News - Costa del Sol Archive 2001-5-25

News Archive from Andalucia & Costa del Sol

...News from Andalucia

In association with

The Costa del Sol weekly newspaper, on sale at newsagents, price 100pts.

Week ending May 25th

MALAGA 'HOLLYWOOD OF EUROPE'

The Mayor of Málaga, Franciso de la Torre, has announced plans, which aspire to make the city the 'Hollywood of Europe'. An agreement was signed between the city council and the Málaga Film Commission this week under which the 'Malaga Film Office' will be created. Carlos Rosado from the Andalucian Audiovisual Foundation commented that promotion was needed and the new Málaga Film Office will itself be promoted this year as part of the Spanish Film Festival. The city mayor said that the light, climate and general good weather of the area was another attraction for film producers. He said it was no coincidence that Hollywood is in California and ANDALUCIA is often referred to as the California of Europe.


GOOD NEWS FOR CANCER SUFFERERS

The Regional Government has confirmed it will open a cancer treatment unit at the Costa del Sol Regional Hospital in MARBELLA. This will mean that people in the area suffering from cancer will no longer have to travel to Málaga for chemotherapy or check-ups. The authorities believe that 250 people will immediately use the unit and point out that cancer cases in the area are increasing at the rate of 1,000 per year.

MALAGA'S MILLION

Málaga Airport registered nearly a million passengers last month, according to figures from the Spanish Airports Authority AENA. There were 8,782 plan movements over the time and a six per cent increase in national traffic.

MANILVA PLAYAS SAFE FOR THE SUMMER

The Manilva Town Hall has joined together with Cruz Roja (Red Cross) to provide a life saving service for the town's beaches this summer. The Town Hall will supply life saving equipment and install watch towers. For their part Cruz Roja will supply the personnel and a patrol boat to ensure that holidaymakers enjoy the municipality's beaches and provide new facilities for bathers.

NEW DOCK IN TOWN

The new eastern dock at Málaga Port has been used for the first time this week. The 91,000 ton cruise line 'Millennium' with a capacity for 1,950 passengers was the first to dock at the facility, which has been developed with this sort of vessel in mind.

MARBELLA GIVES BUILDING GO-AHEAD MARBELLA

Town Hall has given a licence to build 96 houses and 81 garages on a parcel of land in San Pedro de Alcántara. The site in question covers 3,500 square metres and is at the junction of the Calle Toledo and Linda Vista. Under the town plan this zone is designated as a green zone. The granting of the licence is even more surprising as the Town Hall's own technical officers have declared it illegal. The Socialist opposition on

MARBELLA

council has formally denounced the granting of the licence. They have officially complained to the Councillor of Public works and are also considering a possible penal action. The PSOE party believes that in the granting of this licence the promoter of the development, Urbanisation Sevinovoa SA will benefit to the sum of 1,000 million pesetas.

ROMAN MOSAICS FOUND

The first stage of cleaning and restoration works of the ruins of a Roman Villa have been completed at La Estacion, near Antequera. Regional Government councillor for culture, Rosa Torres, visited the site this week and showed interest in the 14 mosaics uncovered in the area, thought to date from the first century after Christ. The restoration work continues with the next efforts being focussed on the lifting of the mosaics, which will be taken to a nearby workshop for cleaning.

CLOCK TOWER LIT UP

Estepona's Councillor for Commerce and Tourism, Rosa Diaz, has announced that the town's Torre del Reloj will be both restored and illuminated in time for the summer. Regional Government has given 2,500,000 pesetas towards the project. The tower was built in the XVII century and one repair work to the railing and interior is completed it will be open to the public.

CARRERAS TOPS NERJA'S 'GRAND DAY'

The Catalan tenor Jose Carreras tops the bill at this year's Nerja Caves Festival. He will perform works by Spanish, Italian and Norwegian composers on July 24. Entrance tickets go on sale shortly, priced at 8,000 pesetas. It will be the first time that a grand piano is lowered into the Nerja grotto. The remaining events are priced at 5,000 pesetas and include stars of the French ballet and the Blanca del Rey flamenco company as well as the Málaga City orchestra.

JOBS FOR THE BOYS (AND GIRLS)

Once again the theme park Universal Studios Port Aventura in Tarragona is looking to La Linea's employment office to supply staff for the summer season. People with knowledge of languages are especially in demand. Prospective employees should contact the Club de Trabajo in Calle Carboneros or by telephone on 956 172 421.

BETTER ACCESS TO NATURAL PARK

Regional government has agreed to invest 60 million pesetas in improving the roads and lanes in the 20,000 hectares which make up the Parque Natural Sierra de las Nieves. The announcement was made by Ricardo Salas, Director of Conservation of the Park, who also said that the Councillor for the Environment had agreed to release funds for an immediate start to the project. One of the ideas is to create road access at several points to Las Conjeras from the Ronda to San Pedro road within the next three years.

FIRST DAYS OF THE SIERRA

It has also been announced that '1 Journadas de Sierra de Nieves' will take place between June 14 and 16. There will be a number of conferences, plus displays of the area's distinctive traditions and folklore. In addition, there will be a competition to decide on the best recipes and liqueurs produced in the region. Monda, Tolox, Yunquera, Parauta, Istán, El Burgo and Ronda are the various communities that make up the Parque Natural Sierra de la Nieves, Ojén, Guaro, Alozaina and Casarabonela are in the area in the adjoining 'Reserva de la Biosfera. The reserve will shortly be awarded a prestigious diploma by the Comité Hombre y Biosfera. There are only 20 such reserves in Spain, ANDALUCIA boasting seven.