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Robbery incidents on the increase?

JIMENA We were told this morning that a lady who lives out in the campo had visitors earlier in the day. Apparently, they were in a white van and took something from her front yard. She was there but was unable to get the van's number plate down before they disappeared. This incident was not yet reported to the police (Guardia Civil 956 640 009; Policía Local 956 640 064), as we were able to ascertain a few minutes ago These kind of incidents are on the increase, if news reports are to be believed. As we have warned in the past, the good times are over: you can't leave your door unlocked any more, alas. But any such incidents needs to be reported, and not just for insurance purposes: the more such denuncias, the better policing we should expect.

Freezing Jimena and Castellar request declaration as 'disaster area'

Frost damage in Tesorillo
(Photo: europasur.es)

JIMENA/CASTELLAR (Agencies) The freezing weather is doing away with this year's crops of oranges and avocados, according to Juan Salido, agricultural union's Campo representative. He added that there had been no temperatures as low as the -5ºC of last Tuesday, since 2205, which means that 80% of the avocado crop is destroyed. Many farmers changed much of their orange groves to avocados, as they are better priced. "But avocados go black very quickly in this kind of weather, and it often means that the damaged trees have to be uprooted and replaced," said Salido. Damage to oranges appear later but his estimate is that about half of this year's crop is already lost. His union is planning to request the area to be declared a 'disaster area' (zona catastrófica), which, he says "Doesn't mean a lot but at least we can get it off our chests. The area most drastically affected is>>>

Jimena, the only area municipality to be exempt from Council Tax increase

Other councils must apply 4 or 6% rises by law

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) The central government has decreed that, in order to increase municipal incomes, there must be a generalized increase in the Impuesto de Bienes Inmuebles (Council Tax), a temporary measure for this year and next. IBI is now the main source of municipal finance as a dramatic downturn in new building throughout the country, so town halls everywhere are suffering from a lack of income from building licences and urban projects. But the decree does not apply to every municipality, nor even to every cadastral unit. Application of the decree will range from the complete exemption for Jimena to an increase for all urban buildings in Los Barrios and La Línea. The reason behind Jimena's exemption, and that of other councils outside the Campo, is>>>

Protest against Arcgisa charges rise

Arcgisa HQ, Los Barrios

JIMENA The Plataforma de Parados (Unemployed 'platform', or group) announced recently that it planning to organize a protest, including signed petitions, against an imminent price rise in charges from Arcgisa, the Mancomunidad company that provides water, sewage, street cleaning and rubbish collection. The organization considers the rises 'abusive' and impacting directly on 'families, and especially, the unemployed'. The campaign is to be titled Di que no (Say No). The Plataforma has been contacting all political parties with a view to protest against something they consider 'inappropriate for the times we live in.' The brief story behind Arcgisa is as follows:>>>

Big, big bridge ahead next week

(c) Alberto Bullrich 2011

This is the big one. This is a holiday after a holiday in the middle of the holidays. This is when Tuesday is a bank holiday and so is Thursday. This is because some bureaucrat didn't take the trouble to look at the calendar (or was bribed to look elsewhere). This El Puente de la Constitución (Tuesday, 6), or El Puente de la Inmaculada Concepción (Thursday 8). In both cases using the word puente, meaning bridge - clever, that. Now, we have no trouble with any immaculate conceptions except believing in them. But a holiday? Should at least be a miracle shouldn't it? Anyway, chances are that the whole week is shot: Weekend, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Weekend. (Red means its a holiday or a weekend, black is a working day.) So we will try to find out about such mundane details as shop and official offices opening schedules, rubbish collection, and, of course, school schedules. In the Spanish vernacular, this is un puente muy largo. Depending on whether they are a parent or a teacher, they will have a smile or a frown - guess which is which.

Rain in Spain marks beginning of Autumn

SPAIN The rain in Spain is pretty much everywhere today. Marking the real beginning of Autumn and a Winter close behind, the large front travelling from West to East has almost the entire country in an alert of one colour or another. No need to take it personally, then, because Cantabria, Navarra, Álava, Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa and Asturias is on an orange alert for heavy wind, while almost the entire remainder of the country (Madrid, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, Sevilla, Huesca, Zaragoza and Cantabria) is on yellow for both rain and wind. As we have said before, it is notoriously difficult to get an accurate forecast for the Campo de Gibraltar because the 'spine' of mountain ranges cuts through the area, ending on the Rock (though in fact continuing through to Africa and the mountains across the straits). For a fairly accurate daily forecast you can check our WeatherWidget on the sidebar:

Saturday storm alert for Campo de Gibraltar and much of the SE coast

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The national meteorogical service, AEMET, issued a storm warning for the areas marked on the map FOR TOMORROW, SATURDAY, 22. The warning includes an important section of the South Eastern coast as well as the far Western sector, on the coast of Huelva, and probably some of Southern Portugal. Heavy rain and electrical storms can be expected in these areas, so it is advisable to take protective measures with homes and animals. The Civil Protection agency, Protección Civil, has also set out a series of things to do in case of a storm, which is being translated right now by TranslationHELP. Watch this space.

EC approves new Mediterranean Railway Corridor: Algeciras-Bobadilla line to be upgraded

An approximation, no details

SPAIN (Agencies) The Campo de Gibraltar came alight yesterday when the European Commission announced its decision on the future design of what is being called the Railway Corridor (though it involves more than just railways). The new design, which will probably end up being called the Mediterranean Corridor by the media, is scheduled to link Algeciras with the East coast of Spain and on to the rest of Europe, for which plans are also in the making. According to one Costa del Sol paper, the redesign does nothing for them as it bypasses the coast, which has disappointed the mayors there, who had hoped to use European finance to link up their towns, particularly Marbella and Estepona by rail. But the plan approved yesterday by the EC starts in>>>

Four Campo municipalities, including Jimena, haven't had their piece of the PIE

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR (Agencies) Four municipalities in the Campo area have not received their part of the PIE (Participación de Ingresos del Estado, or Participation of State Income - yes, we like the Spanish acronym, too), and a total of eleven in the Province of Cádiz are in the same (sinking) boat since September. New regulations, and the application of old ones, means that the Exchequer (Hacienda) retains monies if the Council hasn't posted its accounts in time. Some municipalities haven't bothered to do that for a number of years. The trouble is that the money many of them were due to receive has usually been spent, so in a domino effect, suppliers and sometimes employees don't get paid that month. In the Campo, the situation is as follows:>>>

Illegal hunting has always existed in the area, but is on the increase

(Illustration only)

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR Unemployment and families in financial crises are often given as the reason behind illegal hunting in this area (and probably everywhere else). But it has always existed, with poverty as the excuse. The cazador furtivo ('furtive hunter' - we like the name, though not what it means in real terms) is one who hunts out of season, usually but not always at night, on supposedly protected or private land, with neither a hunting licence nor one for the gun, etc. Just a week or so ago, one of them, a man from Jimena, was caught in Castellar shooting a pregnant female deer. Worse, he shot her having previously caught her in an equally illegal trap - he is facing charges and could (should) go to prison. Two more men were caught a couple of days later in the forest at La Almoraima, hunting illegally. Another one last week - and so it goes on. We sometimes get offered a 'nice piece of venison' at an excellent price - we never buy it because chances are the animal was killed illegally and there is no need to encourage the practice. This time of year, there's a lot of it about, so watch out for someone offering meat as if he was offering dirty postcards.

CAUTION: Slippery when wet

(Photo: Philip Heinzl) Yesterday

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR Unlike the Bon Jovi album of the same name, this is a serious warning. The experienced driver will tell you that local roads are at their most dangerous with the first of the season's rain. The oil that has accumulated at the bottom of the pores on the road during the dry summer rises to the top and is displaced by water. Basic Physics says that oil and water do not mix - nor do speed and rain. The inexperienced -or totally stupid- driver is the one that flashes past you on a dangerous bend in the road, and is probably the one whose car just smashed into the railings a little further on. (We do not want to have to report your accident, Dear Reader, so please be careful. Ed.)

Weather alert for province today

AEMET today

PROVINCE The state weather service, AEMET, has issued a warning for today  in the provinces of Huelva, Cádiz, Sevilla and Córdoba, where heavy rain is expected to accumulate 40 ml in 12 hours. The yellow alert started at 06.00 this morning and lasts until 21.00. The flatlands of these provinces, and the Strait of Gibraltar area, should be especially vigilant, says AEMET. Although the warning is expected to be lifted this evening, heavy rain is expected in the area until, and maybe including, Saturday.

All school start dates, including holidays and lots of other information

The beginning of the school year 2011/2012 is almost upon us. It is, in fact, on the same dates for all state schools within the Junta's Consejería de Educación. Thus, teachers are due back at work on September 1, to prepare for the students, who will be starting classes according to the programme below. The Confederation of Parent/Teachers association says that the average cost of school materials for this year is around the €600 mark, depending on the age and grade of the student: the older the child, the more expensive it gets (but we knew that, didn't we?). In Andalucia, school books at the primary stage are free and/or recycled. If your child does not return the book at the end of the year, you will be charged for it. Starting dates are as follows:>>>

Abandoned animals are a national problem

Dog abandoned in Jimena
STILL THERE ON 25.01.2012

SPAIN (ECD) Are Spaniards aware of what it means to abandon an animal? Over 109,000 dogs and over 25,000 cats are abandoned in the country every year, which places Spain at the top of the list set up by Coordinadora Estatal de Protección Animal (CEPA, State (i.e.National) Coordinator for Animal Protection*). No mention of horses, donkeys, etc. etc. Although the number of abandoned dogs went down by 6.5% in 2010 compared to the previous year, the number of accidents caused by them in 2010 rose by 14.2% over 2009. Most accidents involving abandoned pets happen on roads: betqeen 2006 and 2010, the number went up by a whopping 87%, a total of 3,922 dead dogs. The federation of companies contracted to remove them, ACEX, says that they remove some 1,000 dead dogs from the road each day. The number of accidents with victims, involving animals, is over 15,870, of which almost 34% are caused by domestic animals. According to a survey earlier this year, the principal reasons for abandoning an animal are:>>>

Campo de Gibraltar local elections: RESULTS ON CAMPOPULSE

On CampoPulse you will find all the results for the seven municipalities in the Campo de Gibraltar. The chart on the left gives an overall picture of the municipal elections nationwide, showing the number of councillors for each party throughout Spain. As can be gleaned, the Partido Popular swept in with landslide victories even in such Socialist strongholds as Jimena. In many cases, pacts, agreements or coalitions are being negotiated. We will be offering a municipality by municipality analysis as soon as we can.

20 years recording, investigating and researching the history of the Campo de Gibraltar

CAMPO DE GIBRALTAR The Instituto de Estudios Campogibraltareños (IECG, or Institute for Campo de Gibraltar Studies) was born on April 5, 1991. Twenty years ago a group of local researchers came together to volunteer their cooperation to study the history of the area. There are more than 200 members today, many of whom will be at the several lectures of the eighteenth edition of the History & Archaeological Workshops at Jimena de la Frontera. At various times and places the institute has organized workshops on history, on flora & fauna, on archaeology and Prehistory and on literature - all related to the Campo and Gibraltar. The institute's magazine Almoraima (photo of cover for number 16, about the Siege of Gibraltar), which contained the results of these and many other investigations and the workshops, was published on paper for 37 editions. However, financial constraints have meant that the magazine has not been published since 2007. A digital version of the workshop contents continues to be issued, nevertheless.>

Double whammy at Agaden on Friday

JIMENA (Agencies) This coming Friday, March 4, there is a double presentation at Agaden's Casa Verde, (C/Sevilla 51, just below the town hall). The book by Mario Ocaña, titled Corsarios del Estrecho (Corsairs of the Strait) is about the "battles, shipwrecks, assaults, corsairs, conspiracies, relative victories and absolute defeats, voluble alliances and false armistices" that occurred throughout history in the Straits of Gibraltar. On a related subject, the documentary by Prospero's good friend Juan Manuel Díaz Lima, De Estraperlo (a word meaning 'imported/smuggled goods') is the first-person stories of those who chose to make smuggling from Gibraltar a way of life during the hard years. (We told you about it a year ago, with a trailer.)

Campo on yellow storm alert for rain and wind

The Campo de Gibraltar is on a yellow alert for rain and wind. The wind is expected to reach well over the 30 kph speed for this minimum alert. We don't need to be told that it's raining, though, do we? This site has had a couple of calls from people nearer the coastline (we're comfortably up the mountain in Jimena), to say that several streets are flooded in La Linea and Algeciras. Then again, it's to be expected at his time of year... Check our WeatherWidget on the sidebar for info on what to expect the rest of the week (it's not great news, alas, but we're spoiled after the weather this last week, are we not?)

Reader's Question: Why do we keep getting those annoying little power cuts?

(By e-mail on JimenaPulse) "Can anyone tell me why we keep getting those annoying little power cuts that turn off the computers and damage all kinds of things like fridges, etc.? Thanks, Andrea." Your favourite website went to find out, Andrea. Nobody at Endesa could tell us over the phone, not even at the press office in Madrid! So we went straight to our local sources and discovered the simple answer:>