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LOCAL NEWS THIS WEEK – ALARM RAISED AT ALICANTE NUCLEAR PLANT

Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant

A fire alarm was activated at the Cofrentes nuclear power station, north of Alicante, but the alert was a false alarm according to a report sent from power company Iberdrola to the Nuclear Security Council. In a statement, the company responsible for the site said that as a result of building work in the plant, the fire alarm was “activated inadvertently”. There was also no loss of service to consumers as a result.

Despite national employment increasing slightly in August, with a total of 31 people finding work, the first August since the year 2000 that unemployment has dropped, the same situation didn´t occur in the Vega Baja area. Unemployment rose by an extra 301 people during august, with Torrevieja being the hardest hit, with 78 people losing their jobs, with 9,371 registered unemployed people at the end of August. In Orihuela, the figure was 8,032, with the entire area now showing 38,179 people out of work.

Fifteen volunteers from the local assemblies of Orihuela and Guardamar del Segura once again participate in the campaign “Back to School solidarity”, collecting materials and goods to help those families who may be struggling to face the next school term benefit from donated items. The Carrefour supermarket chain is behind the campaign, with a pledge of 121,000 euro towards those in need.

Bathers in Guardamar have demanded that the Town Hall reinstate the life guard service on the beaches, which was terminated at the end of August, after a 70 year old drowned in the vicinity of “Les Ortigues” on Tuesday. The man´s body was found floating in the sea at 11:00, but his recovered corpse lay on the beach for two hours until the removal was authorised by the courts. Guardamar has recently lost the Blue Flag accreditation on one of their beaches due to problems with the life guard service.

The first deputy mayor of Pilar de la Horadada, Iván Romero, who is also the councillor for the environment and tasked with looking after the natural flora and fauna of the area, has been the centre of controversy this week, after he posted a photograph of himself on hi Facebook page, in which he was posing in front of hundreds of pigeons that had been shot during a hunt he participated in. Many residents are questioning if the hunt was licensed and approved, but the town hall have said that it was, as closed hunting on occasion is permitted in the area where it is normally prohibited.

Supermarket chain Mercadona has announced an extension of their opening hours, in order to “better serve and meet the needs of our customers”. As from Monday, where legislation permits, the shops will open from 09:00 until 21:30, adding an extra 30 minutes shopping time to each day, 15 minutes at each end. Mercadona, which currently has 1,445 stores in Spain, aims to serve customers with an “Always Low Prices” policy, avoiding offers and promotions in a bid to constantly offer low prices to consumers, which is, in times like these, “more important than ever for family economies”, according to the company.

Traffic Police across Valencia brought a total of 288 drivers to justice for suspected of crimes against road safety in August, mostly for driving under the influence of alcohol. A total of 210 people sttod before a Judge accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, 76 for driving without a permit or license and the remaining 2 for excessive speeding, one being a motorcycle rider caught doing 213 kilometres per hour in a 90 zone, the other a car driver clocked doing 252 kilometres per hour in a section with a 120 limit. In the Alicante province, the totals were 93 for alcohol related offences and 39 for having no license.

Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/40499/