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Portbou is studying alternative options for the Walter Benjamin Centre
The Town Hall of Portbou has announced that it is looking at the construction of a geriatric hospital that would empl oy 70 staff together or an underground car park in the land where the planned memorial was to be located. The Mayor of Portbou, Josep Lluis Salas, said “he very much doubted” that the construction of the memorial dedicated to the Jewish philosopher would go ahead in the current crisis environment and the lack of support and stressed that they could not afford the project cost of 1.7 million Euros.

“ Zero risk” of eating trichina contaminated meat in Gerona.
The increase in controls and the new protocol of the Hunting Federation of Gerona to avoid contaminated meat entering the human food chain has been the key to controlling this perennial problem in the geronan counties . According to the President of the Federation, Carlos Dilme, this season there is “zero risk” of eating infected meat and emphasized that they have identified the source of animals with the disease. The Federation stressed that the lack of water and natural food had caused the animals to leave their usual habitats, coming closer to the cultivated fields and that more had been killed that in other years. Due to this, it is expected that the wild boar population will be lower next year.

Rosas lower the Council Tax, Vehicle tax and some rubbish collection from business premises.
The Town Hall of Rosas has decided to lower the taxes and valuations for residents in the Council and vehicle tax and the collection of some rubbish from business premises which could result in reductions of between 15% and 29% depending on the premises size. The remainder of taxes, valuations and public charges will be frozen. The PSC has complained that the Council (CiU-PP), in spite of the surplus, is not capable of making the effort to reduce fees such as those for nursery school.

SARFA renews the Costa Brava bus fleet
The Sarfa Group has bought six new buses to renew the fleet the covers the Costa Brava area. Specifically these vehicles will provide the link between the Alt and Baix Emporda as well as connections to the airport at El Prat with some destined for transport routes for people with mobility needs in Girones

Ants and rodents could change the ecosystems
The activities of ants and rodents could affect the regeneration of the burnt ecosystems. A thesis produced by a researcher at the University of Gerona , Gabriela Jones Roman, suggest that the activity of vertebrates and ants should be taken into account in the discussion regarding the regeneration of the burnt forests. The investigation focussed on three areas of the Emporda burnt between 2004 and 2006.

Three arrested for burglary in Llança.
The Mossos d'Esquadra detained on 30th October last 3 men aged between 20 and 22, residents of Figueres and with Senegalese and Gambian nationalities, on 5 charges of burglary from properties in Llança. The Mossos discovered that in the early hours of the 22nd and 23rd of October they had robbed a number of second homes of valuables such as electronics and domestic appliances

Mushroom Hunting Increases the Rescues
The rescuing of mushroom gatherers had seen a “significant upturn” in the month of October, according the the Sergeant of the Generalitat Bomberos, who stated that whilst it was normal to be called out 3 or 4 times a month to look for people lost in the mountains whilst gathering mushrooms, this last month of October had seen two deaths and ten rescues for mushroom gatherers alone. In his report the Sergeant of the “Bomberos” advised the wearing of suitable outdoor clothing, a plan for the activity, starting early to take advantage of daylight hours and the wearing of bright clothing to help in the searches when necessary.

Promoting Tourism Together
Fourteen towns from the Alt Emporda and 12 from Northern Catalunya have agreed to join forces to promote sustainable tourism on both sides of the frontier. The project is still in development but it plans, amongst other things, to develop walking routes throughout the area. The Mayor of Llança Pere Vila (CiU), stated that he was delighted and that soon they would give more details of the initiative that would, he said, be very beneficial for the area.

1,500 tons of fire wood from the Emporda on route to Cerdeña (Italy)
The wood, damaged in the fires of the Emporda, will leave tomorrow for Cerdeña in Italy where it will be burnt in a biomass plant belonging to Enel to produce electricity. The comp any Enerfust XXI has been collecting the wood and transporting it to the port of Palamos where it will be amalgamated with other wood from the region to form a 4000 ton shipment. Land owners and the Town Hall of Llers met with the company to arrange the collection and cleaning of places affected by the fires. The shipment consists of pine, oak , heather and other vegetation that can be handled by the crusher at the factory. Officials from the company praised the qualities of the wood.

Passenger Trains Test the High Speed Line
Renfe commenced last Saturday the first technical checks for passenger train journeys between Figueres and Barcelona at high speed. Specifically, a number of empty passenger wagons made the 62.2 Km journey between Mollet de Valles and Vilobi d'Onyar. The tests will continue for a week and will focus on checking the functioning of the communication systems and the behaviour of the track with trains travelling at high speed. According to the most recent statements of the Government, the TAV will come into service in April 2013.
On the other hand the company Adif will have finished the works on the high speed line between Barcelona and France by the end of this year. The Director of Infrastructure, Enrique Verdeguer, has confirmed that like the line, the electrification and security systems will be finished this year supporting the objective of the April 2013 target.

Catalunya Mortgages at lowest level since 2003.
August continued the decrease in mortgage applications and currently holds the record for the lowest number of contracts since January 2003, according to the Spanish Statistics Institute. The last record was in December 2011 with 3,121 mortgages.

Mushroom Season.
The mushroom season arrive with a dry September which did nothing the help the growth of the mushrooms. The recent rains were helpful, the mycelium are active but everything depends on the next few days. If it rains again and the temperatures stay the same, the situation could recover, mainly in the areas that have had most rain.

Boat Registrations fall 11% in Spain
The boat registrations in Catalunya between January and September fell 3% with respect to the previous year ; from 891 to 868. However , throughout the country the fall has been much worse at 11% with 4,457 registrations in 2011 falling to 4,027 in 2012.

Catalunya – Luxury Wedding Destination for Londoners
Organising luxury weddings in Catalunya for the British. This is a service offered by Angela Valtueña an entrepreneur who opened for business in London a year ago. According to this Catalan, resident in London, her British clients are attracted to weddings in Catalunya for a number of reasons; “They desperately want sun and not rain during their special day; they like the lack of regulation, that is to saygetting married abroad is easier, they do not have to invite friends of their parents and they want a wedding that is different” stated the owner of this specialist wedding company.

Elections in Catalunya
The President of Catalunya, Artur Mas, ended the Governments' term of office prematurely and brought forward the next general election seeking a mandate to renegotiate the relationship between Spain and Catalunya. The elections will take place on Sunday 25th December. An intense electoral campaign with the key decisions being the right to decide, the break with Spain and the possibility of a referendum on self government that the Spanish Government believes is a breach of the Constitution.
Many of the Town Councils have shown their support for the nationalist movement that took place on the 11th September, Catalunya's National Day which more than one and a half million people participated in. Many of the demonstrations of support from the Councils are symbolic, such as in Castello d'Empuires, where the Catalan Flag now flies from the Town Hall balcony and other locations of the town and which, according to the Mayor, will not be removed until Catalunya achieves independence.

The Bay of Roses joins the world club of beautiful bays.
The bay of Roses has joined the club, the only part of the Iberian Peninsula in the Mediterranean. The club was created by UNESCO and comprises 37 bays throughout the world.
Roses, Castello d'Empuries-Empuriabrava, Sant Pere Pescador and Escala officially received the title of membership to the club. Representative from the 4 towns were presented with the award aboard a boat in the middle of the bay last Monday and announced that they will create an entity to manage the promotion of the award to the world.

The Development Minister wants private money to develop the N-11
The Development Minister, responsible for the Spanish Infrastructure, will not undertake the dual carriageway expansion in the northern part of the Geronan county. The Minister, Ana Pastor, during a discussion in the congress, insisted that the State will avoid “ grandiose” projects because of the crisis. Pastor, however, revealed that the Ministry is studying the opening of the door to the private sector to companies that might wish to fund the project.

The Tourism Council will meet in Capmany.
The Costa Brava Tourism Council of Girona will meet this Thursday 26th September in the Exhibition Centre of Capmany Council to bring its session to a close and show its' support for the town which suffered in the fires that occurred on 22nd July.

European Heritage Days in Roses.
Roses will celebrate European Heritage days between the 28th and 30th September with an extensive cultural program that will include the days of “open doors” to its' principal monuments, guided tours and family activities and the modern cemetery concerts.

The Treasure of the Medas islands.
Until 25th November an exhibition will be held in the Town Hall showing the heritage and history of the emblematic islands. The exhibition will be open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10 until 2 and from 5 until 9 PM. On Sunday is will be open between 10 and 2 PM.

From the markets of Empúries to the fisherman of L'Escala.
Until the 27th of January 2013 it will be possible to visit the above exhibition, a journey through the history of the ports of L'Escala , from the arrival of the Greeks in the Empúries to the creations of the fishing and commercial ports of L'Escala.

Independence Protest in Barcelona
Hundred of buses and two trains left from Geronan boroughs in the direction of Barcelona to participate in the independance protest called for Catalan National Day The town councils of Figueres and Girona filled two trains with around a 1000 people , many of them families with children and groups of young people with independence flags and placards.

Make your own "must"
The vinyard Empordalia de Vilajuiga is offering visitors to the vinyard the opportunity to collect and make their own "wine must". The wine tourism actibity starts at 9 30 in the morning in vineyards of the bodega. Firstly the participants will be taken to the vine to collect the harvest . Upon return to the vinery they will breakast on local produce. To finish they will be offered the opportunity to press the grapes in a traditional manner, that is to say with their feet to obtain a "must" to take away. The bodega is offering the event at a price of 20 Euros. The bodega is also participating in the Figueras wine festival that starts this Thursday.

State of alert in Alt Emporda
The Director General of the Civil Protection Agency has declared a state of alert for the possibility of forest fires in Catalonia because of the increased risk in the south and north east areas especially those areas exposed to the tramontana and mistral winds.

Figueres starts video cameras surveillance .
The Town Council of Figueres has begun to use three video surveillance cameras that were installed in the sports centre parking area and around the hospital area. Since Friday last the cameras have been providing images to the office of the Guardia Urban.

Increased demand for the Tramontana loaf .
The growing demand for the Tramontana loaf has me the farmers of the Aigumolls Park of the Emporda increase the size of their fields .Last year they produced 80,000 kilos of flour in the first harvest but this year they produced 150,000 kilos, an increase of 87% . The product has already been certified as environmentally friendly with the minimum use of chemicals in it's production. It has however been dependent on a favourable climate and it is of better quality than previous productions.

The skies opened above Alt Emporda.
After a summer noted for the lack of rain and intense heat, the rain returned yesterday for the second time this month. The downpour during the afternoon left more than 65 litres in parts of the Alt Emporda with some streets flooded.

Rosas is looking for finance to finish it's streets.
The town is looking for finance and is attempting to use the "Neighbourhood Plan" to finish some streets than remain half completed.

French yacht beached at Puerta de la Selva
The vessel “El Indalico” , 10.8 M long, was stuck in the early hours of Sunday morning, on the beach at Puerta de la Selva, after its' crew, an elderly French gentleman, came too close to the beach.. The sailor, who was found in the prow, needed the help of the local police to leave the craft, which was undamaged.

The fire risk in the hills of the Albera and Cap Creus puts them out of bounds
The access routes to the woodlands will be restricted due to the increased risk of fire. This Sunday 5 access routes will be closed in the Geronan county. The Plan Alfa at level 3 has been activated in 145 municipalities. Civil Defence is maintaining is state of alert. El Claustro Auction works from 215 artists to raise funds. Th gallery Claustro de Figueres will hold an auction on the 22 September with works donated by 25 artists and the money raised will donated to those who suffered from the large fire in the Emporda on 22nd July. Prior to the auction , an exhibition of the works to be auctioned will open on the 7th September. On display will be works from artists such as Lluis Roura, Antoni Pitxot, Pujolboira, Cuixart, Anson, Cio Abelli, Joaquim Comas, Dolores Bolaos and Colldecarrera who are just some of the artists whose works will be auctioned.

Problems with the re-introduction of the Turtle to the Catalan Coast.
For many years, sporadic appearances of turtle eggs have occurred on the Catalan Coast. This caused investigators from the Centre for Reproduction at Albera to ask themselves if, in the past, the east coast of the Mediterranean might have been a breeding ground for the marine turtle and whether or not the right conditions existed for the re-introduction of the species. In order to dispel doubts, they began an investigation which has concluded that the sand temperature in the north and the low oxygen levels in the sand to the south would have prevented the eggs from surviving. “ There is no plan to re-introduce the species with eggs from other places” said the researcher Xavier Capalleras. .

Red Cross beach incidents increase in the Girona county.
Forty four rescues has taken place compared with 32 last year and 7,889 medical interventions, 40% up on last year. The Red Cross rescued 163 people from Catalan beaches from the middle of July until the middle of August. This year, the number of medical emergencies on the Catalan coast was 17, 644. The types of emergency included trauma, burns, black-outs, heat stroke, stings and allergies that occurred whilst people were at the beach. Within the 17,644 calls for help some 5,000 were to treat jellyfish stings, an increasing number in recent years.

The Emporda Wine Show returns to The Rambla.
The Figueres Rambla will be the setting once again for a new showing of the Empordan Wines. The 28th Edition, which will be opened on the 7th September at 1900 by Lluis Tolosa, author of the Guide to Wine of the Emporda and will last until 11th September, Catalan National Day.

Acoustical Festival in Figueres.
From 29th August until the 2 September the “Acustica” will take place in Figueres which is seen by professionals, artists and the public as a key part of the Catalan music scene. “Promo Artes Music” is preparing the 11th edition of the festival which last year some 40,000 people visited.

Victims of the Portbou fire recovering in France.
Pascale, Jaura and Yohan Couton, who suffered injuries when they leapt into the sea from cliffs at Portbou to escape from the fires, are now in France recovering. Pascal and his daughter, Oceane, were buried last weekend. The 42 year old engineer and his 14 year old daughter died whilst escaping from the fire.

The unknown islands of Cap Creus in a book.
For some they are just rocks but for others they are islands. For the great majority of empordians, the natural park area is largely unknown but it hides a richness and diversity that the historian Arnald Puija and the agricultural engineer Joan Alberti reveal in great detail and from different perspectives in the book “The Islands of Cap Creus” which arrives in the libraries this weekend.

Figueras Youth Orchestra have prepared with great expectation the programme for the 20th “Schubertiada” (chamber musical festival).
The Santa Maria Church will be the setting for a dozen important concerts. Amongst the artists performing the distinguished German baritone Mathius Goeme , a legend in romantic music, which makes a return appearance at the concert, which he considers an important event in his musical career.

Figueras switches on video surveillance.
Two years after the start of the project, Figueras will turn on some of the video surveillance cameras installed at various parts of the City. The first three to be switched on will be those at the parking area of the Sports Centre. Once the signs warning of the use of cameras have been installed, a legal requirement, the system will be operational

The “Mossos” have extracted the DNA profile from the cigarette butt found at the la Jonquera fire.
The “Mosses d'Esquadra” have now recovered the DNA from the cigarette end that caused the hugh fire in the county that started in Ll Jonquera. The profile is being compared to the police database to try and identify the owner of the cigarette that caused the fire who could face a prison sentence of at least 10 years.

Don Giovani comes to the Perelada Festival.
This last weekend the Perelada Festival hosted a unique production. The 'Don Giovani' opera by Mozart under the direction of Roland Shwab with a cast that included Carlos Alvarex, Robert Gleadow and Patrizia Ciofi, appeared at the empordian festival in two appearances which could be seen Friday last and the 5th August. This surprise work, with references to Funny Games by Michael Haneke and links to sadism and immorality, tells the story of a man living a deceitful life in a fruitless search. The opera, a icon from the German Opera, is the signature work of this team in Spain.

75% of Tickets sold for the “Portablau of L'Escala”.
Two days before the start of the Mediterranean Music and Arts Festival at Portablau, the 6 concerts of this years' programme already have a 75% take-up. The first concert, by Roger Mas and the “Cobla Sant Jordi, in the setting of Mar d'en Manassa, only has a few tickets left, with more than 90% of the 500 seats sold. They are also on the way to sell out of tickets for the two concerts that will take palce in the main setting of the festival, The Roman Fort of Ampurias, With some 2000 places, The “Amigos of the Arts” who perform on the 10th August has sold 85% and Silvia Perez Cruz (11th August) has sold 80%.

Opening of the Cadaques Festival.
This Friday the 3rd of August the 41st Cadaques International Music Festival begins which hopes this year to integrate the different styles of music which have been part of the events' structure. The Festival will return to the Cadaques Church, as its' historic location, where the Orchestra of Cadaques will play, whilst keeping the Sa Conca as the location for the larger concerts of the funk master Maceo Parker(17th August), Quimi Porter and Roger Mas (14th August) and the “Gospel Viu” (15th August)

Roses reduces its' charges to cmopensae for the rise in IVA (VAY
The full council meeting of Roses last night approved the reduction of current tariffs for the supply of water and swimming pools, the two council services affected by the recent VAT rise that comes into force on the 1st September. The Council wishes to reduce as far as possible the economic affect that this rise will have on the users of these services.

Tierra de Trovadores proposed for "Etonnement Touristique del Annee" Award.
The french journalist association for tourism AJT, headquartered in Paris, announces each year in Septemner, awards for People and Publications that promote the indusrty of tourism. This year, thanks to the work of Jean-Bernard Tourrie, a journalist of Catalunya North associated with AJT, the "Tierra de Trovadores" festival of Catello d'Empuries is a candidate for the "Best New Tourism Find of the Year" based upon its' authentic and historical origens.

Puig opens the "Mossos" office in La Jonquera
The interior minister, Felip Puig, accompanied by the mayoress of La Jonquera, Sonia Martinez, opened this Monday the new offices of the "Oficina de Atencion Ciudadana " at La Jonquera. .The 146 sq metre building houses a number of different services. The police office will be open every day of the year except at night when it will be connected with the Alt Emporda Police service.

Catalunya loses 62% of non-hotel tourism in June.
Camping, apartments and countryside house lettings fell in June by 61.9% in comparison to the same month of 2011, according to data published by the INE.This translates to a fall in travellers from 312,359 to 118,944 in a year.Countryside tourism suffered the largest reduction..

New bilogical product against the tiger mosquito.
The Service Control Centre of the bay of Roses and of Baix Ter is trialling a new biological product designed to control the tiger mosquito that inhabit the stagnant water in the streeets as well as other species usually found growing in the Costa Brava. The trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of the new product, developed in the USA, in kiling l the insects and therby reduce by half the use of insecticide.

Agreement to recover the megalithic heritage of Palacio.
The council of Palau-Saverdera signed a collaboraton agreement last week with the not-for-profit organisation Via Pirena, to restore and promote the megalithic remains
The organisation will manage and create awareness of the Can Isaach sites. The archeological site is unique in the whole of Catalunya. They will also create a route that will link the village with the dolmens and megaliths in the mountains.

The waste collection centre of Esala is implementing a new system of waste control.
Next month the centre will implement a new key card access system that will be supplied a no charge to the users.of Escala council services.. The objective is to have better conttrol of the waste that passes through the facilities enabling better response to situations and the development of new options, such as financial incentives to use the "Punto Limpio" instead of the street containers, explained Robert Figueras, Director of Services.

One hunderd kilos of rubbish in Llanca.
The Nautical Club of Llanca collected on Saturday last a hundred kilos of rubbihs from the deep water off the Porrt beach, one of the main beaches of the town, which stretches some 500 metres.The Club started the programme in 1997, Since then the club members have dedicated a day each year to the activity dealing with a different beach each time. The day started at 1030 and afterwards the club offered drinks.

The tolls of the AP7 will increase almost 14% between January and September.
At the beginning of the year crossing the frontier from Girona North to France using the AP7 cost 5.50 Euros. Prices rose 7.5% last Sunday meaning the same journey now costs 5.90 Euros. In under a month, from 1st September, the cost will be 6.00 Euros due to the rise in IVA of 3%. In only nine months, from january til September 2012, the tolls of the AP7 will have had a toal increase of 13.7% in its' tariffs.

The Costa Brava forecasts the loss of 200 million euros and 200 jobs.
The Costa Brava tourist industry has received with shock the increase in IVA announced by the President of the Government ,Marion Rajoy, from 8% to 10%. The estimates come from Marti Sabria, Director of the Costa Brava Hotel Center who said the industry was a key to the creation of jobs and urged that the increase be delayed until October, after the end of the holiday season. The Director of the Girona Eix Commercial Sector , Josep Maria Noguer, said it would be counter productive because it would reduce consumption.

Increase in workload at the Figueres Tourist Information Office.
The number of enquiries handled by the Office has increased by 36.66% since between January and June when compared to the same period last year. The origins of the visitors to Catalunya is recorded and as experienced in the rest of Europe the growth of tourists from Russia continues and was recorded as a 43% increase

Illegal sellers and massueses identified and fined in Roses by new specially created police teams.
A joint operation by a team formed from Local Police, Mosses d'Esquadra and Guardia Civil identified and fined 20 people breaking the by-laws applicable to the beaches of Roses and confiscated their goods. Twelve Asiatic. masseues were also identified and fined.

Castello d'Empuries will premier this Wednesday a night-time festival and market starting at 11p.m..
The commercial venture has been organised to coincide with the "sardanes" festival.. There will be 30 stalls featuring local products . There will be children's entertainment. The market will be open every Wednesday evening..

The castle of St Ferran will be the base for a post graduate photography course, from now until October organised by the University of Girona.
The degree course will last two years and is part of a project to bring post-graduate courses to the Empordian capital. The course will have a duration of 150 hours.

The Red Cross and Civil Protection are working together.
From this Sunday joint patrols will be made by the Red Cross and volunteers of the Civil Protection teams once per week as a trial service. The patrol will be by Red Cross launch visiting the beaches of the Escala coast performing rescue work if necessary and offering advice to users of marked bathing zones and other areas.

Port de la Selva "fishes" 1200 kilos of rubbish in 90 minutes
This Saturday as part of the activities organised by ARC - association of restaurants and businesses of Puerta de la Selva - the Club Natique and the submsriner group if Mar d'Amunt completed a second day of cleaning of the deep waters, entrance channel and breakwaters to increase awareness and respect for the environment. After 90 minutes of immersion the divers had collected 1200 kilos of various items including tyres, plastic and glass bottles , tin cans, clothes, batteries and a container.

The main canal of the Empuria Brava marina needs urgent work to stop the erosion and the loss of parts of its' walls.
The director of the marine Quim Cruset explained that the movement of water caused by the propellors of the boats had eroded parts of the structure and that urgent work to strengthen the concrete base was needed to stop further subsidence. Specialist divers will be sent down to assess the scope of the problem and once a budgetary report is available the works will be undertaken as soon as possible. From this Wednesday two patrol boats will be on hand to ensure that the circulatory rules are adhered to and to give assistance when needed

L'Escala is to urbanize its' remaining unsurfaced streets.
The Town Council has given preliminary approval to the first project which is for Tarragona Street The improvement to this area will not be completed in one phase but the most important aspect will be undertaken first

Thirteen concerts at the Festival of San Pere de Rodes.
This year is the 12th occasion of the festival of classical music in the medieval setting which this summer will host 13 concerts. The concerts will take place at 8PM from 15th July until 20th August with 3 additional concerts at the church of Sta Maria de los Nieves on 20th July (Fado evening) 10th August (Bossanova) and 17th August (jazz-soul). Tickets are being sold at the Tourist Office of Puerta de la Selva (972387122) and on the day of the concert at the Monastery (972387559). All concerts are priced at 20€.

Saharan children arrive in Catalonia.
The first of 520 children who will spend the summer in Catalonia arrived by plane at Barcelona. The "Peace Holidays" project, supported by Frente Polisario and the Association of Catalan Friends of Saharan Towns has already placed the first group with their host families with two more flights ariving Thursday and Friday.

More staff and hours in the coastal CAP centres.
The Department of Health is increasing by 174 the number of professionals to support the Costa Brava CAP centres to accomodate the summer demand as well as increasing the hours at some centres. The number of ambulances at strategic points is also to be increased.

The Gala-Dali Foundation generates 2,5% of the geronan county's income.
The economic activity of the Gala-Salvador Dali Foundation generated 181 million euros in 2011, a 52% increase since 2005. At the same time it is estimated that visitors to thw museums spent 123 million euros , 66% more than 6 years earlier. The number of jobs atttibuted to the activities of the Foundation is 1,865 which is 49% more than in 2005.

Vilajuiga is reviving the countess of the castle.
Vilajiuga will bring the Countess of the Quermanco castle back to life through a theatrical offering that will reveal the story of the fortress and the legends associated with the building.
The town council of Vilajuiga with the support of Llanca has begun a programme that will explain to visitors the hidden secrets of the 1000 year old historical monument.
The visits will be on Saturdays evenings starting from the 24th June with departures from the Llanca Tourist Office at 6 PM and from the Vilajiuga Tourist Centre at 7.30PM using a tourist train for the transfers from these points to the castle.

The rehabilitation of Anna Maria Dali.
Viena publications has released the reprint of the book “Salvador Dali from His Sisters' Viewpoint” written by Anna Maria Dali at the end of the 40s. The book as at that time the response from Anna maria Dali to the “Secret Life” written by Salvador Dali in 1942 which angered and caused bad feeling within the family. The biographer Eric Pujol has said that they wished to produce a worthwhile book with rare photographic material that would “ present a justification for the sister who had not been recognised as a writer”. “We wanted to present Anna Maria Dali as a writer” , he insisted.

Maceo Parker and the Cadaques Orchestra, lead the bill of the 41st festival.
The Cadaques International music festival ( from the 3rd until the 19th August) is changing and will emphasise its' eclectic nature in the 41st festival. The saxophonist Maceo Parker – who was unable to appear last year – and the Cadaques orchestra are the lead acts for the festival, after 4 years, will feature classical music but without abandoning the style for which it is known.

Europe is spending 175 million Euros for the MAT line in the Alt Emporda.
The link will stretch some 64.5 KM of which 31 will be in Alt Emporda and the remainder in France . The 400KV line will be buried in a ditch and will pass through the Pyrenees using a 8.5Km tunnel along side the AVE tunnel.. According to Red Electrica, the objective is to double the capacity for interchange of energy between the Spanish State and the rest of Europe, from the current 1400 megavolts to 2800 megavolts.

New trains time come into force between Barcelona and Figueres.
During the weekday mornings the first train will leave Figueres at 0544 AM with a stop at Flaca at 0558 AM , which until now was the 0611 to Girona. This change has caused a slight adjustment to the second and third morning trains which will leave Figueres at 0559 (Monday to Saturday) and 0643 (everyday) respectively.

Images and People of Roses.
The exhibition centre of Roses City is hosting the photographic exhibition “Roses Years” by Francesc Guillamet. The exhibition, which will be open until the 5th of August, offers a collection of images taken by the photographers during the 90s, when he lived in Roses, with the artist's own words regarding the people and landscapes that he encountered during this period. Roses Years offers an opportunity to see the less well known work of the artist, who was born in Figueres in 1956. He is better known for his photographic work in the world of food, especially for his work at El Bulli, ( where he was responsible for 1847 plates photographed during his career, as well as other well known restaurants and businesses.

Music Day in Roses.
The 16th of June Roses will celebrate Music Day with 8 appearances scattered throughout he town, an event in which some 30 artists and amateur groups will participate, to support the Josep Carreras Foundation.. The event, which is taking place for the first time in Roses, is being organised by the Association of Music Tuners and Association Wendy with the help of the Town Council of Roses. The concerts will take place in the afternoon from 5 until 9.

The Police fine prostitutes and their clients.
The Interior Minister, Felip Puig, has announced that the traffic police now have in their policing role the power to fine, from this Monday, the prostitutes that offer their services by the roadside and their clients through a change in the highway laws.

The Basilica of Santa Marie Castello d' Empuries will be illuminated with candles in August.
A few months ago , Ceras Roura of Figueres, organised a national competition to promote the use of candles for lighting in buildings throughout the country. One of the entries was from Bruno Perez ( of Castello d'Empuries) who became a finalist. His plan is to illuminate the interior and exterior of the basilica with candles. The finalists will have from now until October to make the plan a reality. In Castello d'Empuries it will be operational on Saturday the 18th of August and it is planned to light up the candles between 9.30 PM and 10 PM. The event will last some two hours.

The Government is implementing the prescription payment at pharmacies.
The government spokesman , Francesc Homs, has made it clear that the law will be applied from the 23rd June.

The worlds' best windsurfing takes place in the Gulf of Roses.
This Tuesday will see the start of the Windsurfing World Championship – Grand Prix Catalonia which will take place from the beaches and in the waters of the Gulf of Roses until Sunday. The top 64 windsurfers, from 30 countries, will thrill the spectators in one of the best meeting in the annual windsurfing calendar. The focal point will be the Happy Whale camp site at St Pere Pescador, the private sponsor of the event. The sailing times, weather permitting will be daily from 12.30 except Tuesday which will be from 3 o'clock at the Cortal Dehesa beach. .

More than 25% of the population do not know how to protect themselves from the sun.
With the arrival of the good weather and the approach of summer , the majority of of the population will start to visit the beach, swimming pools and the mountains and hopefully without damaging their skin, exposed to the continuous action of the sun.
Eroski Consumer conducted a detailed survey with 2000 consumers last year to understand how they sunbathed and what was their understanding of the best measures to protect themselves from the effects of the sun.

L'Escala has one of the best deep sea areas of Catalunya.
This is the conclusion of the annual report of the Sea Foundation that manages some 20 control points on the Catalan coast and undertakes regular analyses of the deep sea to ascertain its' state of health with recommendations for actions. Another of the control points is a the cove of Montgo, which straddles the municipalities of L'Escala and Toroella de Montgri. The report points out that th is sea arae is rich in marine life. In this case, however, the rating obtained is only 5.8 due to the high number of anchorings, especially in the summer, which the report identifies as having a negative effect on the seabed.

Empuriabrava beach receives the Q flag for Tourism Quality.
The Minister for Industry, Energy and Tourism, Jose Manuel Soria, delivered Tuesday last, Q flags of quality to 20 Catalan beach authorities, that excelled in cleanliness, safety, security, information and equipment. In Girona, there are 8 beaches recognised – Raco, Aiguabrava and Sa Riera of Begur, Sant Antoni de Calonge, Empuriabrava, Sa Conca and Play Grande de Castell, Platja d'Aro and Estartit at Toroella de Montgri.

The scarcity of rains increases the forest fire risk.
The Catalan area usually receives double the amount of water that has fallen in the last 12 months. The lack of rainfall has accentuated the problem in a large area of the Pyrenees and the Geronan counties. In addition, the unusual Siberian weather in the month of February caused a large amount of vegetation to die which is now highly combustible.. Other factors and these two aspects have caused the Minister of the Interior , Felip Puig, to warn of an exceptionally difficult environment of forest management this summer.

Hotel occupancy grows 7%
The Catalan hotels continue achieving records numbers. In spite of the entry into a second recession by the Spanish and Catalan economies, the hotel sector closed the month of April with over 3.8 million recorded room sales, some 9.5% more than in 2011 and with 1.45 million visitors, 112,000m more than the previous year due to an increase in foreign tourism (13%) far above that of the domestic visitor ( 1.9%). Thus, between January and April, Catalonia has recorded some 9.6 million hotel nights sold with more than 4 million tourists being 7% and 6.8% respectively more than the same period of 2011 according to data from the Spanish National Institute for Statistics.

Figueras explores creation of green parking (short term) zones
The council of Figueras is investigating the possibility of a green zone in the centre of the City. The project is in its' early stages but the Council already has an early report which suggests establishing spaces in are area between Salvador Dali and Costa Brava avenues, North street and the southern area of Rally.

Hunters want everyone to be visible in the forest.
The recent passing of new legislation for the hunting season of 2012 – 2013 requires that wild boar hunts must be clearly signed at all entry points into the forests. Due to recent hunting accident the Geronan hunters association wants more safety for all concerned and asks that everyone should wear reflective jackets whilst in the woods.

Cadaques criticises the promenade
Some 140 residents from Cadaques have signed a protest letter in connection with the finished works at the Ses Herbes plaza, which will be entered into the Geronan Architecture competition this year. The protesters believe that this area and other parts of the promenade do not give a good image of the town and are “indignant and ashamed “by the situation.

Survey in St Pedro Pescador.
The Town Hall of Sant Pedro Pescador is planning a new traffic flow system for the town. The group running the project have sent a questionnaire to the residents to gather their views on the proposed changes.

Theft of a Nazi artillery piece located between Portbou and Cerbere
Some day ago thieves managed to remove a gun from the artillery battery installed by the Germans during WW II that marked the southern most point of the German conquest of France. The armament was part of a small outdoor museum that remembered the thousands of Spanish exiles who crossed the frontier whilst fleeing from the National forces during the Civil War and also those that crossed back to avoid the German troops during the Second World War.

The title of Wine Estate 2012 has been won by Masia Carreras 2007.
The professional wine producers festival “Raices de Vino” will take place on the 26thand 27th of May in St Mati d'Empuries has award the prize for 2012m to Masia Carreras 2007, Marti Fabra as best red and the Aspres 2009 Blanco from the Aspres vineyard as best white and the Capmany Torre Gran Reservada Pere Guardiola as best sweet white. The prize giving will take place at the opening of the festival with 19 vineyards of the Emporda DO taking part.

The Catalan beach conditions available on the WEB.
The Civil Protection organisation has started work to unify the information available regarding the condition of the beaches in Catalunya. From this summer any citizen can view daily the sea conditions , the jellyfish activity or if the beach offer facilities for disabled persons through the website www.gencat.cat/emergencias. Until now a unified information system did not exist and the town halls or businesses to which the beach management had been subcontracted used their own rules for assessing and delivering in formation. According to the Assistant Director of Civil Protection, the hope is to reduce the feeling of insecurity felt by some swimmers.

Six thousand Euros for two stolen tortoises from L'Albera
Two of the four tortoises stolen from the Centre for Reproduction a L'Albera in Garriguella could be worth some 6000 Euros when sold. The Mossos are investigating the robbery which may have been recorded by the security cameras. The reproduction centre is dedicated to ensuring the survival of certain species, some of which are very valuable. This is not the first robbery of tortoises in the Geronan area. In 2008 60 were taken from an environmental study in Tordera and each was worth 100 Euros

Future degrees from the Montessori School where work started 5 months ago.
The foundations for the building work started at the end of December and the objective is to finish soon in order that the course may start. In fact the month of February saw the building work start.
The school will open with a capacity for 120 students and will increase as the next two building are completed . The plan is to finish completely by 2016 with10,000 Sq M in the city area that will have an operating licence for 50 years.
In the beginning 5 classrooms will accommodate 24 students each studying for up-to 3 years and will have professors from Chicago, Switzerland, Italy, Chile and France who have worked in the disciplines in different countries.

L'Escala raises summer camp charges
The Town Hall has approved am increase of between 10 and 18 % for this summers' camps. The town hall will have around a 100 places that it will offer this summer for children from 0 to 3 years, morning programmes for those up to 12 years and a sports camp.

Camping loses 19% occupancy.
The over night stays in geronan campsites in March fell 19.2% with respect to March of last year, pulling down the total of non-hotel overnight stays although rental apartments and rural tourism saw better numbers than in 2011. Altogether, the non-hotel night stays have undergone a reduction in March of 6.7%, a decline that adds to the hotels falls that in the same period were down 13.8%, more than double.

Two cars and one motorcycle catch fire in Cadaqués.
A fire that originated in a dustbin in Cadaqués at dawn yesterday spread to three containers close by and totally destroyed two cars and one motorcycle. A third car was also damaged by the fire, according to fire department of the Catalan Government, who alerted by the local police sent four fire engines to fight the spectacular blaze that did not spread to any houses

Fairs and Celebrations of Santa Cruz.
Monday the 30th of April the Fairs officially begin This weekend practising for the Colla Castellera (human towers) began and the attractions started operating. Figueres opens the public WIFI network. Coinciding with the start of the Fairs and Celebrations of Santa Cruz, the City council has set in operation the WIFI service. During the main festival and to enable final checks to be made, users who connect to the network will access via the web gateway of Santa Cruz 2012. In order to use the service that appears under the name of WIFI_FIGUERES users will first have to register and are the free to browse the Internet. The WIFI of Figueres is a bandwidth limited service of 256Kbps. Surfing periods are for one hour after which the user will have to log on again to surf for a further hour

The Government is selling a piece of the Emporda Aigumolls.
The Catalan Land Office (Incasol) has put up for sale at a price of 2.5 million Euros a 90 hectare tract of land , the “Torre Mornau”, that is inside the National Park of the Emporda Aiguomolls between the boundaries of Castello d'Empuries, Pau and Perelada. The buyer wishes to exploit its' agricultural possibilities and Incasol, which needs to develop financial income, has started the process by which it might be sold. The ecological group Laeden has warned of the loss that would come from the sale of farm land inside the protected area. It has written to the Government asking for the sale to be stopped.

The Head Chefs of El Bulli are opening a new restaurant in Cadaques.
The three Chefs from the El Bulli kit chen will be opening this April their first restaurant in Cadeques. “Sharing”, their own project, but is not going to repeat the style of El Bulli. The three young chefs, that will continue to have links with Ferran Adria through the El Bulli Foundation, have worked together for more that 14 years and for this new adventure have gathered a team of trusted young professionals that will help them make the project a reality.

Roses has a new plan to combat illegal street vendors.
The Roses Local Authority team are working on a plan that will in the short term solve the problem of unlicensed sellers appearing on the promenade during the summer months. The Councillor for City Security, Angel Tarrero explained that the proposed solution, that would create licensed stalls, would not compete with the commercial businesses of the city.

The fire department received 25 calls due to the strong winds.
The firemen of the Catalan Autonomous Government have received between 7 AM and 7PM twenty five calls for help related to the tramontana, the majority in area of Girona

An asian queen wasp has been caught in the Alt Empordà.
A bee keeper who has beehives situated in an area between Rabós and Vilamaniscle, in the Alt Empordà, caught Friday last an asian queen wasp, a very aggressive invading species that poses a real threat for the bees by destroying their colonies.

A weapons auction .
Some 405 weapons with starting prices of between 7 and 7,500 Euros, including guns, pistols, carbines, rifles, revolvers and blunderbusses are on show from last Monday in the Office of the Civil Guard of Girona. They are second hand weapons that with will be auctioned off on the 23rd of April.

The Empúries marathon will have more participants than ever.
The marathon,that celebrates its' tenth year, is introducing a common theme by donating a Euro of each inscription to ' AECC-Catalonia against cancer. The Marathon will be on the 29th of April and as is traditional for this race will start and finish at the Catalonia-Empúries Museum of Archaeology

Roses will start a three day festival from the 21st to the 23st of April with a new theme that will take advantage of the flowers name and coincide with the festival of Sant Jordi. The objective is to be able to attract visitors outside the usual tourist season.

Two scuba divers die in Palamos and Puerta de la Selva
Two divers have died today on the Costa Brava. The first death occurred at 1130 in Puerta de la Selva where a man aged 60 died whilst diving close to the shore. According to the spokesperson for the Direccion General de Protection Civil the cause of death was a heart attack.. Some time later a second diver died in Palamos (Baix Emporda). The man was with 3 friends diving some 2 miles out to sea. The diver did not feel well and the crew called the Coast Guard who went to assist but nothing could be done to save the diver who died at sea.

Catalan tourism enjoyed a good Easter.
The Catalan tourist industry had a good Easter in business terms and achieved the hoped for volumes in spite of the bad weather and economic crisis with average volumes of between 80% and 905 according to figures compiled by the Europa Press. The bad weather had caused cancellations and had led the visitors, most of whom were families, to prefer mountain resorts whilst the end of the rain had caused last minute reservations.

Sixty eight medieval tombs discovered at the monastery of Banyoles..
A total of 68 medieval tombs is the result of the archaeological work that has just finished in the square of St Esteve of Banyoles brought about by road works. Amongst the significant discoveries, that of 2 pilgrims from Camino de Santiago, found with sea shells as adornments, as well as the fragments of a rosary. Only 10% of the bodies found were those of children.

Business cannot pay more than 2500 Euros in cash.
The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, announced this Wednesday that the anti- fraud plan that will be approved this Friday will prohibit cash payment of greater than 2500 Euros in business transaction. It is hoped that this measure will stop use of cash in business transactions and in the case of companies, provide an obstacle to false invoices.

Guide to Enoturism of the Empordà – a finalist of the Alimara prizes.
The Enotourism Guide to the Empordà has been written and published by Lluís Tolosa from the conclusions generated in the first days, ' L' Empordà, the as an economic asset' , organized by the Institute of Ampurdaneses Studies, Via Pirena and Weekly magazine EMPORD.

The Library at La Jonquera celebrates 20 years.
The Library celebrates two decades of work and to commemorate its' anniversary is providing a programme of activities throughout the month of April. The programme includes story hours, weekly workshops and a session for tales of Saint Jordi held in the streets.

Four hundred runners in the 24 hour Cap Creus.
The 24 hour run at Cap Creus took place this Saturday with almost 400 participants over a distance of 87 kilometres with a 6000 metre variation in height..The last runner finished after 23.5 hours and the first did it in 9 hours and 20 minutes The route took the runners through various villages of the Cap Creus.

Vilajuiga re-opens the Tourist Office.
Coinciding with Easter, the Tourist Centre of Vilajuiga opened its' doors to visitors and tourists. It will be open from 10 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon. As a new attraction this year, the tourist facility will offer a menu of food from the area. The hours will be from midday until 3 in the afternoon

Summer arrived today at the Girona airport with an important increase in the number of flights.
The airport for Girona and the Costa Brava will offer a total of 69 destinations of which 58 will be with Ryanair and an average of 472 flights each week. Aena will approve the new taxes for Spanish airports. If there were to be an increase in taxes, Ryanair has said that it will suppress many of the new routes for this summer. If however, things continue as they are, Ryanair will fly to 58 destinations this summer from Gerona.. Around 20 of the new destinations will be regular destinations for the airline ; Ibiza and Madrid , Cagliari and Perugia (Italy), Doncaster and Manchester (United kingdom), Cologne and Dusseldorf (Germany) .Estecolmo Vasteras and Malmo (Sweden) , Bydgoszcz, Krakow and Gdansk (Poland) ,Poitiers (France) , Aarhus (Denmark) Nador (Morocco), Cork and Knock (Ireland) Turku (Finland and Salonica (Greece)

Europe has recommended merging the Gironian municipalities.
A report from the Council of Europe stated that all municipalities with less than 10,400 residents are inefficient. They should merge with others nearby. The idea, that is a suggestion and not an imposition, would blow apart the current county of Girona which would lose 202 of its´ 221 Town Halls. This almost all and according to the criteria of the European Council , would only be saved by integrat ion into larger municipalities - Banyoles, La Bisbal d'Empordà, Blanes, Calonge, Castelló d'Empúries, Castell-Platja d'Aro, L'Escala, Figueres, Girona, Lloret de Mar, Olot, Palafrugell, Palamós, Ripoll, Roses, Salt, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Santa Coloma de Farners and Torroella de Montgrí

A Festival of Taste to promote regional produce.
The city of Figueres will host this Sunday a day long festival for the first time. The event which will take in the East Catalan Plaza is promoted by the Association of Catalan Specialities and hope to develop and grow the traditional products produced in the county. Apart from stands, the organisers have included other activities to support the show and will feature magicians and jugglers as well as a lunch opportunity.

Adria is preparing the “Bulli-pedia” .
An encyclopaedia on-line that gathers together the culinary knowledge gained d uring the era of El Bulli and that will be available to all is to be the “Bulli-pedia”, a project on which the chef Ferran Adria and his team are already working and which will be the framework of future activities of the El Bulli foundation

A promotional guide to eco tourism with 5 cycle routes.
The County Council and the Alt Emporda tourism association have produced a new plan to promote cycle routes. With information in 5 languages it details the routes of Figueres-Roses, the path of the Muga, the trails of the Fluvia, L´Escala- Empuries to the Fluvia and Peralada to the Sierra de Altrera.

Twenty-one apartments released to Llanca Council.
The apartments offer parking and attached storage room. The apartments size s are from 55 Sq M to 90 Sq M and have between 2 and 4 bedrooms. The monthly rent varies from 200 to 300.5 Euros, according to the size and facilities to which has to be added community and IBI taxes

We are investigating what has happened to the Call by Call telephone service to the Canaries that many of our readers have been using for the last few years enabling them to enjoy a low cost call service. It seems at the moment that the service will no longer be available.

A test of the Civil Defence plan.
The fishing and recreation ports of Roses have been the scene, this Tuesday, of a exercise to deal with a spillage of fuel caused by the simulated sinking of a ship. This was the first combined exercise undertaken by both ports with the objective of increasing the coordination and cooperation in emergency situations.

An appearance of the Austrian string quartet at the 20th “Schubertiada” in Vilabetran.
The “Schubertiada of Velabetran” will celebrate its’ 20th edition between the 16th August and the 8th of Septemberin the Empordan town. The small church of Vilabetran will once again be the location of recitals of the chamber music and poetic songs centred on the works of Franz Schubert but no excluding this year works by Strauss, Mahler, Schuman, Brahms and Chopin. A main feature will be the integrated performances of Cuarteto Casals with the string quartets in 5 concerts.

Castello d’Empuries is preparing the fountain of Empuriabrava.
The works to clean, repair and improve the supply of water will ensure that all of the jets will operate correctly

Costa Brava, acknowledged by National Geographic.
For the second time in 5 months, the online version of the north American travel review, National Geographic Traveller, included tourist attractions of the city of Girona and the Costa Brava in its’ world list of Best Spring Trips 2012. The attractions that the publication emphasises are the Girona Flower festival, the Dali Museum in Figueres, the restaurant Celler de Can Roca and the Cap Creus national park. The Girona destination is illustrated with a photograph of the Cathedral of Girona garlanded with flowers and with a brief descriptive text. The list also includes Washington, Wales, Austria, Turkey, Chile and Norway.

Publication of a children's book on the story of the Empuries excavations
The Town Hall of L'Escala will soon present a book showing the story of the Greek and Roman archaeological remains of the Empuries., “En vadoret d”Empuries”, written and illustrated by the Robert Pibernat Ballesta who has disappeared . The book will be presented to the public on the 31st March at 6 P.M. In the town hall meeting room.

The price of water has risen between 17% and 42% in 5 years.
The price will increase again in 2012 and those users that consume up to 9 cubic metres (cm3) of water will pay 4.02 euros. Those that consume up to 12 cm3 will pay 7,11. Up to 15 will pay 10.20 and finally those that consume 18 cm3 will pay 17.92 per cm3. This translates into increases of 17,20, 21 and 42% since 2008 respectively.

Trial of the blind person's itinerary in the Aiguamolls.
The Aiguamolls Natural park has been developing routes for people with visual incapacity. This week a trial was undertaken using students to explore the trails designed for the vision limited users, an new feature mailing the best use of the natural space.

The Republican Esaquerra party of the Figueres Council alleges that the Montessori does not have permission for the works.
The group released a communique that alleges irregularities in the process of giving planning permission for the new school at Montessori

The county will assume responsibility for the Muga road.
The council of the Alt Emporda together with the town halls of San Llorenc de la Muga, Boadella, Darnius,Pint de Molins, Llers, Cabanes, Peralada and Castello d’Empuries

Creation of a product to enable the Tour Operators to organise conferences.
The Tourist Board of the Costa Brava has made available an on-line platform to create a framework for the planning and organisation of business meeting linking the Costa Brava tourist market with the profess ional organisers. The facility will allow up to date linking between the organisers and the various suppliers they deal with. The release of the platform coincides with the visit of 9 British travel agents to the Gironian area between the 13th and 16th March to explore the congress meeting and tourist products marketplace.

The high speed train (TAV) will not reach France this year.
The Spanish Minister responsible for the infrastructure will be completed in 2012 due to the considerable delays the works are experiencing.

First wind tower in the windy areas of La Jonquera .
La Jonquera already has the first tower to measure wind forces in the area. It is situated in the area in which the Natural gas company wishes to construct a park of between 8 and 10 wind towers. The Town Hall was obliged to allow the installation after the Catalan Government authorised the trial. The wind farm project however is still awaiting the results of a judicial review after complaints from businesses and organisations about the use and location of the wind farm area.

A staircase will allow viewing of the medieval wall of Figueres.
The Town Hall is going to leave uncovered part of the medieval wall of the city found in plaza de lost Patatas, uncovered during works in this part of the city. The project will also feature a metal explanatory panel explaining the structure.

L'Escala restarts the promenade works halted due to the tramontana for the past week .
The concreting works had to be halted due to the fact that the concrete would have dried out too quickly in the strong winds making it brittle and liable to crack.

Roses leads the house sales market in Girona.
Roses became, during 2011, the leading sales area for residential houses. The coastal city saw purchases of some 611 homes, a 41.1% increase over 2010. The figures for Roses are an exception for the Spanish market which generally saw significant decreases. Castelló d'Empuries also saw a 10% rise.

A young person accused of 7 robberies in the towns of Llança and Port de la Selva has been sent to prison .
The Mosses d'Esquadra arrested a 22 year old resident on the 7th March on suspicion of committing 7 robberies against second homes in both Llança and Port de la Selva. In every case the same method was used – climbing onto the balconies, unhinging the security shutters and breaking a glass window.

Careless disposal of ashes caused a fire in Roses.
The strong wind that blew at more than 100 Kph in many points of the region and the dry vegetation made extinction a difficult task. Once under control a second fire began in Chartted' Empordà next to the C-31 and in the middle of the afternoon a second in Bescanó. The proprietors of the last house of the urbanization of the Almadraba, according to initial investigations, could have thrown outside of the land plot glowing ashes that would have ignited the undergrowth

Girona is offering land to IKEA near the AP-7.
The City Council has offered the Swedish multinational furniture retailer that it should settle in land next to the highway. The Town Hall could thus take advantage in front of other suitors since the gerundense capital is a unique location in the whole region that meets the criteria of the commerce law.

City Councils that do not fly the Spanish flag will be fined.
The Spanish government delegation to the Catalonian State will prosecute City Councils that do not display the Spanish flag on their buildings. Last Tuesday, the delegate Maria de los Llanos de Luna, confirmed that the demand will be sent to non-compliant City Councils that they should take action to comply with the order

Prostitutes working in the streets will be fined.
The advisor of Interior of the Catalan Autonomous Government, Felip Puig, stated last Tuesday that the future law of rights and responsibilities for public space plans to introduce as administrative infraction the offer of prostitution in the streets of the municipalities. It acknowledges that the exercise of prostitution is not a criminal activity but want " to free the public space of this activity”, something that has already been reduced on the Catalan highways for reasons of road security.

La Jonquera is carrying out a city-planning reform and improvement of the image of the commercial zone.
Aside from the works now in progress the next improvement will focus on improving the use of the public highway. The abolition of street rubbish is also under review. The Mayoress, Sonia Martinez, emphasised that the image of the commercial sector is very important, “especially in these times of crisis". The works should be completed in 3 weeks.

The Troupe Zola and the Grechushkin, prize winners of the Circus Festival in Figueres.
The spectacles of the Mongolian Troupe Zola and Grechushkin, from Russia, have been the big winners of the first edition of the International Circus Festival of Figueres. The director of the festival, Genís Matabosch, has described the contest as " an incredible success" since through the great door of the Castle of San Ferrán more than 14,000 spectators passed to watch 10 acts with all the venues sold out

A strike in France affected the train network.
A labour strike in France on Wednesday affected the international trains that connect Catalonia with France, Italy and Switzerland. The impact began at 8 P.M. Wednesday and lasted until Thursday at 8 A.M. The trains that were affected included a Talgo that links Lorca with Montpellier that terminated in Portbou. Those passengers who were due to travel on the Portbou-Montpellier section were transferred by road from Figueres to their destination

Forty-two percent f tourists are faithful to Roses.
Roses have repeaters or, in other words, four in each ten tourists who stay in Roses repeat the experience. This is one of the conclusions that results from the investigative work on tourist behaviour undertaken by Marc Grijalbo, winner of the 2011 Yvette Barbeza prize.

A year of record tramontana.
Jonquera and Portbou are two of the areas that register more days each year of the northern wind, although not always blowing more than sixty kilometres per hour. Geographically the tramontana is often present in places like the north of CAP Creus, but also it is present in the rest of the region. If one were to establish an annual average it would be around 100 days per year mark. Espolla is one of those places where in the last ten years it has blown between 80 and 113 days. In 2012, in addition, various records were created, like the 132 kilometres per hour in L'Escala or the 23 continuous days of tramontana. Since 1999 the wind has blown without interruption for almost a month only abating slightly at some point in the day. Today more tramontana is expected, mainly to the north of CAP Creus month

The general hall of L' Escala, has been closed for lack of finance.
The multi purpose room L'Escala Scale was to be inaugurated at this years' the carnival but for months the works have been halted. The Catalan Autonomous Government has communicated that will not be able to finance, as it planned 50% of the second phase costs. The City council has decided not to initiate start the works until the support is guaranteed.

Portbou has 800,000 € in debts and the same amount in creditors.
The delicate financial situation facing the Portbou council (CiU) and the opposition group of ERC was aired at a public meeting when it was revealed that there are 800,000 Euros in outstanding invoices and a similar amount in creditors.

The L'Escala Town Council has closed a day-care centre to avoid raising the charges.
The council of L' Escala informed on Thursday the Municipal Scholastic Council of the new regime for the coming school year. One of the main changes is the unification of day-care centres by closing the urban centre facility and a move to the new day-care centre located in the outskirts, where it will have a new format. As regards the primary school centres, it will be possible to be chose where to register the children.

L' Escala, the fourth vacation area of Catalonia most sought after.
A total of 8,985 families, which adds up to 33,297 persons have requested that this year the can take their vacations in a public funded accommodation with lower costs, a 32% increase over last year. The department of Family and Social Welfare has assigned today, by means of a ballot before a notary in the Catalan Lottery offices, the first 21,265 places for families with small children have a low cost holiday.

Climatic change will modify the maize harvest calendars in the river basin of the Fluvià.
This is the conclusion of a project at ACCUA, made in collaboration between Social Obra of Catalunya Caixa, that warns that towards the 2030 Fluvià will than have a 20% reduction of water in the reservoir As well as this there will be other impacts of the climatic change, like the rising temperatures, which will shorten the biological cycle of maize and will make the farmer plant and harvest earlier. The study suggests ways of adapting to these changes such as changes in the maize type which will be more drought resistant.

An appeal in the Catalan Parliament to stop the extension of the highway to the Aiguamolls in the Empordà.
The group ICV-EUiA has called on the Catalan Parliament to halt the extension to the highway GIV-6102 between Santa Margarida and Palau-saverdera as " it affects the heart of the Natural Park of the Aiguamolls of Empordà". The group has presented a proposal to protect the area, used frequently as a route for cycling tourism. Some weeks ago, the organization IAEDEN initiated a collection of companies through its' web pages to try to stop the project. The eco-socialists claim that the project plans an widening of up to seven meters and the elimination of some bends.

The “palm beetle” has appeared in Castelló d' Empúries.
The city council of Castelló d' Empúries has asked that owners of Canary palms should make contact if their trees display symptoms of being infected by the beetle (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus), after the Town Hall detected some cases in the past year. The insect “coleopter” causes important damages in these palms leading to the death of the tree.

Climatic change is changing the marine species in the CAP Creus.
The increase in temperature of the sea water is leading to, in the CAP of Creus and adjacent areas, the proliferation and appearance of new warm water species and the reduction of some native cold fish. This is the main conclusion of new study that has been undertaken in this sector of the Mediterranean looking at the effect the warming of the ocean on fishing stock. The " vieja" , a very common fish in the Canary Islands, has been recorded for the first time, and on the other hand , others like the Ling, native to the area, are reducing or disappearing

The former mayor of Jonquera is driving a popular campaign to rehabilitate the church.
The former mayor, Jordi Heads (CiU), along with the local priest , John William Candle, wants to start up a popular campaign to gather funds to finance an integral rehabilitation of the church. The idea is to return to the community arrangements of 1791 that enabled the construction of the the temple with economic involvement of neighbors, companies and individuals. A meeting will be called to announce the project.

The German newspapers have picked up on the gastronomic day of Rosesen Solingen.
Roses has obtained an important awareness in the German media for the gastro-cultural campaign that will be held in the city of Solingen, in Germany, from the 19th to the 25th of March. According to the City council, the news item has a already brought about the first reservations in the restaurants of Solingen that will participate in the the promotion. The journalists have been invited to participate in the presentation of the 13 culinary team and the 5 wineries that will participate in the gastro-cultural week. Citizens of the city have begun to reserve places in some of the restaurants that will be involved in the campaign. Each of them will host a team of chefs that will offer a sample of the Roses cuisine. In addition, the ampurdanesean wines will be offered.

Leading international humour in Figueres from the 13 to the 20 of April.
The fifth edition of the Comedy Festival of Figueres will arrive in the city from the 13th to the 20th of April to offer an overdose of humour to the public through a programme of artists of national reputation of the stature such as Faemino and Cansado and of international level like the Swiss Gardi Hutter who will perform the clown show, one of the Festival programmes directed at professionals that is a success every year .

The Sound Festival has announced the dates of the 2012 event.
The Festival will take place from Wednesday 29th of August to Sunday 2nd of September of 2012. This year, the festival celebrates its´ eleventh edition, and is hoping to surpass the record number of 45,000 spectators at the 2011 event. The organisers are already working on the musical programme and the new features for this year. One of the new features is the Web www.festivalacustica.cat showing the best moments of the concerts of Acoustics 2011 that can be relived and the documentary; 3 visions of the Acústica" can be seen..

Preparatory work has begun for the change of pavement of the marine promenade of L' Escala.
Next week the work will begin to change the pavement of the marine promenade to a more weather resistant type. On Tuesday testing took place to determine how to achieve the fastest possible removal of the original stone pieces, that will be replaced by a continuous tinted concrete pavement, the same construction as used in the Riells promenade

The Toy Museum is presenting a new exhibition about the world of circus. It will run from this Saturday until the 22nd April and will show acts and materials linked to the world of circus, supplied by the International Festival of Circus that will take place in Figueres from 1st until 4th March.
The seasonal exhibition, which will be held in the “Oberta Sala”, will include a range of objects such as clown's costumes from 1920, some of wood from 1915 and one of painted tin made in Japan in 1950. Under the heading of “Circus Dreams”, the exhibition hopes to revisit the emotion s and spectacles that youngsters saw in these shows.

The municipal kinder gardennnn “Passeig de lees Oques” in Castelló d'Empuires,will be closed for thmonthnt of August in order to save 13,0Eurostar.s. The leaders of the council Education department emphasise that the plan, that is provisional, is not due to any other reason except to deal with the “grave economic situation” in which the Council finances are to be found

A day of mathematics in Figueres.. Figueres wiofferererer on the 25ht February “ Mathematics Saturday of the Alt Emporda”, a day organised by the Princes Foundation of Girona (FpdG) and Ferran Sunyer to bringbranch brach of science close to the students of primary and secondary education to increase their interest. The program will emphasise the presence and role of mathematics in current technologies such as space missions, encrypted digital communications and the study of population growth.

After 3 years of demands, La Jonquera could have this summer a temporary Mossed D'Esquadra office after last year abandoning hopes for the construction

El ACA (Catalan Agency of the Water) does not have any money. The City Councils have protested to El ACA that it undertakes the agreed activities and cleans the channels but the Agency insists that it does not have the money. The office of Territory and Sustainability determined the debt of the agency to be more than 1,100 million Euros and until the budgets of the Catalan Autonomous Government for 2012 are approved, El ACA will not know what amount it will have available for cleaning the channels

In the City council of Castelló d' Empúries it gets cold in the winter and hot in the summer. The system of heating and conditioning of the City Council has been broken for more than a year and in some departments they have been forced to place electric heaters to confront the cold. The installation cannot be repaired and as to change it would be very expensive, the previous authority decided to rent a replacement. The companies that offer this service did not trust the municipal solution and nobody applied for the contract. According to the Mayor, Xavier Sanllehí (CiU), the Council has to recover the confidence and he hopes soon to solve the problem.

The ground works of the MAT (Network of Very High voltage) will begin in April The electricall network company has ready the project for the section between Bescanó and Santa Llogaia, where the 400 kV will pass along 106 towers

The organizers of the French Sail Tour will visit Roses. Tour 2012 will take place between the 29 of June and the 26 of July, during which period the participants will cross a greater part of the French coast, from the English Channel to the Mediterranean coast of Marseilles. This year, in addition, the Tour will sail through Catalan waters to the bay of Roses, which has been greeted very positively by the City council for the double effects: the high numbers of sporting participation that each stage of the tour involves and the tourist projection that will arrive in the municipality, mainly of numerous French visitors who follow the Tour on a daily basis.

A outbreak of mumps has affected 26 people in the Girona area. The experts have asked that the infected persons stay at home for the next nine days to restrain the propagation of the virus.

The Catalan artist Antoni Tapies has passed away at his home in Barcelona aged 88 years. The life of the Catalan painter had been ebbing away slowly in the last few months.

The Emporda Health Institute will be maintaining the services of CAP at L'Escala this year. This was confirmed by the Director of primary health services (ABS) Jordi Roca at the last meeting of the Municipal Health committee. It is planned to continue the service in its' present form with minimum changes for the summer.

The Catalan population at 31st December 2011 was 7,432,830, 1,802 less that the year previous , the first decrease of residents recorded in the Catalan community in one years since the Spanish civil war.

The “Cirque de Soleil” will be sending its' director of castings, Philippe Agogue to the International Circus Festival that will take place in Figueres from the 1st until the 14th of March with the objective of signing up participating artists.. According to the event organisers, Agogue will choose acts for its current shows and for the new routines to be developed.

The reform of the coastal law that the new Spanish PP government wishes to pass has re-opened the debate regarding the destruction of the coast. The Spanish Minister for Agriculture, Food and Environment has stated the the changes to the current law for coastal protection , in force since 1988, will be take into account the needs to make it fully compatible with the need for economic growth, employment creation and steps towards a route out of the economic crisis.

The regions of Gerona lost some 500 million Eurostar in 2011 due to the reduction in air travellers through the airport. The past year recorded a decrease of some 928,000 travellers compared to the previous year due to a disagreement between the Catalan government and the Irish airline Ryanair, which led to the reduction of planes and frequency of flights

The Firarebaixa exhibition in Girona reaches its' 20th birthday. Fira, that will run from the first until the 5th of February, will have 120 exhibitors and will feature of full range of products reasonably priced . Fira Girona expects 34,000 visitors.

The municipal government of Roses headed by Carles Pàramo, has in plan the construction of a promenade from the beach of Almadrava to give link up with coastal path that joins the town with the coves of Cap Creus.

Snow in Sant Pere de Rodes and Espolla. Lightweight clothing during the day with weak sunshine as winter returns to bring back the weather more appropriate for these dates. The snow appeared in a large part of the Pyrenees and Montseny and the maximum temperature did not reach 10 degrees.

Car sales in the Girona region reached about 550 million Euros.last years. Almost 60% came from the sale of second hand vehicles, a market that has gained weight in recent years following the reduction caused by new registrations.

At the end of February Figures will be home to leisure are with discotheque, games hall and a Foster Hollywood american food venue. The complex, that will be called Village, will cover an area of about 1,500 square metres with a car parking capacity of around eighty vehicles. The promoters of the initiative assure that it is an important facility that will employ more than sixty people.

Castelló d' Empúries has presented to the Generalitat its' new plan of use for the beach of Empuriabrava, where the present constructions will make way for new businesses. The 30 year concession to a private company has been acquired by the City council, that will develop restaurant establishments and diverse leisure, sport and nautical activities,.

The Catalan Federation of Sport and Leisure for people with psychological incapacity, with the support of the Roses City council, organized the regional swimming event for people with intellectual disability in the Municipal Swimming pool of Roses. A total of 200 male and female swimmers took part in the different races and modified tests, in both deep and shallow pools..

The Supreme Court has declared null and void the legal authorization of the Rabos pig macro farm IAEDEN-Salvem l' Empordà after ten years of opposition (campaigns and action, resources and allegations and, finally, administrative tribunal of the Court Superior of Justice of Catalonia), celebrates the judgement and is seeking the immediate closure of the farm.

The Portbou leisure port – a shared enterprise managed by the City council (30%),the Generalitat (50%) and Club (20%) - has increased by a 113% the annual tariffs of the moorings.

The re-urbanisation works that are being carried out in the Prim de Rosas square have uncovered the existence of an anti aircraft refuge in the subsoil. The Town Hall, that knew its' existence, will now study the state of conservation of the refuge, constructed during the Civil War years.

The musicians of the Emporda Chamber Orchestra of the Empordà will no longer be paid for rehearsals and they will only play concerts. An agreement was signed on Monday that reduces by 70% the working day for a tenth of the orchestra, which will reduce from 40 to 12 hours weekly.

Two negative facts stand out from the crime data of 2011 in Catalonia. Robberies rise 30% and a 50% increase in armed robberies. This is attributable to the increased price of gold and the ease with which thieves can sell it on the black market

The hotels businesses of Catalonia registered in December last more than 1, 6 million bookings, a number that should close 2011 with a new tourist record of 48.029.385 guests, 5.9% more than in 2010, according to the recent data east published Monday last by the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE).

The foreign population in the municipalities of Girona reduced during 2011 by more than 1,000. The economic difficulties in the Spanish State and the high rate of unemployment have meant that many people of sought to return to their country to seek a future. The reduction has been marked in the areas of the Costa Brava

The Tourism Office of the L'Escala received Friday, in the international fair of tourism of Madrid, Fitur, a Quality Award for the services it offers The Secretary of State of Tourism, Isabel Lamb, made the presentation of the quality award for 2011

The Court of Instruction Number 1 of Figueres is investigating a complaint, made by three Madrilenian tourists, alleging a web cam was hidden in the shower of a hotel room in Roses (Alt Empordà). The tourists arrived in August of 2010 and stayed at the hotel San Marcos. When one of them took a shower - after the other two had already done so- a web cam was discovered hidden in the ventilation grate. The camera was hidden with insulating tape. The tourists have alleged invasion of privacy

The Municipal Archives of Roses (the 20 AMR) celebrates the 20th anniversary of its opening during which time it has been given more than 74 archives and collections of documents. This municipal service guarantees the arrangement, conservation and access of the documentary origins of Roses, with both private and public sources. The future plan is to develop the use and application of the new technologies, with the aim of making the service more accessible to the public

The supermarket chain Carefour will not charge VAT on some 4000 products to people over 65 years. The initiative, which start form this Tuesday, will allow savings of between 225 and 250 Euros per year in the average retirees household budget, according to calculations made by the company.

The village of Darnius, in the Alt Emporda, of some 500 inhabitants, has in plan an ecological camping project of more than 100,000 Sq M near to the Boadella lake.. Its' promoters, amongst then the current mayor, that there is not another one is Catalunya nor in the country and defend the appropriateness of the installation to 'energize' the area. It will create jobs for around 80 to 120 and secondary employment for some 150 persons. It will be managed by a family with the objective of using the environment is a respectful manner, it will offer spaces of up to 300 Sq M and 70 bungalows. It will also offer a gymnasium where the machines will instead of using energy, generate it.

Roses is allocating around 9000,000 Euros to social activities and projects. The cut-off for financial requests will be the last day of March.

The Alt Emporda Institute for the Study and Defence of Nature (laeden) organised on Sunday a workshop for the construction of bird boxes with the participation of 25 students who constructed 16 boxes.

This Monday an introductory course to Russian began organized by the Council of Castelló de Empúries directed at service personnel in tourist and commercial establishments. The aim is to equip the groups who are in contact with the visitors with the tools for correct behaviour, with a basic knowledge of the language and some expressions of welcome and courtesy.

The Catalan government had identified as urgent the construction of a new north exit in the AP-7 in Figueres. The Catalan Secretary of Territory, Damià Calvet, has requested a meeting with the Spanish Minister responsible

The City Council of Figueres will pass new legislation to force the telecommunication companies to remove antennas that are in breach of planning regulations.

According to information released by two naturalistic organizations, NINAM and ANG, the Seabird Exploration FZLCC company has asked the Ministry of Environment, Countryside and Sea for permission to undertake a seismic survey in the Mediterranean sea floor in the area of the Cap Creus and the Balearic Islands looking for fields of gas and petroleum

The Partnership of the Memorial Museum of Exilio (MUME) of Portbou, in collaboration with the Democratic Memorial, has held the first session of the Walter Benjamin International Memorial Prize with two categories: help for the creative artistic n, and the acknowledgement of unpublished literary work. The first category will receive 12,000 Euros and the second 6,000 Euros.

On Friday more than a hundred of people attended the plenary session of Figueres called by the organization of patients of the heart, CORFI. The reason: a motion presented by the Popular Party of Figueres (PP) requesting that a prestigious cardiologist of the Hospital of Figueres remained in his post.

The Eco-museum de Castelló d' Empúries received during the year 2011, 11,120 visitors to the museum and in addition, 2421 persons attended the different workshops and conferences that have been held.

The Figueres Council presented the first results of the pilot project ' Smart City' , a technological system that permits real time data collection aimed at improving the management and efficiency of services such as road security, street lighting and cleaning.

The City council of Castelló d' Empúries has sent a warning to the proprietors of moorings of Empuriabrava. The 24th of January will be the anniversary of the publication in the State Government Bulletin (BOE) of the demarcation of Empuriabrava and how the Law of Coasts applies to the channels. Proprietors will lose the ownership of their mooring and that, as a indemnification, they should apply for a 60 year concession.

The increase in Property Tax (IB) approved by the Cabinet on the 30th of December will affect almost all the municipalities of Girona. Of the 221 municipalities, 189 will be affected in this year by the increase. Only 14 city councils, amongst them Olot, Roses, Llagostera or Santa Cristina d' Hoop, will be exempt from the increase having made the valuation revision in the real estate boom years.

The strong winds experienced on Thursday last, the afternoon of Kings, caused the wind mill that had been installed in June to fall and finish up in the tiled roof of the new building of Ca l' Anita de Roses. The incident, that caused no personal injuries, caused the area to be zoned off to avoid any further accidents.

The Theatre Jardi de Figueres will feature on 13th January next the ballet “Swan Lake” interpreted by the Russian National Ballet Theatre of Moscow. The performance will begin at 9 PM and the admission prices will vary from 24€ to 30€.

The federation of ERC Alt Empordà is pressing for a communal response to the fight against the elimination of the level crossings and the status of the station at Figueres

Bad numbers in the occupancy rates in the Girona area. According to the Federation of Hotel Traders of Girona, the occupancy figures during the fifteen days of Christmas vacations did not surpass 50 percent

Some long line fishing boats have moved further afield in recent months towards the fishing-grounds of Italy looking for more fish and consequently more rewards According to the Mayor of Roses and President of the Federation of Gerona Fishermen, Antoni Abbot, one from Roses, one from Puerta de la Selva and another one from L'Escala have taken seasonal decision that will allow them to harvest more product for sale at the home port

The Costa Brava is one of the places in Europe where the practice of kite surfing is more widespread. A group of fans to the sport of Girona has created the company Insolit Boards dedicated to the production of 100% organic handmade wooden boards. For decades wood was basis of the product but fibre replaced it in the 1960s. Now, however, these young people espouse that wood is more durable, ecological and suitable for the practice of kite surfing. In addition, the consumer can choose the characteristics of his board

The magic of the festival of Kings will help the bakers through “The Crisis”with an anticipated consumption in Catalonia of 850,000 “Kings Cakes”, the same amount as last year. Although it is expected that the families will purchase in line with their needs, the bakers Union believes that nobody will sacrifice this celebration with the “Kings Cakes”. In order to support the consumption in the present economic environments, the pastry shops have frozen the prices for the third consecutive year and the families will spend, on average, about 24 Euros. As regards the preferred choice of filling the traditional marzipan is loosing ground to ones filled with “creme anglais” , chocolate truffle or cream

The unemployment data for the month of December made public this Tuesday although showing a slight drop for the whole of Catalonia has revealed an increase in the Alt Empordà. The actual number is 11,306 persons, 129 more than in the month of December

The Catalan leisure sector invoiced a year end figure 5.5% more than year end of 2010 as a result of the modification of the rules for night opening hours. The new Order of Schedules allows half an hour later closing for music bars and 45 minutes for discotheques.

The mayor of Figueres, Santi Vila (CiU), has confirmed in an interview in Girona Radio that, according to information from officious sources, there is doubt regarding the opening date of the new jail at Puig Basses.

The commerce of Cadaqués and the Portús have joined the Axis Empordà. The Federation Axis Empordà continues growing and last week the commercial groupings of the Portús and Cadaqués have joined the association. The formalization in the agreement was carried out during the presentation of the platform ' emporda'. The Axis Empordà was formed the 20 of April 2011 and at that time comprised the associations of retailers of Figueres, Roses, Empuriabrava, L' Escala and Llançà. Later Puerto de la Selva and the Association of the Hoteliers of the Alt Empordà were added.

Cadaqués has pre announced the return of film projections on the 7th January in the historical theatre of Art and Jewellery. It has in its' one hundred year existence had different uses, from cinema, theatre, dance hall and art centre under the management of the former secretary of Dalí, John Peter Moore and his wife, Catherine Perrot. In order to be able to offer sessions it will have to acquire projection equipment which will be purchased with the money raised through the sale of a picture from the artist Ramon Moscardó who has yielded to the town hall

The Council of Tourism of the Spanish Confederation of Enterprise Organizations (Ceoe) has last Monday described as the new tourist tax that the Catalan Government wishes to levy in Catalonia as “needless” and opposes it on the same basis as the guest house sector which states it will damage the competitiveness of the sector

The hospitals of Palamós and of Figueres are establishing a strategic alliance to share services due to the economic crisis. The project is one of organization and management which will focus on the optimization of resources in the area of computer science services , harnessing and developing the business knowledge and adapting it to the real needs of our centres and of our territory.

Three of the four opposition groups on the City council of Llançà (ICV, Union llançanenc and the PSC) have criticized the constant increases in property taxes (IBI). The City Council will reduce it by 0.1% but the future changes will mean that it will continue to rise. The councilman of the PSC, Francesc Guisset, calculates the increase from 2006 to today as 10% and says that it is the municipality that is having to pay for bad management.

The City council of L'Escala will mark the local urban furniture with synthetic DNA as a deterrent to possible robberies. This is an innovative system that permits quick identification of any recovered objects. The City council of L' Escala is first in using this marking, that already has been trialled in Llançà, Figueres, the Jonquera, Castellón and Olot. In fact the State data base was operational last month.

The Mossos d' Esquadra caught 41 trucks speeding on the N-II in the direction to Bàscara (Alt Empordà) the 15th December, when they set up a police control, as well as a car travelling at 141 km/h. The permitted speed for trucks in all the highway N-II, where the carriage way is not divided is 80 kilometres per hour and for cars and motorcycles it is 100 kilometres per hour

During Gariguella's main festival, in the Zapatero Hurto room, an exhibition entitled “ Faces of the World” featuring photographic work from the Catalan artist Merece Pons, a Menorcan resident, will be open for visitors.

The Celler Espelt Oak Barrel room at Vilajuiga – where the vintage wines are drawn – will be the scene next Friday - 16th of December – from 9 til midnight of a new meeting in the Empordian winery. On this occasion the reason for the celebration is the now traditional Christmas Concert which has been celebrated in this unusual location for the last five years.

The AVE Madrid – Barcelona – French border will arrive at Girona and join the city with the other Catalan capital cities at the end of 2012. This was stated by the Councillor for “Territorio y Sostenibilidad” Lluis Recoder in an interview with Europa Press.

A strike by Iberian airline pilots will take place on the 18th and 29th of December according to a SEPLA spokesman, the union which represent the pilots, in a press statement releases this last Wednesday

In an interview with Emporda Weekly, the Mayor of Cadaques, Joan Figueras, admitted that the council had not collected “IBI” for the last 4 year from the majority of residents. Figueras was insistent when he stressed that “we are certain that everyone will pay what the y owe” The first remittance of receipts is for 430,000 euros

Figueres is moving forward with its' negotiations with the public company Tabasa. The negotiations are for the construction of the “Ronda Norte” which will include a tunnel under the San Fernando castle, which will be a toll section.

The number of property transactions fell by 11% in October, when compared to the past year. In total of 2,981 homes changed hands, 373 less than October 2010, according on the Spanish Institute of Statistics (INE)

From this Tuesday until Friday the 16 December, DipSalut plans to install 17 defibrillator in more than 10 municipalities. The areas are Peralada, Vilamalla, Sant Per Pescador, Albons and Verges that will have them starting from now. All the municipalities will have 2 of these apparatus ( normally located in sports centres, medical centres and public building like the Town Hall) except in Albons that will only install one.

As a consequence of the economic situation the Red Cross organisation of Figueres is planning to distribute toys to more than 300 families on Epiphany (Night of the Kings) . This Saturday the organisation will be collecting the Christmas products from its' supporting supermarkets and on the 22nd will make the traditional collection of toys in the “Plaza de Catalunya” in the Alt Emporda capital.

The Emporda is seeking World Heritage status. Figueres has announced that it will work to gain the recognition for the Dalinario triangle, by Unseco ,of its world wide partrimony

The Christmas Kitchen Master of L'Escala begins its' 17th showing from this Monday. During 3 days some 20 dishes will be demonstrated and there will be a discussion on how to save money in these times of crisis, given by the guest chef, Lola Puig of El Fort d'Ullastret.

The President of the Catalan Autonomous Government, Artur Mas, stated this past Monday that tourism is "the driving force for the economic march of the country" in as much as the sector leads and is an exception during the past few years of economic crisis..

Fourteen restaurants from Roses will participate in the gastrocultural fair as part of the City Council Tourist Embassies project, being held in Solingen, in Germany. This is the city selected for a pilot test of the promotional week of gastronomy and culture from the 19th to 26th March

The Cap Crues Natural Park has won the prize of " Good Practices of Conservation in Natural Spaces Protect-edition 2011" , for environmental restoration project in zone of S' Agulla-Se Camello, in the area of Tudela, previously known as Club Mediteranee. The prize acknowledges the results that EUROPARC-Spain and the Foundation Fernando González Bernáldez achieved with the support of the Foundation Biodiversity to improve the effectiveness in the management of the protected natural spaces.

The Figueres Town Council is in the throes of finalizing the installation of the Christmas Lights with a pioneering new approach, a first for Catalonia. This year the lights will be inset in panels installed on the facades of the city buildings. This is a new solution devised by the council engineers which will permit the Town Council to save money in the awarding of the installation contract, increase the security of the lights and improve the appearance of the facades and the streets

In one of the few occasions that can be remembered The Alt Emporda has come together to ask that the Catalan Government look again at the separation of the N 11 carriageways.

Figueres is offering to put 72 houses into controlled rent status .From 1st December to the 20th January 2012 requests for inclusion can be made. The properties are offered at low prices, from about 140 Euros

The President of the Local Council of the Alt Emporda and the President of the Regulating Council of the Denomination of Origin (DO) Emporda have signed an agreement by which both organisations will closely collaborate in benefiting from a study on the promotion of wine tourism throughout the EmpordaThe Consumer Price Index was set in November at an annual rate of 2.9%, one tenth less than in the previous month, according to the early indicators on the evolution of prices published Spain this Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

Demonstrations in Perthus against cross-border prostitution. Five hundred people have protested this morning in the Perthus, in the North of Catalonia, against prostitution. The demonstrators cut the main through route of the locality in a protest for the defence of women's rights and for a world without prostitution.

The recent rains have accounted for more than half of the years' total. The precipitations during this period have been especially important in the coast and the coastal areas.

The fourth edition of Catalonian wine guide, that will go on sale this Thursday, will include 1,600 wines of from 370 bodegas, a 10% increase over last year. Jordi Alcover and Sílvia Naranjo, the authors of the book have published it with the intention of creating increased public awareness and Catalan know ledge about their own wines. According to the authors, it is only wine guide that allows one to “taste blind”and where factors apart from the wine itself are taken into account. For the first time, the guide includes a section dedicated 72 beers For Alcover and Naranjo, beer is a drink that is also of interest to the wine drinker

Family doctors will have to deal with specialities that until now have resulted in a referral. This change will be made possible with the use of clinical guides produced the centres of excellence in a speciality or through the medium of of tele-consultations (telephone, email or ' webcam' for example) to consultants.

This Thursday the 24th the award of the prize “Wiki Loves Monuments 2011” prize will take place in the Vigatà of the Palau Moja in Barcelona. This is a European wide photographic contest with the aim of photographing and recording all the monuments the cultural heritage of Europe. Amongst the finalists, three images of the region of the Alt Emporda: the Church of the Castle of San Fernando of Figueres, Castle of Llers and Castle of Verdera.

The Catalonia Square of Figueres hosted the Food Fair of North Catalonia on the 26th and 27th of November. Fourteen French producers offered cheeses, wines, pates and jams, among others products. Next spring products of the Alt Emporda will be promoted in Perpignan

The number of outdoor swimming pools, municipal basketball courts, pavilions and football grounds in the province of Girona grew greatly in the boom years At present, there are 6,283 sport facilities in the Girona region, thousands of which are council property the majority of which have to be managed.

The City Council of Figueres wants to install a second photoelectric canopy, although of smaller dimension, in the running track of the old city pavilion.

The Government anticipates that the electrical connection of 132 kV between Girona, Olot and Figueres that will assure the continued supply and increased capacity will be finished in 2015.

The Rosas Council Tourist Department has begun a project entitled “Rosas, Mediterranean beach of .......your city”, which will develop promotional and loyalty building programmes with European cities of similar profiles that should result in increased conversion opportunities of tourism business for Rosas. The project began with a pilot test in the German city of Solingen, which following initial meetings, has shown a significant interest in the initiative.

Saturday last the Hotel Terraza in Rosas began the first of the Autumn -Winter gastronomic activities with a day dedicated to the new wine harvest in the Mas d'en Coll centre in Rosas. The day activities began in the morning with a visit to the new oenology (science of wine making) centre Mas d'en Coll, of Celler Espelt, followed by the opening of wine casks with the new harvest that the attendees could taste.

The young Figueres artist Albert Llobet, has today opened an exhibition of his recent works in the Art Room of Celler Espelt in Vilajuiga, most of which are large scale, being a collection of abstract work in the acrylic technique.

The fishermen are fighting for the right to carry tourists on-board in spite of the Ministry of Shipping prohibiting the carriage of visitors on fishing boats. The Geronan fishermen see this sustainable tourism as an opportunity to increase their earnings in a time of crisis and at the same time increase awareness of their work.. So far the results of the trials have been positive but the Ministry is impeding the presence of tourists on fishing boats that are at sea to work.

A hiker was injured at midday this Monday after falling near the reservoir of Boadella in the municipality of Darnius, Alt Emporda.

The Government of Catalonia has banned for 3 months the use of the “cerco” nets. The Fisherman's' Guild of Gerona, as well as those of Barcelona and Tarragona have accepted the implementation of this measure.

The organisation “Facua” has published a range of measures to protect the recipients of unsolicited emails . The guide - “Spam - what it is and how to deal with it” – offers information about the techniques used by the originators of unsolicited email, recommendations on avoiding it and the processes that exist for those affected to complain. The consumer guide is available on the web site of the association (http://guias.facua.org) where earlier editions can also be accessed.

The Mosses d'Esquadra detained 134 copper and scrap thieves in the Geronan counties in the past year. The “crisis” and the increase in the price of metal have meant that , since the summer of 2010, these crimes have become a a real headache for the police, not least because the thefts have left entire villages without telephone service for days.

A steam train is once again connecting Figueres and Portbou. The test run was a success and carried some 200 people but had to leave behind a number of passengers as there was not sufficient space on the train.

In the last 6 months the Mosses d' Esquadra and local police have made 286 cautions and 27 arrests as well as stopping 600 people and searching 88 vehicles in the entertainment areas of Alt Emporda.

Castello d'Empuries has detected that one of the palm tress in the area of Moxo de Empuriabrava has been damaged by the presence of the “escarabajo picudo (snout beetle), an plague insect that kills palm trees. The municipal tree specialists are making an immediate visual inspection in the area to find new cases and give advice to the owners of land wherever palm trees are growing.

The strong storm that affected a large part of Catalonia during the last 24 hours saw water levels of between 60 and 100 litres per square metre in many parts of the Pyrenees and the north east of the country. Information from the meteorological stations of the SMC , highlights the 99.5 litres at Espolla (Alt Emporda) , the 92 litres at Fornells de la Selva (Girona), the 69.7 litres at Portbou (Alt Emporda) and the 68.8 litres at La Tallada (Girona). At the same time, the Pyrenean peaks saw the biggest snowfall of the autumn with depths of greater than 10 centimetres above 2,200 M.

Mollet de Peralada hopes to serve up a “ton of bacalao” (salt cod) during the 2nd year of the festival dedicated to the product but with a subsection with the arts as its' theme. Bacalao producers and artists will share the Festival of Bacalao and Arts which will take place on 13th November in the centre of the town with the participation of 4 producers of “bacalao”, 3 wine producers and other suppliers of food and crafts. During the festival they will offer for 5 Euros, 8 food samples and a glass of wine. Some 800 servings are expected. In the 1st year of the festival 2,000 people visited Mollet de Peralada. The art aspect of the festival will be supported by the “Asociacion Cultural Proyecto Desat'Art”. It is expected that around 20 young painters will be exhibiting at the festival which will be enlivened with lectures, puppet shows and bouncy castles for the children.

Medicos de Catalonia (MC) has called a 2 days strike for the 15th and 16th of November in protest against the health cuts and to urge for the restoration of the budget and the social services of 2010. The union alleges that the Government is planning a cut of 4.8% for the 2012 health budget which will be added to the 10% planned for this year. They consider this new cut “unacceptable”.The strike is the first since 2006.

The Town Council of Roses has decided to retain an architect for the newly created post as “Head of Area Urbanistica y Territoria”. The task is to prepare plans for diverse areas that have been awaiting development for more than 25 years in readiness for the recovery of the economy and construction sector. In addition the work will address the planned commercial area at the start of the road to Cadaques

The Mossos d'Esquadra have discovered in La Jonquera a store of more than 15000 items of fake designer clothing and 14,600 counterfeit Euro notes.

The Town Hall of Castello d'Empuries wants to conduct a census of apartment occupants to avoid the possibility of public order problems. This was made public by an official in the office of the Mayor Jose Manuel Gallego in an interview published today in the Emporda, a monthly publication dedicated to the municipality. Gallego says that the council knows that “there are many over occupied apartments and that the legal process is sometimes very slow and that there is a risk of creating public order problems”

September saw the start of works to improve the environment of the river Muga in the town of Sant Llorenç de la Muga The works cover a stretch of 1600M and will involve an area of 5.8Hecares of riverbank vegetation improvement. The objective of the current project is to cut back the indigenous high riverbank growth to allow the recovery of its' natural species as well as reduce the risk of flooding, the retention of fallen tree trunks and to slow down the erosion in this part of the river .

The Mossos d'Esquadra of Figueres Police department detained on 26th October last in Figueres 2 men, Spanish nationals, as suspected authors of 6 robberies with force against persons in their homes in Llança

The rainfall recorded in recent days in Catalonia has not resulted in a improvement in the water levels of the reservoirs which even show a reduction of 4 points with respect to the levels of 2 weeks ago down to 55.9% of overall capacity. The rainfall in the recent days has not translated into an increase since after two months of almost no rain the dry ground absorbed the greater part leaving little for the lakes. The sources of the river Ter - Boadella, Sau and Susqueda – holding 346 cubic hectares – are at 75.3% of capacity .

A report by the accountant of the Roses Town Council concludes that the project for the supply and installation of furniture in the council chambers brought about by the increase in the number of councillors and undertaken by the previous administration did not followed the correct process. The cost of the works soared to 95,275.78 Euros.

Portbou want to be the beach for Figueres. The Mayor Josep Lluis Salas beli eves that the locality of Portbou is the best option for going to the beach for those that decide to go by train.

Some 300 cardiac patients of Figueres have called for the retention of Doctor Paz. The president of the Altampurdian Association for the Help and Prevention of Cardiac Problems – COR-FI, Carlos Corral, has written to the Mayor of Figueres and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Emporda Health Foundation, Santi Vila, to seek their help in avoiding that the renowned hospital cardiologist, Marco Antonia Paz is left with no choice but to leave.

The overnight stays in non-hotel tourist accommodation , for example, apartments, camping and rural guest houses, increased in September by 10.5% with respect to the recorded data for the previous year. The actual figures were 9.8 million nights booked for September throughout Spain in spite of the fact that the durations of stay were a littler shorter.

A German army helicopter made a supposed emergency landing yesterday morning in a parking area of the industrial zone of Vila-sacra. According to police sources, the apparatus had suffered some type of breakdown and had to put down in this area until it could be repaired and take-off. In spite of attempts to elicit more information about the origin and destination of the convoy , neither the German consulate nor the ministries could add more information to the circumstances that had led to the unplanned stop in this out of the way location.

Renovation of the former hospital site of the Sant Ferran Castle in Figueres. The idea is to restore the main components of the building such that the fortified space may be opened to the public .

This Monday the population of the earth will reach 7,000 million, according to calculations made by the United Nation Population Fund.. During the last 50 years the world has seen a spectacular growth rising from 3,000 million in 1960 to the current 7,000.

Roberto Sancho, of Club Matxacuca was the winner of the first mountain race of the Tramun-trail, which took place this Sunday, with a large participation of some 240 entrants, receiving a very positive assessment on the part of the runners.. Sancho finished the 21,907 metres of the course in a time of 1H.39M.28S with a comfortable margin over the second placed competitor Trafa Canizares of TR Racing who finished in 1h 41M 5S. The first l'Escala to arrive was Jaime Aguilera – sixth in the group – with a time of 1H 48M 22S

The Town Council of Figueres has decided to ask the Government of Catalonia to bestow the status of “Tourist City” with the objective of liberalising the trading hours to allow all day opening throughout the year. This initiative has the support of the Figueres Commerce Association and would apply to the historic centre and commercial areas of the town It would include the area of the Dali Museum to benefit from the million visitors that gravitate to the Dali area each year.

A large tourist complex in the Dominican Republic is taking its' inspiration from Cadaques and the Mediterranean architecture. The 40 million dollar investment project in Bayahibe to construct a complex with a Mediterranean theme is already in progress.

The superb weather which lasted for practically the whole month of September has borne fruit. The occupancy rates in the Hotels of Gerona were 1,356,088 , surpassing those of September 2010 by 6.3%. The growth in occupancy rates was in both foreign and native clients with the latter being the largest percentage.

The area of Riuet de L'Escala has been the subject of a complete restructure of the traffic circulation with t he objective of increasing road safety especially at the crossroads and roundabout of Sant Pere de Pescador ( the road to the camp sites)

The Town Council of Roses approved last Friday by unanimous deci sion to request from the Director General of Land Registry the beginning of the process to revise the Property Taxes of the town with the objective , according the the council team, of reducing the property taxes that the citizens are faced with each year.

The Town Council of Castello d'Empuries is trying to persuade the operating company of the Empuriabrava marina and the Government that it should be allowed to participate in the management of the 23 kilometres of canals. The objective is to influence where the financial investments should be made for the infrastructure improvements. For the Mayor, Xavier Sanllehi, the canals are viewed as streets and it is unthinkable that the streets would be privately managed.

Llança and Albanya will celebrate this weekend the mushroom season. Even though this year has been poor for collecting mushrooms the two communities have organised an event this Saturday.

This Monday the Parks and Gardens Services Department of Castelló 200 will begin the pruning of 4000 trees in the municipality. The work will start at the entrance to Empuriabrava at the Avenida Tramuntana and continue through to the commercial areas of Sant Mori and Moxo

Roses will be increasing taxes by an average of 2.1%. The Council will reduce the IBI by 0.5% but will raise by 1% the property tax.

The Roses Police department responded to 3,854 calls during 2010 including 62 arrests, 1,752 breakdown recoveries and attended 328 accidents. These are some of the facts made known yesterday during the ceremony held in the Teatro which showed the appreciation for the hard work undertaken. The cooperation between the various police and emergency services was emphasised.

The Town Council of Figueres will award the “Motel i l´Asil Vilallonga” with the “Silver Fig Leaf of Merit” one of the most important honours the city can bestow.

The private security in the area of L'Armentera together with the police presence have put an end to the theft of fruit in the orchards of the Emporda

“ The weather has gone mad”. These words , referring to the unusual weather conditions, are being used more than ever. If the past July was the wettest recorded in Girona since 1884, this October has the the data to make it the driest since 1911. During the first fortnight of October, Girona has only received rainfall measuring 0.1L/M2

The Town Hall of Figueres will raise some municipal taxes, for example rubbish disposal, to 5% next year.

The number of properties sold in August in the county of Giona reached around 565 which shows a fall of 26.72% in comparison to the same month of last year.

Some 2,114 businesses in the Girona county received tax demands in the first 6 months of the year. This shows a fall of 25% with respect to the same 6 month period of 2010. Notwithstanding the decrease of the tax payers, Girona is the Catalan county with the highest default rate.

The employers of the private sector together with the “Union Catalana de Hospitales” has called for the introduction of a health payment system together with a review of the public services in order that only essentials services should be free thereby achieving a sustainable health system

Urban development in Sant Pere Pescadaor.. The initial agreement envisages the possible construction of 61 properties close to the river Fluvia

A total of 17 restaurants in l'Escala participated in this years' 17th Gastronomic Days of fish “Suquet”resulting in 17 different tasting menus in which this traditional dish is the main attraction. Prices varied from 27.50 euros to 48 euros with very different offerings

A total of 6,233 specimens of baby eels were set free last Friday in the river basins of the Ter, the Daro and the Muga with the objective of repopulating the area. This is the 3rd release this year.

Around a thousand cyclists inaugurated, this past Sunday, the new path that borders the Muga river between San Llorenç and Empuriabrava. The route had been promoted by the Regional Council of the Alt Emporda and funded by the Ministry of the Environment.

The inaugural ride welcomed cycling fans and visitors from throughout the county, in a day marked by the beautiful weather and enthusiasm to explore the route. Some problems with route signage, soon to be resolved, did not mar the overall satisfaction with the venture.

The Town Council of Roses has notified the Port Director of its´objection to the proposed installation of dry docks in the port, as previewed in the management plan presented to the Government in 2010.

The sole farmer of a herd of cows in the Albera is threatening to put down the 300 animals if the Government does not pay a subsidy immediately. The local Council consideres that the animal is endemic to the Albera and must be preserved for its´ high environemental value.

The Exhibition Center of the Regional Council of Alt Emporda is hosting, from the 4th till the 14th of October, the exhibition “A Bygone Time – Grandma´s Larder” which traces the development of the packaging and advertising of everyday consumer products from the 20th Century.

It is supported with facts and figures from businesses of Figueres. The exhibition is open from 8 AM. until 8 PM., Monday through Friday.

Figueres is losing 60,00 euros of assistance for the electric bus. Councillor Pere Casellas (PSC) is accusing the Mayor of ´´ deliberately lying´´ in not admitting that the funds will not be received.

A large number of people spent Sunday last at the Anchovy Festival in L´Escala., which excelled its´ratings in this 21st year. This popular tasting event had filled the area of la Riba, where the “Habaneras “ singing event also took place and the good weather brought many people to the beach. For this years event some 4000 anchovy snacks had been prepared comprising tomato bread with 3 fillets and a glass of wine

The Mayor of Castello d'Empuries, Xavier Sanllehi, announced yesterday that there would be more job losses in order to balance the grave economic situation however he was looking for ways to avoid this

The Town Council of Roses has approved the replacement of street lighting in the stretch of promenade between the Calle Bernat Metge and the Quebrada , work that it is hoped will put an end to the deteriorating state of the majority of lamps and their poor light output.

The covering of the unused canals of Santa Margarita in order to create parking for buses is one of the plans that the municipal government of Roses has in its' agenda in the coming months.

The Vice- President of the Government and President of the “ Memorial Democratic”, Joan Ortega, presided at last Sunday's traditional tribute in Portbou cemetery to Walter Benjamin on the 71st anniversary of his death whilst fleeing from Nazism.

A hundred parents and students of the “CEIP Montserrat Vayreda of Roses” took to the streets yesterday calling for the immediate construction of the school after 7 years in temporary buildings.

The International Day of Tourism in the Girona region took place against the background of the economic crisis but with a clear concern – the lack of agreement between Ryanair and the Government and the consequences for the tourism sector due to the reduction in flights.

In L' Escala Municipal Health Council meeting that took place last Thursday the Director of Primary Health Care, Jordi Roca, confirmed that the services of CAP will continue as now without change to the emergency night service.

The Mayor of Fugueres, Santi Vila, particpated last Thursday in the inauguration of the Salvador Dali gardens in Marignane (France)

The Rotary Club of Roses, during a dinner last Thursday at the Hotel Risech, handed over a cheque for 2000 Euros to “Caritas Parroquial of Roses” (Church Carers), the money having been raised by the activities of Rotary Circles in the past year.

Figueres enters the Magical World of Tim Burton. An exhibition at the Museum of Toys will feature a selection of poems, drawings and photographs of the US citizen. Offering a window into the personal world of Tim Burton, the Figueres Toy Museum commenced yesterday with the showing of “The Sad Death of Oyster Boy”which one can see until the 1st of November

On this Friday the public school of “Empuries de L'Escala” began celebrating its' 75th anniversary . In front of the students an banner was uncovered which showed two images of the building from 1936 and the slogan – “75 years of schooling”

Castelló activities in the fitness parks, the actual dates will be 23rd and 30th of September and Friday the 14th Octuber 2011.

The President of the Association of Girona Doctors (COMG), Benjamin Pallerés, gave a warning this Friday the the doctors of the province will find themselves “stretched to the limit” directly and indirectly as a a result of the health cuts

The commercial centres of Eroski and Carrefour are both building petrol stations on their sites. This is of concern to the operators of other stations who fear a price war will restrict their operations.

For another year, The Friends of the “Castillo de San Fernando” have organised, for this Sunday, a day of tidying up in the paths and surroundings of the castle.

The “Ecomuseo Farinera de Castello d´Empuries” (flourmill-museum)is offering new ideas for its´ courses.

It will increase the range of workshops with a new one “ We are what we eat ” This objective is that primary schools students should acquire healthy eating habits, an area that the current Catalan education system is working hard on given the cases of obesity or bolemia found in very young children.

The Mayor of Figueres, Sant Vila, accompanied Lola Pacreu to her birthday party this Friday morning in ·”el Asilo Vilallonga”. Pacreu, born in 1904, now aged 107, is the oldest resident of Figueres.

The electric solar panels above the “Plaza de Cataluña de Figueres” is now connected to the low voltage distribution network. After waiting for approval for some weeks, from midday today the 576 panels are supplying electricity to the network

The banking group “la Caixa”, the government of Cataluña and the Town Hall of Vilajúiga have finalised the second phase of the project for the “Parque Agricola” and the “Piedra Seca de Comes Tortes” The project is an initiative of the Vilajúiga Town Hall to return to its natural state the “Comes Tortes”, a mountainous area of the municipality inside the “Parque Natural de Cap de Creus”

“Nace Pirinexus”, is a new circular cylce path that will join the Gironan pyrenees with northern Cataluña “. The project will create a cross border route of 36 kilometres for cyclists.

The Catalan Parliament has approved the construction of a new police station in La Jonquera.

The beaches of Girona province have recorded 8.071 calls for medical emergencies so far this year, 8.3% fewer than last year. Of that tota1 l693 were for jelly fish stings, down 8% from last year, and rescues remained at the same level with 37 reccorded this year.

Last week Figueres held the 27th Wine Fair of DO Emporda, with some thirty vendors though without the presence of the Cocina del Viento collective.

In the first eight months of this year the Dali Museums in Figueres, Cadaques, and Pubol registered more than a million visitors, specifically 1,062,218 people visited at least one of the four museums. This figure represents an increase of 9.3% over last year. The Gala Dali castle in Pubol in the Baix Emporda had an increase of 22.12%, the Dali Jewels in Figueres had a 21.4% increase, The Dali Theatre Museum in Figueres had an increase of 5.55 and the Salvador Dali House at Portlligat had in increase of 3.5%.

Artur Mas, president of the catalan government, has reaffirmed that the MAT and electric connection with France will be ready in four years. Mas highlighted the importance of energy interconnection between Catalunya and the rest of Europe via France.

The continuous control of the Guarda Civil at the La Jonquera border has stopped the entry of immature fish and seafood through the border, according to data released by that agency. The numbers confirm a 90% percent decline in the number of transports, primarily of inferior quality clams and hake originating from Italy.

The Council of the Comarca of Alt Emporda convened the sixteenth edition of the Photography Contest of the Patrimony of the Alt Emporda, a cultural iniciative that with the passage of time has become one of the Photography Contests of the Girona provinces with highest participation. This year the theme of the competition is wine and olives.

According to the president of the Association of Experts of Tourism and Lodging, the poor meterological conditions last month resulted in a 5 to 7 percent decline in hotel occupancy rates. Official data is not available, but the first estimates suggest hotel occupancy rates in Girona province of around 50 percent. The hotel industry hopes the numbers improve in August and that they won´t be affected by bad weather like that of July which is recognized as one of the coldest and rainiest months of July in recent years.

Anyone interested in participating in the traditional Travesías de Natación de Rosas can sign up until the 12th of August at the Municipal Swimming Pool of Roses. The Travesias will be held this year on the 14th and 15th of August. The 300,000 muslims who reside in Cataluña began the holy month of Ramadan last Monday, the 1st of August.

The multifaceted singer and actress Lidia Pujol and guitarist and composer Costa 59 are the opening artists at the Gastromusical festival that fuses music and gastronomy . The festival, which opened on the 2nd of August, is held for the fifth consecutive year at the restaurant el Molí de l'Escala.

The campsites of the province of Girona predict that they will reach 100% occupancy rates beginning the 15th of July and will remain full until the middle of August. The sector is confident that with family tourism and the stagnation of arab markets they will be able to close the season at least at the same levels as the year 2010. The City Hall of Castelló d'Empúries has discovered an old water well of the Muga that dates back to the year 1927. The discovery was made during the work being undertaken in the area of Rincón del Sinofós to move electric and to bury underground the cables that traverse the Muga. .

Colera has debuted a new paseo after forty years without a walkway on its litoral front. Construction is finished and the only thing remaining to complete the maritime facade is landscaping in some areas. In the area where the old hostal was demolished there is work being done to strengthen the mountain and adapt some stairs to integrated lookout points.

With ten years behind it, the festival Acústica de Figueres has a good pretext this year to offer something special. To celebrate its tenth anniversary the festival will tiene este año un buen pretexto para ofrecer algo especial. La celebración de una década de certamen se hará con el concierto colectivo 'Salvador Dalí canta',

The sanctuary of la Mare de Déu del Mont, 900 meters in height, is a strategic point for viewing forest fires in Girona province and especially for three comarcas of Alt Empordà, Pla de l'Estany and la Garrotxa. These last two areas depend solely on this lookout point now that Rocacorba is no longer open. In the last 5 years the Departament of the Interior has closed nearly half of the 18 viewpoints that there were in the Girona comarcas, alleging that, among other reasons, in the more populated zones the points have lost effectiveness because the inhabitants can now alert authorities of possible fires by mobile phone.

The Mossos d'Esquadra and the Local Police of Castelló d'Empúries have put a halt to some twenty vendors at the second hand flea market who are accused of selling stolen merchandise. As of last week the new City Hall has indefinitely suspended operation of the flea market, which had about five hundred stalls each week, and Xavier Sanllehí, Mayor of Castelló d'Empúries, assures that it will not be reopened until the police investigation is complete, and when it does reopen it will do so with a very different format.

Vueling airlines will begin flights from Prat airport in Barcelona to Nantes, the sixth largest city in France, starting September 14 of this year. The purpose is to strengthen the airline´s position in the French market and its general international expansion.

The Local Police of Roses have now equipped three of their vehicles with mobile defribillators in order to provide emergency health service for cardiac arrest.

The City Hall of Port de la Selva has increased its payments for next year by approximately 30%. Some of the increase is attributed to payments for officials attending governmental meetings which were previously not compensated. The mayor, currently Josep Maria Cervera, will now be paid 2.700 euros gross monthly, an increase of 170% over the 1.000 euros paid to the previous mayor, Genís Pinart.

Hunters of the Girona area have developed a protocol to increase control and prevent consumption of wild boar that is infected with trichinella. This year the parasite, dangerous to humans, has been detected in seven specimens.

From now until the 15th of October the Museum of Cadaqués holds an exhibit entitled 'del primer Dalí al Manifiesto Amarillo 1914-1928' that covers the formative period of Salvador Dalí, displaying approximately 150 works, including some 50 that have not been publically displayed and some 40 photos that show the evolution of the young artist from his first sketches to the development of his own unique style that renewed the surrealist movement.

The City Hall of Castelló d'Empúries will offer legal support to the neighbors of Empuriabrava to try to avoid the "appropriation" of the moorings that with the new boundaries (demarcation of the space accorded to the public domain) would pass from being private property to a state of concession. The City Hall is reviewing solutions to resolve the situation, but admits that is very difficult and could end with a modification of the law of the Coasts.

The Costa Brava, and in general the Catalan Coast and the Balearic Islands, are in a good marine state, according to a report made public by the Fundación Mar with the project Silmar, a network of some twenty stations in Catalunya and three in the Balearics that track the state of the marine litoral. The report confirms a more favorable situation in the Girona literal, in the Costa Brava, compared to Tarragona and Barcelona, where there is a serious degradation.

The new train service of the Cercanías in the comarcas of Girona will be effectuve in December of this year. The Generalitat and Renfe, which will be the operator, predict that before the end of the year 2011 the first trains will have begun circulation on a trial basis. There will be a train every hour between Figueres and Blanes with a stop in all of the stations, and an extension between Figueres and Portbou every two hours.

Last week the monastery of Santa María de los Robles of Pont de Molins suffered the third robbery in four months, since the restoration began. This time copper channeling and lightning rods were taken,

Last Saturday the Danish artist Jeanette Thorup (in the photo) inaugurated her exhibition in the 31st Concurso Internacional de Grabado Mini Print de Cadaqués. Thorup, one of the winners of the competition last year held an exhibit in the Taller Galería Fort of some thirty works done with the technique of dry point. The show is open for viewing until Friday.

Llançà has completed the structure of the new 116 meter dike. The works are almost finished and have cost an investment of 4 millon euros. One of the last damages was the fish market and there is not yet a date planned for the repair of that buidling.

Seventy geologists from all over the world arrived last week in Cadaqués to study the rock formations of Roses and the Cap de Creus. The scientists are attending a conference of the prestigious Geology Society of America, which holds an annual conference here to study the rocks of the Cap Creus, which is considered one of the twenty top zones of geolofical interest worldwide.

Endesa has invested 25.000 euros to close an electric ring in Vilamalla with the objective of improving the quality, continuity and security of services to various municipalities of the Alt Empordà, including Figueres, Vilafant, Vilamalla, Santa Llogaia d'Àlguema, El Far d'Empordà, Bàscara, Borrassà, Pontós and Vilademuls,

According to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), this summer is predicted to be hotter than usual. Between July and September the temperature is expected to be hotter and precipitation will remain at the usual rates. In fact, spring was quite hotter than usual, especially some days in April when the registered temperature was the highest since 1949, with an average of 3.8 degrees higher than normal for the month and some days even reached 6 degrees higher than normal. On the other hand, during the first two weeks of of June the temperature has been lower than usual.

The Generalitat has agreed to pay Ryanair 7,5 million euros annually, Half a year after the disagreement between the government and Ryanair and after traffic at the airport at Girona has declined to preoccupying levels, the Generalitat has offered the airline company practically the same amount as in the pre accord, plus the possibility of charging an additional amount for each passenger transported over the 4 milllion base stipulated in the agreement. Now the signature of the airline company remains to finalize the agreement.

The campgrounds of Girona have united forces to celebrate the Day of Camping on the 25th of June. This is the first edition of the initiative, to be celebrated in all of Spain, which is hoped to become an annual event. Several campsites in the Girona area have organized special events to commemorate the Day, and will be open to the public so their facilities can be known to the public ... specifically including the Internacional de Calonge, El Delfín Verde, Cala Llevadó, Les Medes, L'Empordà, and La Ballena Alegre.

Catalan pastry shops are predicting the sale of 1.6 million cocas for the San Juan holiday, 100,000 fewer than the previous year. It is predicted that because of the economic crisis clients will choose to celebrate in smaller ways this year.

A meeting was held in Roses on the 22nd of June for local businesses, with the theme "And in Roses, what can be done to promote commerce?". The meeting included the new counselors of Tourism and Economic Promotion and presented the campaign "Come shopping in the Neighborhood", a campaign developed as part of the official Plan de Barrios to improve area commerce in 2011.

Last week the local police of Roses detected a van parked in Toledo street that was illegally selling fruit and vegetables.

Roses will open several offices in its urbanizations. beginning with Santa Margarita. This is one of the initiatives planned by the new administration of Roses to improve direct relations between the council members and the public in the various neighborhoods of the town.

A strong hailstorm hit several towns in the Alt Emporda last week. In a very short period of time the towns located in the northern region of the county, such as Maçanet, Darnius, Cesta, and Figueres, registered precipitation in the form of large hail that fell in some places with great intensity. The most severe case was in Sant Llorenç de la Muga where in only 15 minutes there was precipitation in the amount of 36 lites per squeare meter. There was an accumulation of hail in the streets between 30 and 40 centimeters.

The Valle de Santa Creu is formed by some thirty homes situated on a priveleged site of the mountain, between the monastery of Sant Pere de Rodes and the nucleus of Port de la Selva. In 1998 this area was included within the Natural Park of Cap de Creus, but since then the City Hall and the goverment have defended that the inclusion was an «error» and have attempted to exlude it. Nonetheless, last week the new mayor went to discuss the situation with the neighbors.

The Red Eléctrica plans to begin works with the project of the 400 kv MAT line between Bescanó y Santa Llogaia during the first trimester of 2012 after completing two remaining mandatory submissions - a study of the environmental impact with the Ministry of Environmental Affairs and the announcement of contruction project.

Last winter the eighty campsites of the Camping Association of Girona invested more than 6 million euros in improving their facilities. The improvements include installation of generators for self'sufficienty in the case of inclement weather such as occurred in march last year, the restoration of bungalows, and the creation of new sports areas. With these improvements the campsites hope to attract potential users from all over Spain and the rest of Europe and to distinguish themselves from the others with offers of tranquility and convenience as well as contact with nature.

The wine fair Raíces del Vino was held again the weekend of the 11 and 12 of June in Sant Martí d'Empúries. Organized by Dominic Abernethy, owner of "El Celler Petit " in Sant Martí d'Empúries, the fair is open to the public for all aficionados of wine culture and offers the possibility for tasting the high quality wines of the DO Empordà which are difficult to find in the marketplace in a priveleged location.

The inspectors of fishing and maritime matters denounced seven boats for irregular fishing activities during the night in the Bay of Roses. Two of the sanctions were for using artificial lights from recreational boats to catch calamari, and the remaining five were for the practice of underwater fishing at night, outside the hours established for the activity.

Marian Muro, Director General of Tourism, assured that Catalunya currently has all the ingredients for a good tourist season. According to her, the markets that send travelers to the area are in a good state of economic recuperation, and some of the tourist destinations that usually compete with the area, such as North Africa, are undergoing lamentable circumstances. Muro predicted an increase of more than 5% this season, although she acknowledged that tourism is a sector that is very affected by external circumstances so the projections could change.

The Education Council has approved the starting date for the next school year, which will in all likelihood be the 12th of September.

A total of thirty six projects were submitted as part of the competition for ideas for urbanization of the area along the seafront between Riera Ginjolers and the Riera de la Cuana, which is an area of a total space of 23,826 square meters. The final date for submission of architectural plans ended the 24th of May. At the moment the projects are being reviewed to see that they comply with all the requisites established for the competition.

The World Championship of Windsurfing-Grand Prize Catalunya Costa Brava celebrates the 12th edition from the 31st of May through the 5th of June. This is one of the classic competitions of the international calendar. The point of concentration will be the campsite l"La Ballena Alegre" in Sant Pere Pescador, which is the largest private patron of the event.

The ecological organization Iaeden-Salvem l'Empordà has demanded the "immediate and indefinite cessation" of training exercises in the cape of the Alberas by the military, from its base in Sant Climent de Sescebes. Last Monday an exercise resulted in the burning of 22 hectares and the Fire Department was obliged to dispatch some twenty units to put out the fires. The group complaints that this year (2011) "there have already been four fires caused by the military". Salvem l'Empordà charges that in clear violation of the prohibition on making fires in the area, the military engages in maneuvers that could put the Alberas at risk, and even "at times the maneuvers are conducted during days when there is tramontana", putting the mountain range in danger.

A herd of some two hundred cattle from the Empordà are moved to Camprodon. Fifteen horsemen and five shepherds accompany the herd from Avinyonet de Puigventós (Girona) to Camprodon (Ripollès), passing through Sant Llorenç de la Muga, Albanyà, Sant Julià de Ribelles and Rocabruna, among other places, before the caravan arrives in Camprodon on the 4th of June.

On the 26th of May the municipalities of Roses, Castelló d'Empúries-Empuriabrava, Sant Pere Pescador and L'Escala-Empúries presented to the General Assembly of the 7th Congress of the Club of the Most Beautiful Beaches of the World (held in Senegal) the candidature of the Bay of Roses for inclusion as one of the Most Beautiful Beaches. Representatives of the Club awarded the Bay of Roses the maximum number of points, assuring its inclusion in the group which will be formalized in the year 2012.

It is estimated that a record number of baby storks was born this spring at the Perelada Castle, where the first banding of the babies took place last week. The exact number is not known because a crane is required to access all the twenty three nests, but it is estimated that the number must be at least in the fifties. The presence of storks has increased since the first chick was born there in 1998.

The interconnection of the MAT through the Pyrenees will enter into service in the year 2014, according to estimates made by both the spanish and french governments. The 400 KV will run to the border from Santa Llogaia d'Àlguema (Alt Empordà) and will cross the Pyrenees by a tunnel that will run parallel to the AVE line. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Industry, the new line "will reinforce the security of electric supply" between the two states. The project of construction and putting into service the transborder segment of the MAT is being carried out by the company Inelfe, made up of Red Eléctrica and the french RTE. It is projected that the above ground works will begin at the end of 2011.

The City Hall of Figueres awarded last week the first phase of the project to reform the old slaughterhouse and convert it to a Center for Promotion of Regional Products. This is the beginning of a project with a proposed investment of 3.7 million euros.

Last week firemen were dispatched to put out two fires in forested areas in Roses and in Sant Climent Sescebes. In Roses the fire burned 3 hectares in Punta Falconera, though the proximity to the sea facilitated the work in extinguishing the flames. Because of the moderate tramuntana that was blowing at the time it was necessary to maintain a vigilance so the fire did not reignite. The fire in Sant Climent Sescebes occured on the military base where maneuvers were underway, and attention was required because of the proximity to an area where explosives are stored.

The Roses Foundation Against Cancer collected 7,000 euros last week in the twelfth edition of the Recaudación Popular (Local Collection), an event which takes place coincident with municipal elections.

Dipsalut has initiated a revision of the places where defibrillators are located to insure that the spaces reserved by City Halls for installation of the equipment are in compliance with appropriate requisites. The first municipalities to be reviewed are Bescanó, Sant Julià del Llor i Bonmatí, Cornellà del Terri, la Vall d'en Bas, Sant Pau de Segúries, Villalonga de Ter, Besalú, Espinelves, Garrigàs, San Miguel de Fluvià, Jafre, Palau-sator, Bolvir and Guils de Cerdanya.

The Regulating Council for the Denominación de Origen Empordà has improved its website. The new digital space respects the previous style and structure while improving its image and design, as well as increasing the contents.

The Ministry of Works is arriving at the end, finally, of the works on the NII in the crosssing of La Jonquera, that has been stopped since the summer of 2008.

Last week a blind wine tasting for participating vineyards was held at Empuries as a prelude to the fourth edition of the festival ¨Raices del Vino¨ that will be held in San Marti dÉmpuries on the 11th and 12th of June. Among the participants, the SÁlou 2007 from Viñas de los Aspres de Cantallops was selected as Best Red Wine, the award for Best White Wine of 2011 again fell to the Espelt Quince Robles 2009, from Espelt Viticultors ofVilajuïga, and the Best Sweet Wine of 2011 was chosen as the Garnacha d'Empordà 2009 from the Bodega Mariano Pagés of Capmany.

The tiger mosquito has already colonized in 17.9% of the catalan municipalities, its presence having been detected in 170 of the 947 communities. This represents an exponential growth since the mosquitos were first detected in 2004. To slow their proliferation the most effective action is to avoid the laying of eggs and growth of the aquatic larvae, which can only be done by eliminating the accumulation of water in outside receptacles. The mosquito tiger , 'Aedes albopictus', has the ability to fly up to 400 meters, but is generally found within only 150 meters from its birthplace. It has been discovered that in some cases the mosquitos are transferred to further locations when they attach themselves to motor vehicles.

The Court of Figueres has dismissed the case against the former mayor of Roses, Carles Paramos (CiU) who was charged with having committed corruption during his time in office. The denuncia alleged that during the years 2000 and 2002 he favored certain citizens by canceling fines they had received.

The City Hall of Castelló d'Empúries has an outstanding debt of 958.057 euros of special contributions for the sewer system of Empuriabrava, payments which it has reclaimed from the residents. The majority of people with outstanding bills cannot be located because they have residence in a foreign country. The completion of the work is delayed to the year 2013 because of the partial payment of 250,000 euros received. It is estimated that by the end of May some 75% of the work will be completed.

On Saturday the 14th of May a new art center opened its doors in Fortia, the Mas d'en Dorra which is owned by Fina Trayter. More than 300 people attended the opening, suggesting a prosperous future for the center.

In the open air space inside the Nature Park of Aiguamolls, mud is the star. Submerging oneself in the land for the clay properties that penetrate the body with the help of the sun is a new therapy that for the past five years has been offered by Cote Francis, in a site that each summer attracts the interest of more people interested in ecology as a new form of tourism, an option that lets people be in touch with nature, return to the land, and recuperates the body´s own conscience.

The Fisherman´s Association and Association of Restaurants and Business (ARC) of Port de la Selva have organized a Gastronomic event highlighting crawfish. Various activities are planned during the celebration which will take place from the 28th of May to the 29th of June.

The Catalan Water Agency (ACA), the City Hall of Sant Pere Pescador, the Consortium of Costa Brava, and the campsites Las Palmeras, La Gaviota, the Anfora, Aquarius, El Rio, Las Dunas, and the Ballena Alegre have signed an agreement to connect the campsites to the water treatment facility (depuradora) of LÉscala in order to improve the sanitation of that area of the Alt Emporda. The agreement is the fruit of two years of negotiation among the parties, and will make it possible to treat the waste water of these seven campsites and at the same time assure a good ecological state for the final branch of the Fluvia river, achieving the objectives established by the Water Directives.

The Nautic Club of Llançà celebrated last Sunday a new edition of the Nautic Trophy Club of submarine photography, with the participation of nine federated sportspeople.

Along the coastline of Girona province, from the Cap Creus to Blanes, one can observe a strip of dead vegetation just inside the sea. The cause was an exceptional decline in the sea level caused by the confluence of various phenomena, including the presence of the full moon close to land. Experts consider that the repercussions will not be very significant to the living flora and fauna as they hope the area will have recovered within a year. Nonetheless the appearance of this unusual border that is clearly visible has interested curious navigators and lovers of the sea.

For a while now the French public hospitals have experienced a reduction in available personnel. According to the unions, in the last three years the numbers have declined at the rate of 10,000 per year, even though activity in the centers has increased 4% annually during that time. They say this is the most negative aspect of the latest governmemt restructuring that Nicolas Sarkozy has made in the sanitary system.

The Center of Dali Studies leads an effort to compile and document information about his works and to explain this in detail in a publication entitled Catálogo Razonado. The first edition of the catalogue, which encompasses the works between 1910 and 1920, was published in 2004 in connection with the 100 year anniversary of the birth of the artist. This Thursday the third edtition will be published, which collects documentation of his work up to the year 1951. The group estimates that in a maximum of four years they will have all of his work documented. To date they have studied a total of 605 works of his more than 100 different collections. All of the information will be made available free of charge on the internet.

The Area of Economic Promotion of Roses presents a program on Thursday the 12th of May, a meeting open to the public who would like to participate in the Plan of dynamization of commercial interests of Roses. In this first session, that will continue with ¨ Seminars on experience with commercial dynamization¨, there will be discussion of the principal problems and potentialities of commerce in Roses, such as the actions that might be taken to initiate improvement.

L'Escala is one of the locales chosed by the brand Estrella Damm for its summer marketing campaign. Last Friday the marketing team led by Isabel Coixet visited several sites within the town, such as Archaelogical Museum of Catalunya Empuries and the outskirts of the town.

Fifty years after the ¨reconciliation¨ of Figueres and Salvador Dali the San Ferran castle will hold an exhibition by Joan Vehi of photos of the artist in the capital of the Alt Emporda and other points of the region, such as Cadaques and Pubol. The photo exhibit, which records that historic moment, is open to the public without admission fee until August 31, in the Martin Zermeno salon.

Last week was the opening of the exhibition ¨CRAC 2011¨ (Contemporary Art Creations of Roses) at the Cultural Space of the Ciutadella of Roses. The exhibit will be on display until the 21st of August. The exhibit includes paintings of Albert Pujol, Juan Cardosa, Marisa de Casterllarnau and Particia Soler, sculpure of Laia Segura, Narcis Costa, photography of Maria Velasco and Xavi Torra, gastronomy of Ferran Adria, the installation of Joan Comella, videoart and projection of Luis Izquierdo, Martin Parada and Rodrigo de la Fuente, and additionally music, poetry, portraits, and jewelry.

Last Saturday the new installations at the sports center at the Port of Llanca were inaugurated by Damia Calvet -Secretary General of Land and Mobility and President of the Ports of the Generalitat, accompanied by Pere Vila - Mayor of Llanca, Miquel Ferre - President of the Nautic Club of Llanca, and Dolors Rodriguez - Manager of Ports of the Generalitat. Calvet also visited the construction site of the new dike.

The center of Figueres from the Plaza Catalunya to La Jonquera street were filled last week with rivers of visitors who attended the various Ferias organized by the Casino Menestral, some for more than half a century. The oldest, the Feria of Drawing and Painting, in its 51st edition, was located again in the Plaza Catalunya, this time under a cover that was recently installed to provide cover in case of bad weather.

¨To cover a non-existent niche in the market of Roses¨ is the objective explained by Xevi Viana and Jordi Cusi who have decided to modernize and innovate the offers available to tourists to the city. They will offer rentals of the Segway, a personal carrier with two wheels that operates with the movement of one´s body. Attracted by the implementation of this method of transport in neighboring municipalities, they hope the Segway will be well received in Roses.

The Secretary General of Tourism and Interior Commerce, Joan Mesquido, has highlighted that the predictions for tourism for the coming high Seaton will be “positive” and he estimates that markets such as the German could increase more than 15%.

This Easter week the Generalitat opened to the public for the first time the Paraje de Tudela space that was occupied by the Club Med inside the Natural Park of Cap Creus. Because of the economic situation that space is not open for regular visits. Two guides directed visitors on tours that indicated the principal points of interest.

After approval of the anti-bullfighting law in Cataluña, the last Season of the Bulls opened on the 24th in the Monumental Bullring. During the final months several novilladas (bullfight with young bulls) will take place in the Plaza and the first corrida will be held on the 26th of June and leads up to the better known names during the months of July and September, when the season closes. Two days ago the French government declared bullfighting an intangible cultural patrimony and the Ministry of Culture will consider a proposal for National Observance of the Bullfighting Culture.

In 2013 there will be a shortage of nurses in the Catalan health centres. The College of Nursing attributes the shortage to the flight of trained nurses to other countries and to changes in study patterns. According to the College of Nursing in Barcelona, in the year 2010 a total of 733 nurses requested information for moving to work abroad, an increase of 71% over the year 2009.

An audit of the sports center installations in L'Escala resulted in detection of several deficiencies in some of the materials used in construction of the swimming pool, which is only six years old. At the moment the pool is closed while the floor is changed. Other renovations are planned for a later date, to improve other materials used in the installation.

The new paseo of Colera will have a floor in the form of waves, simulating the movements of the sea. With a floor of concrete, reinforced with stone of Colera, the base will hold in place vegetation and urban furnishings. These will be barely visible. On the other hand, the murals with high walls that are being built have generated concern among the neighbors because they impede the view of the sea. The City Hall has requested the technicians to review the plan and they assure that once finished the walls would be a máximum of 70 centimetres.

The City Hall of Castelló d'Empúries, through the Area for Tourism and Economic Promotion, has initiated a Project called Let’s Make Music, with the objective of encouraging local entertainment venues of the city that offer live music.

The 4th Portalblau of L'Escala, a Festival of Musics and Arts of the Mediterranean held from July 29 to August 14 this year, presents a program highlighting concerts in the principal stage of Empúries: the Roman fórum. Kamel El Harrach will perform on Friday, the 12th of August, Estrella Morente on Saturday the 13th, and Manel on Sunday the 14th. A new stage will be inaugurated in the Plaza Catalunya and will hold a debate that centers on the conflicts of North Africa. The poster that advertises the festival includes an image of one of the dolls found in a necrópolis in Empúries last year.

The ninth edition of the Marathon of Empúries, announced this Friday, incorporates changes introduced last year, offering three different races: the maratón, the half maratón, and a 10 km race. The pace of subscriptions is higher than last year, such that it is predicted that once again more than a thousand athletes will participate. In 2010 the number of subscribers was 1420.

The opertors of Salvamento Marítimo, with the help of the Firemen of the Generalitat, had to intervene last Monday in the work of moving a sailboat that had been left run aground in La Rubina in Empuriabrava.

The Presidents of the Regional Councils of Alt Empordà and la Selva, Consuelo Cantenys and Jordi Gironès, applaud the efforts of the Government in approving regulations that permit eradication of street prostitution.

A four year old girl suffered heatstroke last Wednesday afternoon in the patio of CEIP Esculapi in L’Escala. The mother of the student, who for the last two years has been requesting that the school install a sunshade so the children have shade when they go outside for recreation, asserts that the little girl is the first victim of a situation that has already been denounced,

The Nautic Station of Roses proposes that, for the moment, the subterranean parking lot projected by the City Hall be postponed and that the City Hall cede to them the management of the above ground parking . They have presented the proposal in the form of an allegation against the Project,

Next Thursday, the 28th of April, Ines Padrosa will present the book “The Before of Castello d’Empuries, a graphic collection of Manel Puig and Jordi Canet. The work, a compilation of photographs and postcards of Castello d’Empuries from the last 150 years, covering the period from 1870 (the date of the oldest photo found) and 1975, was produced with the collaboration of the City Hall of Castello d’Empuries.

In March 269,699 passengers passed through the airport of Girona-Costa Brava, 26% fewer than during the same month in 2010. The annual totals reflect a 30% decline, with 656,724 passengers registered this year.

Nearly 500 people atended the live cooking classes held in Vilajuiga during the months of March and April. The classes were a collaboration of 13 restaurants of the Ampurdan, connected to the gastronomic group La Cocina del Viento. The course ended last Saturday with demonstrations by Susi Fabrego and Jose Gurillo, chefs at La Vela restaurant and Hotel Montecarlo, respectively.

Last week the convent of Sant Quirze de Colera in Rabos was completely full as artist Jordi Gispert of Salt opened his collection of paintings in an exhibit that can be seen there until the 8th of May.

The Alt Emporda Tourism association proposes to take advantage of the opening of the TGV high velocity train line from the station in Figueres-Vilafant to Paris to implement a series of promotional actions between the area and various cities in the south of France.

The Mosquito Control Service of the Bay of Roses and Baix Ter has issued an advisory alert that the abundant rainfall registered recently and the spring temperaturas could result in an increase in the presence and activity of mosquitos.

A fire that started from a controlled burning site in the urbanization of Mas Oliva in Roses affected some 400m2 of land. Another 100m2 was also burnt in Vilopriu in the Baix Emporda.

The CiU (political party) of Figueres proposes a type of termal spa connected to the figure of the painter Salvador Dali, called “Theatre of Water”. Santi Vila, current mayor of Figueres and candidate for reelection presented the Project proposal last week, assuring that the project would be financed with prívate capital and would include a four star hotel and a parking area of 500 spaces that would serve the entire area.

The Generalitat has begun the operation to transport four boxes with which the new dike at the port of Llançà will be constructed.

Only 35% of the train stations have 24 hour security in the form of video cameras,and only the stations of Girona, Vilafant-Figueres, Portbou, and Cifueres have 24 hour security guards.

Last week the City Hall of Roses and the Girona Convention Bureau signed a collaborative agreement thanks to which the Municipal Theatre – Congress Hall, the Ciutadella , and the Trinitat Castle are now included as part of the cultural offerings in the area of Girona where congresses and conventions may be held.

Last Monday the council of the City Hall of L'Escala unanimously approved suspensión of licenses for plots in the area of La Clota and Las Planassa as a first step in the modification of the urban plan that will reclassify part of the old military lands so they will remain a green zone for public use.

Beginning this week people over 65 are eligible for a reduced fare for transportation between Roses and Figueres. To request the 1 euro fare the person must appear in person at the bus station of Roses to apply for the personalized, rechargeable ticket.

The Partido Popular remains alone in its request for prohibition of the use of the burka and niqab. Last Tuesday the group presented a resolution that urges the Government to aid the City Halls that are prohibiting their use.

Last Monday morning the works began to install at the southern entrance of L’Escala a monument dedicated to anchovies and salt. The sculpture is the work of the artist Martí Batlle Viader, who won the competition organized by the City Hall.

The Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) has been ordered to pay 180.000 euros for medical negligence that in the year 2004 resulted in the death of a young girl, one year old, from Roses.

The Catalan Traffic Service (SCT) has installed two wind-solar radar systems on two secondary highways. These are pioneering systems in Spain, which, instead of connecting to an electric connection, use a solar panel and a windmill that function autonomously.

According to provisional data from January 1 of 2011 of the National Institute of Statistics (INE) the number of foreigners registered in Catalunya declined by 15,581 (1.3%) in 2010 down to 1,182,957 million, which represents 15.7% of the total population of the catalán región.

Endesa has recently completed installation of a new transformer switch near Besalú, in the Garrotxa area, that will improve the quality and continuity of electric service in three areas (comarcas) including in the Alt Empordà.

The Association of Campsites of Sant Pere Pescador and the NGO Avodreg have just finished a project to bring wáter to a village in Guinea Conakry. The Project involved rehabilítation of a handwell sixty meters deep that guarantees a water supply for the entire villaje.

The Boadella reservoir reaches its máximum level. In less than four hours the reservoir that supports the Muga basin saw its capacity rise from 78% to the maximum permitted level of 85%. The Catalan Water Agency (ACA) ordered the sluicegates open to increase the outflow volume of wáter, to insure that the reservoir could accomodate the rains and the headwaters of the river.

Ikea is studying the possibility of opening a store in Girona. Two iniciatives being considered project an added investment of 120 million euros and the creation of some 600 employment opportunities.

In the year 2010 the National Police detained, in the four towns of the Girona province that border France, some 1300 people for various crimes or for having an outstanding detention order from spanish or international courts. A decline in illegal immigration was noted. According to the agency, during the past year the agents located in La Jonquera, Portbou, Camprodon and Puigcerdà detained 1290 people, seventy fewer than in the year 2009.

A specialty company, Stop Plagas, began yesterday to install nets in the belltower of the church of Sant Pere Pescador, where a concentration of a colony of pigeons numbering in the hundreds was detected. Once the openings are covered a process will begin to capture the birds in cages.

The Department of Education of the City Hall of Roses and SOREA (the business that manages the wáter distribution for the city) have begun in March an educational campaign aimed at school children to teach them the natural cycles of urban wáter and thus to encourage responsable use of this resource. The campaign is called Gotagotham and is based on interactive participation of the students.

Last Sunday in the library Víctor Catalán of La Escala there was a presentation of "11 routes through La Escala. Itineraries on foot and bicycle", a work of the journalist Gabriel Pernau,. It is a guide for those who want an alternative tourist experience in La Escala, one with a cultural and sports focus, as a complement to the sun and beach.

The socialist deputy and ex minister of Public Works, Joaquin Nadal, affirmed yesterday that the money to be used to comply with the agreements in the pre-accord with RyanAir are in the same Budget category of the proposed budget “from which they have come the last seven years”.

El conseller d'Interior, Felip Puig, va expressar ahir el compromís que durant aquesta legislatura es duguin a terme la construcció de les comissaries dels Mossos d'Esquadra que estaven compromeses a la Selva Interior i la Jonquera.

Last Saturday the 19th of March a new Sports Center was inaugurated in Perelada. Thanks to a new system of dividing curtains the center will be able to accomodate two simultaneous competitions or practice sessions. The Center, located on the Paseo de Cataluna, consists of an entry hall, 4 vestuaries, 2 restrooms, a gymnasium, and a storage room.

Last week the City Hall of Colera began work to reform the outdated building of the infant and primary school (CEIP) which will doublé its capacity and make it adequate for the current needs of such a center of learning, with spaces such as a computer center.

It had not been documented nor was it repeated in any other area of the fortified structure, but nontheless during restoration of the baluarty of San Roque in the castle of San Ferran there was discovery of a three vaulted roof dating from the XVIII century that has been covered with earth for more than two centuries.

The group PORT-AM of Port de la Selva proposes the creation of a citizens council as a communications tool between the consistory, the citizenry, and the institutions of the municipality.

Cap Creus offers a new webcam. Situated in the village of St. Marti dÉmpuries (L'Escala), it offers an especially lovely view of this unique village, with its late gothic style church and the forest house, a moderniste work of Puig i Cadafalch, force behind the greek and roman excavations.

This past Saturday during the Fair of the Haricot of San Llorenc de la Muga there was an important demonstration of basketry, a trade very connected with the water, nature, and the village. The objective was to show the visitors to the fair one of the oldest artisanal crafts of Catalunya, including the different types and uses of baskets, and the principal weaving techniques.

The inauguration last week of the nude sculpture of Anton Casamor at the intersection of Pompeu Fabra and San Lazaro streets in Figueres completes the ambitious plan undertaken in the last years by the municipal government. During this time and in two phases, seventeen crossings were reconditioned, with the objective of improving mobility in the narrow streets of the central zone where pedestrians at times encountered problems walking due to the narrow pavement.

Mayor Santi VIla of Figueres confirms that during the coming months a video surveillance camera will also be installed in the Plaza of the Palmera.

The City Hall of Castello de Empuries, because of the number of complaints received from neighbors, has decided to force owners of urban parcels that are in poor condition to clean them up. So far it has achieved that 32 sites have been cleaned up. At the same it has also taken the opportunity to clean up some municipal sites.

Neither Spanair nor Ryanair. At the moment neither of the airline companies guarantees a flight between Girona and Madrid after the 4th of May. Spainair reports that it awaits the final outcome of negotiations between Ryanair and the Generalitat. Government sources have confirmed that there is nothing terminated with the Irish company, but nonetheless it is searching for The Government is

The European Union will deliver to Figueres a second electric bus for the purpose of undertaking a project of tracking the real benefits of this system and how it complements the other bus the city already has.

The City Hall of Sant Pere Pescador has put into place several projects to encourage the practice of sports. Among the projects is a newly inaugurated health park with a two kilometer walk, and installation of a fitness center in the sports pavilion which has a credit system. The health park is located on Emporda street, at the corner with Remences, next to the children´s park.

The report of the European lobby Ferrmed concludes that the tunnel at El Pertus can absorb ¨relatively well´ the passage of freight and passenger trains but only for a limited time, after which it will begin to have problems and become oversaturated with traffic. According to the secretary general of Ferrmed, Joan Amoros, the indication is that in the year 2017-2018 the tunnel will no longer be able to sustain the predicted train traffic and will collpase.

Minister of Interior Felip Puig warns that strong winds and lack of rain have left the catalan wooded areas in a critical situation. ¨The indicators are worrisome¨ he said, adding that in relation to the months of January and February of 2010 the number of fire calls increased from 495 to 947, a 100% increase.

Despite having announced an intention to reduce 18 routes from the Girona airport due to the Generalitat´s negative stance at the time of signing the pre-agreement for subventions, Ryanair announced yesterday that for the coming summer season it will add a new route between Girona and the Swedish city of Karlstad, which is located in the lapland area. Specifically, the route will function from the 28th of March to the 28th of October and will have two round trip flights each week, on Mondays and Fridays.

Empuriabrava, unresolved issue of demolition of the paseo. The concessionaire of the paseo of Empuriabrava and the City Hall of Castello dÉmpuries have requested that the Ministry of Environment extend the concession in order to continue operating the numerous services of the paseo. Since the 5th of February they have been without a concession, waiting for a response.

This week two urban health parks will be installed in Roses, one at the Plaza del Rey next to the Gran Via and the other behind the geriatric residence New Life. The two spaces, ceded by Dipsalut, will begin functioning next week, with the goal of promoting and facilitating physical exercise among the population. The collective The Cuisine of Wind of the Alt Emporda presented at the School of Hotel Management its first book, entitled ¨The cuisine on the table¨, published by Gastronomy and Leisure.

The surface area of transgenic corn cultivated in Girona grew in 2010. During the past year a total of 4,589 hectares of Corn BT MON810, a type of genetically modified cereal authorized by the European Union (EU), was cultivated in this area. This is an increase of 88 hectares compared to the number cultivated in the year 2009.

In 2010 the sparkling wine sector produced a total of 244.8 million bottles, an increase of 11.55% over the previous year, and the sales figures increased 10.87% to 1,031.1 million. During a round of press interviews last Monday, president of the Council of Sparkling Wine Regulation, Gustau Garcia Guillamet, highlighted that these are record numbers. Garcia Guillamet compared this year´s production with that of the 230 million bottles of 1999, which was affected by the change of century, and highlighted that exports also reached a record high in the latest report.

The TSJC suspended the plan of wind parks of the tripartite. As a result of the contentious dispute by naturalist organizations of the Alt Emporda the tribunal has stopped installation of windmills in seven zones of Cataluñya.

Last weekend hooligans destroyed some twenty traffic signals in the historic center of Castello de Empuries. Damages for cleaning and replacing the signals is estimated at a cost of 1800 euros,

The City Hall of VIlajuiga was obliged to close its offices after a fire in the fuse box disabled the electrical installations. In order to carry out certain current services, for example, pre-enrollment in the schools, it will temporarily adapt space in the civic center.

Several members of the Association for Public Transportation (PTP) visited the city of Figueres to see first hand the pioneering measures the city has taken in the matter of sustainability and renewable energy. At a conference at the Toy Museum, City Council member Richard Edelman (ICV) and Director of Urban Affairs Xavier Ludevid explained to those attending the project of the electric bus, environmental organiztions created, the urban system of Figueres and the sustainable village projected in the Alt Emporda capital.

A representative of the State will visit Empuriabrava to evaluate the effect of the demarcation of boundaries. The Mayor of Castello, Salvi Guell, a team of municipal experts, representatives of the association of Property Owners of Empuriabrava, and the Congressional Deputy. Francesc Canet, met last Wednesday with the General Secretary of Sustainability of the Coast and Sea, Pedro Antonio Rios. The meeting was held at the offices of Environmental Affairs, where a dossier was presented that reflects the effect on the city and the thousands of households affected. Rios considered the situation seriously and committed to visit Empuriabrava very soon, thus the Mayor and Secretary General are coordinating their schedules.

In December of 2010 the Department of Public Works (PTOP) of the previous autonomous government appealed a contentious administrative order of the City Hall of Palau-saverdera that considers illegal the license issued to owners of the site in agricultural terrain where the tourist train of Roses is parked.

Two residents of L'Escala, Luis Vilabru and Joaquim Hostench, have donated to the historic archives of that town a total of some two hundred scores of musical pieces that were played by the Principal of Escala at the beginning of the XX century.

The Municipal Pool of Roses received high ratings again from its members and users. A total of 367 surveys were completed betwen 24 January and 5 February, awarding a score of 8.1 points out of 10, an increase of .2 points in the level of satisfaction compared to that of last year.

The City Hall of L'Escala approved a new ordinance that simplifies for businesses and individuals the application for future projects for minor construction works. It will no longer be necessesary to request the traditional license for construction, but instead will be sufficient to communicate using the corresponding form the intended works to be undertaken, and to pay the related taxes and fees.

Some 300 people attended a concert at the Casa de Cultura in Llanca, a tribute to Carles Sabater on the 12th anniversary of his death.

The Alt Emporda lost 18% of its farmers in four years. This Sunday they will hold the fifth elections to choose their representatives.

The governing council of Figueres has announced a concourse for ideas for the drafting of the executive project of the new pavilion of Vilatenim, next to the future Montessori school. The objective is for the participants to design an architectural project to define what could be done with the extra space of the area where the sports center will be located, an area of approximately 10,000 square meters. The Ayuntamiento has also approved the necessary means for conversion of the plaza de Toros to a sports center.

The platform of users of the Renfe line between Portbou and Barcelona has initiated an online site so that people who regularly travel by train can denounce the deficiencies or irregularities of the journey. The group wants to send the complaints to the government. ( http://ves.cat/avFg ).

The Nature Park of Cap de Creus is organizing a bicycle excursion through the trails of the park on the 21st of this month from 9.30 to 13.30. The departure point will be the information center of Cortalet.

In recent years there has been an increase in the number of seagulls and pigeons that populate the terrace coverings and roofs of L'Escala, to the point that in some areas they are creating problems for the neighbors by their disturbances and for questions of hygiene. For this reason the Ayuntamiento of LEscala will again this year implement a population control campaign for these birds, with a business specializing in this and authorized by the Environmental Affairs office.

Figueres will install video cameras beginning in the month of May for the purpose of dissuading and prosecuting acts of delinquency and uncivil behavior. Mayor Santi Vila explained that it is planned to place them in three hot spots of the city, including the Fossos parking area and next to the hospital. During the year 2010 the city experienced the burning of 38 cars but increased police presence has been successful in reducing that activity.

Figueres municipal theatre El Jardi will premiere the theatrical production of Josep Pla´s ¨El cuadern gris¨ on the 25th of this month at 9 in the evening. (Tel. 972501911). Two days later at 7 in the evening there will be a concert by David Knopfler, ex-member of the Dire Straits.

Impressum: Ernst Witzel, Paul A. Hoffstein, Manuel Fernández Vila, Christel Arnold, Geraldine Steffler, . Article contributions, even when being seriously serious please to cconline@cbrava.com. CapCreus online, every day a little more
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