This week´s VIRTUAL NEWSPAPER is now available, cram packed, as always, with all the latest news, features and sport from across the area.
The front page story explains all about the next wave of cuts to the public ambulance service. “AMBULANCE CUTS GATHER PACE” is the headline, detailing not only what each role the ambulances serve, but just how many will be operating after the change in service contract on the 1st of July.
“In total there will be 45 SAMU vehicles that will specialize in emergency services in Castellón, Valencia and Alicante. Most of those, 35 in total, will be operating on a 24-hour schedule, whereas the other 10 will cover additional shifts of 12 hours each day. In addition to the 45 SAMU ambulances, the remaining fleet of 465 vehicles in total is made up of 100 SVB´s and 312 TNA´s, with an additional 6 support vehicles and two specifically adapted for transporting transplant organs. The Valencia region has an estimated population of 5.1 million people, spread over 23,255 square kilometres of land, as of the data collated at the end of last year.”
Once those figures have been digested, there is a comparison with Greater London in the UK, “London Ambulance Service, which covers the emergency response needs of the 8.1 million people of their 1,572 square kilometre area, operates around 900 ambulances and, in addition, can deploy around 100 rapid-response units in various cars, motorcycles or bicycles.”
As we move through the paper, page 2 gives us details about the Spanish education minister, José Ignacio Wert, and the backlash he faced when 129 top students were due to receive an award of merit from him. A lot of them made it quite clear how they feel about the proposed education reforms, which didn´t seem to go down too well with the minister. There is a brief video on the website too, www.theleader.info, if you want to see his reaction.
Parking at San Javier airport is the next topic on the table, or rather the fact that the airport authority have served notice on a number of vehicles that they consider are abandoned, which will be removed if they are not collected.
We move into Torrevieja next with a story about the Aquapolis water park and their negotiations with the town hall to enable them to stay on the site they have occupied for many years. The contract is due for renewal shortly, but it is hoped that they will be allowed to stay as it is a key location for attracting tourists, as well as the on-going talks about moving the market and fairground to the same location, if that ever actually happens.
The tragic story of baby Izzy, a two year old who drowned in a swimming pool in San Miguel last year, has been confirmed as “accidental death”, according to the Coroner´s court in the UK. Orihuela council has had a mini reshuffle, in order to accommodate the new councilor, Manuel Gallud, who only wanted to claim a part-time salary whilst continuing his own job as a dentist in the evening, a move originally blocked by the opposition Partido Popular, but this move by the Mayor bypasses their claim and allows him to carry on with his job, whilst saving the municipality money. A sponsored walk for the Ladybirds and a charity fun day at Tracy´s are also featured on the same page, showing how so many people still want to come together to help those in need.
We also look at some of the important stories from around the entire area, all grouped together, for ease. Starting off with the Vega Baja and cleaning up the beaches of La Marina, the health department cutting doctors at Guardamar and San Miguel, environmentalists have found otter colonies living in a river entrance to Murcia, Callosa are offering a guitar course for youngsters and academics who claim to be able to pin-point locations where the police are more likely to catch drunk drivers, although the conclusion that areas close to bars and clubs, late on a Saturday night and moving away from those bars could have probably been worked out by most people.
Looking slightly further afield, we see that the Valencia Government is set to enforce compulsory retirement on physicians at the age of 65, which is set to affect 600 medics. There are a lot of health cuts featured this week, but we left some out of the paper as we didn´t want to paint too bleak a picture of the future. If you want to read more, visit the website, as always, www.theleader.info. Carrying on with the regional roundup though, the government is giving some councils extra money to pay towards the cost of the fire service, which they hope will ease the burden somewhat. A 37 year old woman being clocked speeding at 123 kilometres per hour in a 50 zone and Benidorm getting its very own “handmade” beer are a couple of other interesting tales.
We return to Torrevieja again, this time for our roundup of news, starting off with a birthday celebration. Torrevieja will be 250 years old in July, so the town hall has now decided to form a committee to discuss how to celebrate the event. Turtle rescues and taxing banks are two other features, as is the dramatic fire of last week, plus a reduction in unemployment. On a less positive note, a lack of fire alarms and water propulsion in one of Torrevieja´s schools is causing concern for some. The Mayor and other councillors had a brief respite from legal action though, as the trial date for election malpractice was postponed for a short while.
On the subject of transport, we learn that the AVE high speed train is still on schedule, despite a number of doubters, with the opening ceremony set for the 17th of June in Alicante. The closure of an airport after a fire engine crashed and a flight diverted so the pilot could show his passengers the sights also feature, as does the dramatic rescue of the crew from a sinking ship off the coast of Almería.
Connected to transport in a way, our motoring feature lends its space to the law this week, with the final draft of the changes to the road traffic legislation being explained. Speed limits going up and down, everybody forced to wear seatbelts, with no exemptions, child seats, GPS and cycles, plus other important points, that will prepare you for the changes that are likely to come into force soon. On the subject of law, we also explain why the Guardia Civil may actually be allowed to use their phones whilst driving. They do have an exemption to that law, under certain conditions, so a picture which went viral on the internet may not actually be as “illegal” as most thought.
Entertainment wise, we feature an all-day soul music extravaganza, as well as the Rascal´s final show, shared with a travel suggestion that might give you an incentive to visit somewhere new, with three days, full board, on a trip to Cuenca City.
As we move to Orihuela next, our columnist, Sandpiper, asking questions about representation on the Orihuela Costa. As for news, LGBT Pride Day will be celebrated by Orihuela town hall, with a giant rainbow flag hanging from the balcony, and a series of events and talks to offer support for the community, and try to reduce the seemingly increasing number of homophobic attitudes. The city library opening to allow students more time for exam preparation, the collection of the Blue Fags for the beaches and a rather tantalising course of beauty treatments offered in a shopping centre in Orihuela.
Aside from the news, we have all of our usual features, with Barrie Mahoney discussing the Guagua in his Twitters from the Atlantic column, a trip to the dentist in our health section, and for the technology savvy we have UK television, without the need for a dish, it all comes through the internet, and great offers on Pay-as-you-go internet from MásMóvil, and, we must not forget, your letters. Declaration of assets, football opposition, pride in your urbanisation, what assistance Mr Consul and complainers are all topics you want to vent this week.
Finally, if that´s still not enough for you, we also have at least 28 sports stories, from tennis to bowls, soccer to fishing, and a whole round up of golf news.
Classified adverts, TV listings, superb offers on property, cars, insurance, currency, internet, TV, furniture and more, and our “trades and services” section, should you need somebody “handy” to help.
The Leader is cram packed from the front to the back, first for all the latest news, reviews, sports and more, available in hundreds of outlets every Monday, as well as on-line at our dedicated virtual newspaper website.
To view the on-line version this week, click here to be taken direct to this issue on www.virtualleader.info, and remember to keep checking the main website, www.theleader.info, which is updated with all the very latest news, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Filed under: http://www.theleader.info/article/39347/
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