News
Stray bullet
A 74-year-old man died in his 10th floor
flat in Málaga last month after he was hit
by a stray bullet from a gang fight in the
street below. The weapon was identified
as a Kalashnikov assault rifle and police
are investigating if it is the same weapon
from which a stray bullet was fired last
year into a 79-year-old woman’s flat
without causing injury. Last month, six
young men, including one minor, were
arrested in the La Palmilla district where
residents continue to complain about
violent incidents.
Irish detention
A 54-year-old Irish national has been
detained in La Viñuela under a European
detention order. The Dublin man is
wanted by authorities in the UK who are
investigating the sexual exploitation of
minors and child pornography. He has
been on the wanted list since last
October and was arrested on an
urbanisation in the municipality last
month.
Alzheimer thief
A Paraguayan woman aged 20 has been
detained in Málaga on suspicion of
defrauding €15,000 from an Alzheimer
sufferer. The suspect, who worked in a
bar frequented by the victim, is
believed to have obtain the man’s bank
details and made 700 purchases on-line
between September and November.
The woman was detained on the day
she planned to fly to Paraguay for a
holiday unwittingly paid for by the
victim.
New lighting
Vélez-Málaga is to invest €22,000 in
replacing street lighting in Caleta de
Vélez, Almayate and Mezquitilla.
Infrastructure councillor Juan García
says substituting LED lamps for the
existing bulbs is more environmentally
friendly and will provide a saving of 65%
in power bills. He expects the total to
fall from almost €15,000 to just over
€5,000.
Copper thieves
Two people have been arrested in Vélez-
Málaga as they tried to steal copper cable
from the tranvía route. Police were
alerted by calls warning that a low
tension cable was dangling dangerously
in the roadway at the junction between
avenida Juan Carlos I and Vivar Téllez.
Officers found the suspects with 150
metres of cable already cut, as well as
shears and other tools in their vehicle.
Nerja Ermita turns
300-years-old
The hermitage of Nuestra Señora de
las Angustias Hermitage in Nerja’s
Plaza de la Ermita is celebrating its
300th anniversary this year with a
programme of events over the coming
months. The first act last month
brought together civil and ecclesiastical
authorities from across the province of
Málaga.
The hermitage was dedicated on May
18, 1720. It was funded by a member of
the López family of Granada who also
owned the San Antonio Abad sugar
factory in the town. Profits from this
factory, situated close by on the bank
of the Chillar river, paid for the
building’s construction and initial
upkeep. On August 1, 1853, it became
the responsibility of the municipality.
Inside the Ermita is a picture of Our
Lady of The Sorrows, Nerja’s patron
saint, while in the small dome superb
murals painted in oils can be seen.
These are now attributed to a painter
from the school of Granada and have
been dated between 1730 and 1750.
Work in 2004 to resolve problems of
leaks and dampness also uncovered
previously unknown paintings.
For some time, Nerja has been calling
on the regional government to declare
the Ermita a site of cultural
importance. A photographic exhibition
of its history will open on March 18 at
the Nerja Cultural Centre in calle
Granada.
New health centre at last?
Work on building a new health centre
in Nerja will begin before the end of
next year, according to the Málaga
regional health delegate of the Junta de
Andalucía. Carlos Bautista was
commenting last month on the
progress of a project which has been
continuing for almost two decades with
the aim of replacing Nerja’s existing
health centre which dates from the
1970s.
In 2003, Nerja’s town council agreed
with the then-delegate, José Luis
Marcos, to share equally the cost of a
new centre, then estimated at €2.4
million. However, five years later, the
deal with the Junta de Andalucía was
cancelled because sanitary
infrastructure is a regional, not local
responsibility.
By this time, at least four different sites
for a new health centre had been
considered, and in 2009, the town
prepared a site on the banks of the
Chillar river, which is presently used as
a public car park.
This area was not accepted by the Junta
at that time because of concerns about
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flooding. However, it is understood
that, since last June, it has been
accepted as being the site for the
construction project.
Speaking in Torrox last month, Carlos
Bautista confirmed that work is
underway for the land to be ceded
from the municipality to the regional
government with the functional plan to
be completed by the end of this year,
and work expected to be underway by
December 2021. He added that €1.2
million is in the budget for the drafting
of health-related projects.
Robber detained
A 45-year-old Nerja man was detained
last month after an alleged robbery
with violence, during which threats
were made and a home-owner was
injured.
The suspect, said to have a long
criminal record, is charged with
entering the victim’s property and
assaulting her with a knife causing a
wound which required stitches. He was
detained later after police received calls
about a suspicious man attempting a
further break-in.