EXOTIC PETS TO BE BANNED
Owners of exotic pets in Andalucia have until October this year to get rid of them, under a new law that will prohibit crocodiles or large reptiles, monkeys, spiders or poisonous insects, and lions - to name just a few of the banned animals, birds and reptiles - being kept as personal pets. The new law also contains clauses pertaining to the so-called dangerous breeds. The owners of pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, the American Stafforshhire, rottweilers, Argentinean dogos, Brazilian filas, Tosa Inus, Akita Inus and Dobermans will have to carry their dogs' documentation when walking them in public places. The dogs will have to wear muzzles and be on leashes less than one metre in length. The dogs will not be allowed to enter any place where there are children. Malaga is the Andalucian province which has the most dangerous dogs registered.
WORST WINTER FOR TOURISM SINCE 2003
According to the Association of Hoteliers (AECHO), the Costa del Sol has suffered its worst winter for tourism since 2003. AECHOS president Salvador Vilches said last week that "we have not seen such worrying numbers for years". There was a 7% drop in hotel occupancy last November and a 6% drop in December. The total drop for all of 2007 was 2.5% lower than in 2006 on the coast, equivalent to 313,000 overnight stays less. Sr Vilches told reporters that January had also proved difficult this year, but that February appeared to be better. He said: "Being pessimistic does us no good", adding that it was difficult to make any predictions as reservations were "increasingly being made at the last minute". The Tourism Secretary of the Comisiones Obreras union in Malaga, Gonzalo Fuentes, blamed the tourism companies, because they had not known how to successfully sell winter holidays. He said he hoped Malaga's AVE high speed train connection would attract more holidaymakers from other parts of the country.
MAN SETS PARENTS HOUSE ON FIRE
A 28-year-old man set fire to his parents' home in Alhaurin de la Torre last Thursday night, causing material damage but no human victims. Witnesses said he systematically went through the house setting fire to each room until the whole house was ablaze. The man disappeared from the scene but turned himself over to the police a few hours later.
BAD WEATHER RAVAGED BEACHES
Last week's storms and "levante" winds ravaged beaches along the Costa del Sol and kept the fishing fleets in Malaga and Cadiz in port. The Environment Ministry has promised to rebuild beaches in time for Easter. A ministry spokesman said in many cases the sand had moved from one part of the beach to another,. He said such movement is normal and the beaches often recover to some extent naturally.
MAINS GAS NETWORK TO BE EXTENDED
Gas Natural announced last week that mains gas will arrive in Marbella, Estepona and Cártama this year. Marbella is the only town in Spain with a population of more than 100,000 which does not yet have mains gas. Gas Natural supplies 54 municipalities in Malaga province via pipeline and has also established a natural liquid gas plant in Vélez-Málaga. Towns to be connected to the network in the future include Torrox, Manilva, Casares and Coín, and the government has authorised a connection as far as Nerja.
COIN TO GET NEW SPORTS COMPLEX
Coín mayor Gabriel Clavijo and some of his councillors visited the area outside the town known as Los Llanos to check out the ground for the new sports complex the council wants to build there. Sr Clavijo said the complex would not put the area's aquifer at risk. In response to warnings from the town's Izquierda Unida (IU, United Left) party, he told reporters: "The plans for the complex were drawn up by specialist environmentalists and biologists and will not do any ecological harm." He said the town desperately needed a complex where people could enjoy their favourite sports. "At the moment, they are practising them in uncontrolled areas where they are at risk from traffic or can injure themselves on uneven terrain." The project has yet to get the go-ahead from the Junta de Andalucia.
ALLEGATIONS OF UNLAWFUL PROPERTY TAX DEMANDS
The Partido Popular has asked the Junta de Andalucia to relieve the Socialist-controlled local council in La Viñuela of responsibility for urban planning. The request follows reports that hundreds of owners of illegally built properties in the municipality have been asked to pay a "voluntary tax" of up to 12,000 € to make their properties legal. The town's PP spokesman, Francisco González, said the people affected, mostly foreign residents, built their homes with a licence granted by the Town Hall, but are now being told that such licences are no longer valid on judicial order of the Junta de Andalucia. Sr González said that the town hall's demand for money is not part of any recognised judicial procedure. The town's Socialist mayor, Juan Millán, has denied asking for the tax to be paid and has blamed a third party for "possible fraud" in the matter. But some owners claim that they have already paid the tax in the municipal office. The Junta has said it will investigate the tax allegations which a spokesman described as "unheard of". Meanwhile the Environment Prosecutor has announced that a helicopter is being used to fly over Malaga province to search for illegally built properties. The Guardia Civil's SEPRONA environment department will man the flights and take photographic and video evidence. The first flight took place last and a Guardia Civil spokesman said SEPRONA is particularly concerned about illegal constructions in forestry areas because of the fire risk.
TRAVEL TIME TO BARCELONA HALVED
The length of the journey to Malaga to Barcelona will be cut by half - from 13 to six and a half hours - as of February 20th. The route is still via Madrid-Atocha, with stops at Antequera, Puente Genil, Cordoba, Zaragoza and Tarragona but an AVE fast train like the one currently in service between Malaga and Madrid will replace the slower Talgo Garcia Lorca.
CRIMINAL FAMILY CLAN BUSTED
The Guardia Civil have arrested a gang of drug traffickers involved in two shooting incidents in Coín. They said the gang was a "family clan" in which the women did the planning and looked after the investments, while the men transported the drugs and settled scores. Operacion Fuensanta, named after the area in Coín where the two shootings took place last November, came to a head on February 13th, when searches carried out in Malaga, Mijas and Fuengirola provided vital information for cracking the case. Two-and-a-half kilos of high-purity cocaine, two pistols and ammunition, together with several vehicles and cash in both euros and dollars were also recovered. Three people have been sent to jail without bail, and another three have been released on bail with charges against them.
WOMAN KILLED IN ROBBERY
A 25-year-old woman died has died after being stabbed during a robbery last Thursday evening at the mattress and bedding shop where she worked in the centre of Chiclana, Cádiz province. Police said Dolores Amaya Ramírez died almost instantly but not before she rang her family on her mobile to tell them she had been stabbed. The attacker, who had his face covered, managed to escape. The local council cancelled the carnival parade which was to take place last weekend and a demonstration against violent crime was planned for Monday lunchtime.