Roundup of News in Brief for the Almeria Province

FOLLOWING is a round up of news in brief for the Almeria Province:

PAWS aid
JANET Franklin, organiser of the PAWS Fashion Show at Valle Del Este, confirms the event raised €700 for the charity.

€26,600 donated
THE Spanish Red Cross collected €26,600 in Almeria thanks to the collection boxes of the ‘Dia de la Banderita’ (Day of the Little Flag), October 10, when passersby are asked for loose change.

Price hike
PRICES in Almeria have risen for than three per cent in the past year, according to the National Institute of Statistics. This is the same as the average rise in the rest of Andalucia on consumer goods and services.

Prison expansion
EL ACEBUCHE prison in Almeria is due to increase its capacity for another 500 inmates in 2013. This project has been proposed by the new manager of the prison, Miguel Angel de la Cruz.

Foreign offenders
ONE in four driving offences committed in Almeria are carried out by foreign drivers. When the offence is caught by a speed camera, it is harder to track down the offender, but this is now possible thanks to an EU system.

Man held for varsity thefts
A 30-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested for a spate of thefts from Almeria University staff.He was held by National Police after they traced a stolen laptop computer following extensive inquiries that showed personal items, money, handbags and laptops stolen from the campus between March and September were always seized at similar times in the morning and afternoon.

Limited time
TODAY (Thursday) is the final day for volunteers to apply for Huercal-Olivera´s first Civil Protection unit. www.huercal-overa.es

450 strays
APPROXIMATELY 450 abandoned pets were taken to Almeria Kennel this summer, 11 fewer than last summer, the Health Council has revealed.

Sports galore
A SPORTS programme in Huercal-Overa included chess, poker, basketball, paddle, cycling, football and a half-marathon.

Jobless €49m
UP to €49.87 million government aid per month is paid to the jobless in Almeria, Public Employment Service (SPE) figures show.

On the run
NEARLY 600 competitors ran in the 10km First Popular Race in Roquetas de Mar.

Painting town
TWENTY-TWO artists took part in the 11th Outdoor Painting Contest in Huercal-Overa, portraying the town´s most popular spots.

Take a look
ALMERIA Tourism Board representatives travelled to northern Spain, including Huesca and Lerida, to promote the province.

Naughty parents
PARENTS not sending their children to school will be fined up to €1,000 in Beja, the town hall has ruled.

PAWS aid
JANET Franklin, organiser of the PAWS Fashion Show at Valle Del Este, confirms the event raised €700 for the charity.

Cash boost
THE Spanish Red Cross collected €26,600 in Almeria thanks to the collection boxes of the ‘Dia de la Banderita’ (Day of the Little Flag), October 10, when passersby are asked for loose change.

Price hike
PRICES in Almeria have risen for than three per cent in the past year, according to the National Institute of Statistics. This is the same as the average rise in the rest of Andalucia on consumer goods and services.

Prison grows
EL ACEBUCHE prison in Almeria is due to increase its capacity for another 500 inmates in 2013. This project has been proposed by the new manager of the prison, Miguel Angel de la Cruz.

Hard drive
ONE in four driving offences committed in Almeria are carried out by foreign drivers. When the offence is caught by a speed camera, it is harder to track down the offender, but this is now possible thanks to an EU system.

Limited time
TODAY (Thursday) is the final day for volunteers to apply for Huercal-Olivera´s first Civil Protection unit. www.huercal-overa.es

450 strays
APPROXIMATELY 450 abandoned pets were taken to Almeria Kennel this summer, 11 fewer than last summer, the Health Council has revealed.

Sports galore
A SPORTS programme in Huercal-Overa included chess, poker, basketball, paddle, cycling, football and a half-marathon.

Jobless €49m
UP to €49.87 million government aid per month is paid to the jobless in Almeria, Public Employment Service (SPE) figures show.

On the run
NEARLY 600 competitors ran in the 10km First Popular Race in Roquetas de Mar.

Paint town
TWENTY-TWO artists took part in the 11th Outdoor Painting Contest in Huercal-Overa, portraying the town´s most popular spots.

Take a look
ALMERIA Tourism Board representatives travelled to northern Spain, including Huesca and Lerida, to promote the province.

Fine mess
PARENTS not sending their children to school will be fined up to €1,000 in Beja, the town hall has ruled.

Copper theft
A 33-YEAR-OLD man was arrested for allegedly stealing 122kg of copper from six greenhouses in Nijar (Almeria).

Red handed
TWO people in their 30s were arrested in Almeria when they were allegedly caught in the act of selling drugs. Five mobile phones, a scale, €1,290 and a vehicle were seized along with 76.5g of pure rock cocaine.

Castle ‘I do’
THE castle in Huercal Overa can now be used for civil weddings at a cost of €100. Weddings at the town hall cost €40 weekdays and €60 weekends.

Bang to rights
A NORTH AFRICAN man, 31, of Belgium nationality was arrested in Viator (Almeria) on a Lithuanian arrest warrant in connection with a five year prison sentence for possession of illegal firearms and explosives.

Fire started
A MAN, 44, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison or setting fire to the apartment block where he lived in Vera when several of the occupants, with whom he had had previous arguments, were inside. Some were injured.

Drug tools
SOME 20 Local Police officers from Almeria have carried out a training course in order to learn how to use new drug detection methods, known as narcotest or drogotest, which the Guardia Civil has been using for several months.

Parador out
FORTY per cent of the employees at the Parador in Mojacar are backing the strike organized by Paradores throughout Andalucia following problems with the collective agreement for the establishments’ staff.

Driver dies
A MAN, 60, died in a traffic accident at kilometre 361.1 of the A-92 motorway in Gergal. The vehicle in which he was travelling left the road due to unknown circumstances and overturned.

Road victim
RESIDENTS in Vicar are upset over the death of a local high school teacher, aged 35, who was hit by a car when he was cycling along a service lane parallel to the A-7 motorway.

White noise
FARMERS in rural areas of Dalias claim that they feel “under pressure” from the General Traffic Department as in some areas they are unable to drive over solid white lines and have to travel several kilometres to get to a roundabout.

€5.2m debt
THE Junta de Andalucia reportedly owes almost €5.2 million to Almeria Provincial Government for repairs on regional roads which have been paid for by the provincial government over 10 years.

House gutted
A FAMILY from Aguadulce returned to their home to find it co
mpletely gutted by fire. The cause of the fire is not yet known, and the couple, their daughter and an elderly relative have moved into the home of another relative.

Bomb found
A GERMAN bomb used in the Spanish Civil War was found at a scrap yard in Vicar. The Guardia Civil explosives specialists were called in to deactivate and destroy the bomb. They are now investigating where it came from.

Abandoned animals
THE animal shelter in Almeria reports that 447 animals have been found abandoned this summer, which is 10 fewer than last year. Ninety-eight per cent of the animals at the shelter are dogs and cats.

Motorcyclist compensated
ALMERIA City Hall has been sentenced to pay €9,500 to a motorcyclist who fell off her motorbike in November 2001 due to a pothole in the road in the Regiones district of the city.

Birthing options
LA INMACULADA Hospital in Huercal Overa now has a bath specially created for women who wish to give birth in water, as well as vertical birthing chairs, so that women can choose in which position they prefer to give birth.

Killer deal
A MAN, aged 32 who allegedly killed a drug dealer and set his building on fire in Roquetas de Mar faces 29 years in prison, according to the Prosecutor’s Office in Almeria.

Busy class
THOUSAND children attended the education classroom at Hospital Torrecardenas during the school year.

Lights dim
MOJACAR will turn on only half of its street lamps from October to March to cut down the power bill, Tourism Councillor Emmanuel Agüero has informed.

No bailout
THE regional authorities are against bailout by Almeria’s city council of contracting company Telvent, which manages digital services in El Toyo and the ‘Digital City’, due to contract breach.

Honoured
SEVERAL Civil Guard officers in Almeria were decorated for their services during National Day in military ceremonies that ran during the morning.

Cleaning up
CABO de Gata-Nijar Natural Park’s beaches were cleaned of debris from the recent storms by volunteers and Almeria town hall operatives.

Wanted
A FUGITIVE, living in Viator (Almeria) and facing a five-year-in-prison sentence in Lithuania, is being followed by the police for illegal gunfire possession.

Rail works
A BUDGET of nearly €50 has been presented to Almeria’s city hall by the German company that may lay the Alquife railway tracks underground.

Clean jobs
UP to 16 job vacancies for former Elsur company workers are available in the new public cleaning service in El Ejido.

Uni sit-in
STUDENTS organised an overnight sit-in the Almeria University, protesting against the budgetary cuts.

Bomb found
A HAND grenade dated of the Spanish Civil War was found by a man in Berja, then blown away by the Civil Guard without incidents.

Business tax
OPENING a business in Huercal-Overa is now charged up to 93 per cent less, depending on the type of store and the area, the town hall ruled.

Water supply
THE Cuevas de Almanzora water reservoir (between Vera and Huercal-Overa) multiplied its levels from 9.7 to 50 cubic hectometres after the storms, the Agriculture Council reported.

On fire
A MAN aged 53 was sentenced to 10 years in prison for setting his building in Vera on fire, causing different injuries to some of his neighbours.

Roads now!
REPAIRMENT of the A-350 (connecting Pulpi and Huercal-Overa) and A-334 (Huercal to Baza) roads has been urged by the Almeria Confederation of Businessmen (Asempal).

Live advice
AROUND 150 old people attended the Red Cross meeting in Roquetas de Mar, with lectures on healthy lifestyle and live music.

Road trip
THE temporary diversion to Zurgena in Los Carasoles (A-334 road, near Huercal-Olvera) was closed by the Andalucian Government, leading to claims by Zurgena’s town hall.