body of the holiday-maker
was found floating in the town’s marina
and a post-mortem revealed injuries to
his arms and chest. Investigators
believe these were sustained as he tried
to climb out of the water and his death
is being treated as an accident.
Flying high
Málaga’s airport is believed to have
enjoyed another record-breaking year
in 2019. First estimates from the
operator, AENA, suggest that almost 20
million passengers will have flown into
or out of the city in the last 12 months.
In the first 11 months of last year, flight
numbers were three per cent up on
2018, with 4.5 per cent more
passengers carried.