No action yet on the landslide at the Port
July 31st
Nearly seven months after the cliff behind the Club Nautico collapsed, destroying the end of the calle Caleta, imperiling houses on top and blocking access to Xàbia harbour wall, nothing has been done to make the area safe. Initially there was paralysis because of disagreement as to which authority was responsible for the works. Finally, at the end of January the regional Minister for infrastructure and transport said they would undertake the urgent repair works, estimated at over 2 million Euros (for background see: Caleta Landslide. http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/caleta-landslide) Since then the Town hall has sent a letter with a preliminary draft of the job, emphasising that Xàbia would not be funding it, since the landslip was not their responsibility, but nothing has happened. The Autumn rains are not far away and the Town Hall says it knows nothing more. This inaction has enraged the householders affected, especially since one of the residents of Calle Caleta is PP leader Juan Moragues, and when an earlier landslide affected his property, the Conselleria acted very quickly. From XAD: Los vecinos... Las Provincias implies that the Town Hall and Conselleria are still arguing over who pays. Consolidar el talud...

Cleanup Squad for Granadella all summer
July 31st
A squad of five has been set up to keep Granadella clean until the end of September. Their main tasks will be clearing undergrowth and dead branches from roadside areas and waterways to prevent fires and generally maintaining the natural park. This squad has been funded by a grant from Servef, (Fundación de Servicio Valenciano de Empleo http://www.sve.es/) and the jobs have been given to people who have been out of a job for a long time, or who have problems getting work. From XAD Una brigada limpia....

Weekend Fair in the Port until September
July 31st
The Retailers Association of Xàbia Port is organising a trade fair every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7.00pm until 1.00am in Avda Jaume 1. Traders will take turns to display their wares and the fair will add atmosphere to visitors' evening visits to the Part. The fair will continue until September. From XAD: Una fería...

Disco on the Montgó organises free bus service
July 27th
The "Discoteca Hacienda" has organised a free bus service to and from Xàbia for its clients. This night club, located on La Plana on the edge of the Montgó Natural Park has come under criticism because of the massive influx of people and cars, particularly during the summer season. Added to this are piles of rubbish which create a fire hazard, and danger created by tipsy drivers. The 20 seater bus shuttles between the Night Club and the Arenal every 45 minutes each Saturday (to be extended in August to Fridays, possibly Thursdays too and a 50 seater bus). So far the initiative has been worth the cost. For timetable see: Poster. From XAD: La Discoteca...

Two small earthquakes give Xàbia a shake-up
July 26th
Two small earthquakes shook Xàbia today. The epicentre of the first, at 5.25 am was 9 km off the Cabo de la Nao. This was 2.4 on the Richter scale. The second, at 18.12, was even smaller, at 1.6. Both passed without notice. Small earthquakes are frequent in this area. Check National Geographical Institute http://www.ign.es/ign/es/IGN/Sismologia10Espana.jsp for up to date information on earthquakes hereabout. From XAD: Dos pequeños temblores....

Underground parking company claims €22,000,000 compensation from Xàbia
July 23rd
Xàbia's undergound car parks are a bottomless pit of nasty surprises. Earlier we had been given to believe that the town had to pay around 1 million a year to compensate ECIS (the company which built the car parks, and which has a concession to run them for 40 years) for under use. So, come the end of the second year, the Town Hall had figured on having to have to cough up some 1.8 million Euros. However, ECIS has presented a bill for 22 million, broken down as follows: 12 million for under use of the car parks, a sum which results from a re-interpretation of what "85% full" is; 3.5 million because expectations in the business plan have not been met and 6.7 million because the Town Hall has created, or allowed to be created, new, free, above ground parking places in the catchment area of the car parks. (Note: all free parking near the car park area was supposed to have been removed, however this has not been done. Also, in a move to stop parking on the pavement in the Virgen de Los Angeles, the Town Hall recently created a free parking area in Calle Ribes Angel Mestre, about 450 metres away from the underground car park in the Plaza de la Constitución See June story http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/june-2010-news-headlines#pavement From Las Provincias: La Empresa.... For shaggy dog story of the Car Parks see: http://agenda21-xabia.wikidot.com/underground-car-park Underground car Park ECIS is currently under investigation by the Anti Corruption police. (Información.es)

Town hall looks for someone to run a bar in Cansalades (Pinosol) Park
July 23rd
The Town Hall is tendering for someone to run a bar in Cansalades Park for one year. The cost of the concession will be €1,160 per year. The catch is that the concessionaire will have to open and close the park, refurbish the existing kiosk, keep the facilities clean (including the toilets, though they don't have to supply toilet paper and soap). More and more social events take place in PinoSol park, so a bar would be a useful service and could even be economically viable . However it has been noted that this arrangement allows the town hall to employ a Park "concierge" on the cheap. From XAD: El Ayuntamiento buscar...

Xàbia Radio Taxis
Sixteen of Xàbia's twenty taxis have signed up to the "Centralita del Centro de Formación y Servicios del Taxi de la Comunidad Valenciana" - A 24 hour switchboard which is located in La Nucia. The system uses use GPS and GPRS technology. Clients phone 902 199 777 and are attended to in various different languages. When they order a taxi, one which is nearby comes to pick them up. The taxi in turn receives a text message detailing the client's destination and route. Each taxi is equipped with a security camera and a panic button. The service covers various other towns in the marina Alta such as Denia, Benissa, Ondara, La Vila Joiosa, Alfaz del Pi, La Nucía, Teulada-Moraira, Callosa d'En Sarrià, Altea and Alcoi. Fom XAD: Los taxis de Xàbia.....

Old Town Businesses make a push for Tourists
July 21st
The Old Town Business Association has launched an information campaign at the Arenal to tell visitors about the Historic Centre, its attractions, food, shopping and leisure. A striking video created by Gravimedia is being shown on a mobile video display and two multilingual girls are on hand to charm and inform people about what is going on in the Old Town. A new plan of the Old Town has been prepared and some 4000 hours of free parking will be given away. There will also be a free summer cinema in the Plaza Pintor Sorolla (opposite the Municipal Market) with films such as "Up", "Mash", "Pirates of the Caribbean", "Sideways" and four more films yet to be determined. The Old Town will soon have an 11 seat electric bus to carry people from the car park to main points of the Old Town. From XAD: Original campaña....

Town Hall fells 30 trees to build a Sports ground
July 19th
The Town Hall is felling 30 Melia (China Roseberry) trees to make way for the building of a sports ground in Mezquida (near the secondary School IE1). A grant of 260,000 Euros from the National stimulus plan E will be used to build one seven-a-side and two five-a-side football pitches equipped with artificial turf. The Petanc zone will also be improved and there will be a small perimeter track for athletics and cycling. The area is already used as for football and the Melia trees provide splendid shade for spectators, but the mess caused by their fallen fruits (toxic to humans) and twigs meant that they are considered incompatible with the new artificial turf. There has been some controversy over the lack of consultation in the destruction of so many trees, which are considered "not of great value" From XAD: El Ayuntamiento.... (Ed's Note: It is said that if there is a good songbird population about, then the problem of fallen seeds causing a mess goes away. The commercial potential of this tree, which belongs to the Mahogany family "remains largely unexplored" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melia_azedarach. The Agro Forestry Tree Database describes many uses for this tree and its products.)