DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17, 2011

WORK STARTS ON RESTORING CASA DEL REY MORO


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The German businessman who fronts the company that owns the historic Casa del Rey Moro in Ronda has started work to prevent the deterioration of the property. Jochen Knie has commissioned urgent works to ensure the passage of time does not take any further toll on the palace overlooking the Cornisas del Tajo.

The building dates from the 18 th century and the initial work is being carried out on the roof and walls to ensure the winter rains do not filter in to the structure. The project has the approval of the Andalucía government and 2.5 million euros will be spent in the various phases of the scheme.

A company that specialises in conserving old buildings and wooden structures is carrying out the project. Four people will be engaged in protecting the ornamental features such as the cornices. As part of the first phase a survey is being carried out to determine what needs to be done in the latter stages.

It is intended that the Casa del Rey Moro will become a five-star hotel although the owners are looking at other possible uses. It could be the embolic building will be used for events, meetings and reunions.

Knie says his company wants people to be able to visit the palace. Curiously it sits alongside and above Los Jardines de Forrestier and La Mina that was excavated from the rock below. The complex is one of the main monuments in Ronda but whilst the gardens and La Mina have been protected as being of cultural interest since 1943 the building has no protection what-so-ever.

EIGHT YEARS FOR KILLING MARTA

The trial of the youth who was alleged to have murdered María Esther Jiménez in Arriate at the end of January is over. The Málaga youth court has handed down a guilty verdict. He has been sentenced to eight years of internment and a further five years of supervised freedom. The local lad also has to pay the girl’s family 220,000 euros in compensation.

The trial behind closed doors started on November 2 and over five sessions the prosecution and defence gave their evidence. The prosecutor and the lawyer representing the family of the murdered girl demanded the maximum sentence for a minor and that is what the judge gave them.

The father of the victim, Juan Jiménez, said they were content with the judgement and believed their own lawyer and the prosecutor had done a good job. He added he was always confident that they would produce this result.

The lawyer acting for the family said the court had taken in to account the findings of the DNA tests, the results of the post mortem, the statement from witnesses and the physiological reports on the accused. The judgement against the youth is not yet firm as the defence can lodge an appeal with the Málaga Court but the family’s lawyer is in no doubt the correct decision has been reached.

The accused had insisted on his innocence and the defence lawyer had asked he be released without trial questioning the whether the investigation had been handled correctly. He had been held for the maximum period in detention of nine months and was released for the trial in to supervised care.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2011

FILED CASES AGAINST MARÍN TO BE RE-OPENED


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

When the former mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, was released after his arrest for alleged corruption in the Acinipo case he proclaimed his innocence stating he had seen off numerous other court challenges in the past and would this one too. However his confidence may have been misplaced as those very same cases are now coming back to haunt him.

The prosecutor and investigators in the Acinipo enquiry are now to re-open the files of all the cases brought against Marín that were filed by the judges. There were numerous official complaints over the years and although Acinipo is primarily linked to irregularities in the construction of the proposed Eroski commercial centre it has been anticipated that the investigation would be widened.

The Efe news agency has been reporting that all these past cases will now be looked at anew by the Acinipo team. Officers of the organised crime squad (Udyco) will be examining at all the documentation relating to town planning projects approved by Marín whilst mayor along with the terms of the contracts and payments.

Little is likely to emerge in the near future as the judge in the case has imposed a veil of secrecy. Marín and the others accused including three former PSOE councillors and two executives of Eroski face charges of obstructing justice, bribery, trafficking in influence, misappropriation of public funds, forgery and money laundering.

The trawl through past cases will go back to 2003. Almost certainly under close scrutiny will be the accords drawn up for Los Merinos development of 800 luxury homes, golf courses and luxury hotels which was given the green light only after Marín issued a mayoral decree. The former mayor is already in the dock over permission being granted for a development in the protected Tajo gorge and no doubt investigators will take a close look at those proceedings.

NOT STANDING

The resignation of the ex mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, plus three other PSOE councillors because they are implicated in the Acinipo corruption investigation has led to their former fellow Partido Andalucista colleagues who defected to the socialists opting not to take over their seats. These include Josefa Valle the wife of Marín. Instead PSOE candidates new to the council will be co-opted.

TWENTY ROBBERIES

National Police in Ronda backed up by a forensic team arrested three people who are alleged to undertaken a wave of forced break-ins in the town. Twenty official reports to the police were made in one week involving homes in the town centre, industrial units and other businesses. The trio forced the locks with break-in equipment and stole various items especially agricultural machinery.

MURDER TRIAL

Málaga’s juvenile court will start the trial in November of the 17 year-old local youth accused of murdering 13-year-old María Esther in Arriate on January 19 of last year. He has been held in detention since his May arrest. The trial has been slotted in for November 2, 3 and 4. The prosecutor and her family are seeking an eight year jail term.

NO WORK

The jobless total rose in Ronda in September over the previous month by 201. The total for the town of the Tajo is now 4,562. Of that total, the majority 2,360 are women, but just 80 women and 121men joined the jobless queue in September. The PP – PA coalition at the town hall has agreed an IU proposal giving work to 35 people.

SIXTY PERCENT

The Andalucía health authority reports that the work to construct a new regional hospital in Ronda is 60 per cent completed. The 40.8 million euros project is scheduled to be completed sometime in 2012. It was due to be finished next April but now the end of the year seems more likely. When operational the hospital will have single room occupancy for patients.

PROTEST MARCH

La Plataforma en Defensa del Tajo and environmental groups in the Serranía de Ronda held a protest march on Sunday against plans to build 22 homes and a luxury hotel at Casa Rúa at the foot of the Cornisas. The land is meant to be a protected site and the protestors argue the construction would harm Ronda’s bid for UNESCO heritage site status.

NO OFFERS

Ronda’s plan to sell off the Cortijo San Juan to raise badly needed funds has fallen flat on its face. The cortijo covers 80 hectares given over to vines and is located on the Sevilla road. Ronda was seeking bids of two million euros but none were made and there may be a second auction or the land may be rented out instead.

TOP MAN

The Consorcio Genal – Guadiaro - Serranía de Ronda, the association of the 21 municipalities covering this region, has elected the mayor of Júzcar, David Fernández, as their president. The mayor of Benarrabá is his deputy and those of Algatocín and Benalauría make up the commission. Fernández said the consortium was entering a new era with fresh ideas for creating jobs and promoting tourism.

PAYMENT PLAN

The demonstrations in Cortes de la Frontera, Cuevas del Becerro and Gaucín continue over the non-payment of municipal employees because of the lack of town hall funds. Now PSOE on the Málaga provincial delegation is proposing these authorities could be given interest free advances on allocated funding as long as it was used to pay salaries and paid back in a set period.

GOING DIGITAL

Málaga province has presented 15 town halls in the Serranía de Ronda with the models for creating a digital administration. This means that from next year the residents of Alpandeire, Arriate, Atajate, Benaladid, Benalauría, Benarrabá, Cartajima, Faraján, Gaucín, Igueleja, Jubrique, Júzcar, Montecorto, Parauta and Pujerra should be able to access their town halls online to make enquiries and to enact licence applications 24/7.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY AUGUST 4, 2011

INDICATIONS OF CRIMINALITY


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The former mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, and his ex councillor of public works, José Herrera, will be called again before the local court to answer charges they broke the town planning laws by giving permission for a building to be constructed in the Hoya del Tajo.

The court is now at the stage of oral hearings ahead of a full trial being ordered if the judge finds “indications of criminality” as has been suggested in judicial reports.

The added spice in the case is that the former Partido Andalucista mayor Antonio Marín (now the spokesperson for PSOE on the council) was in coalition at the time with the Partido Popular and José Herrera is of the PP. PSOE were ousted at the last election and now Ronda is governed by a PP-PA coalition so revenge is on the cards.

The case dates back to 2006 when Ecoligistas en Acción discovered an agricultural building had been constructed illegally in the Hoya del Tajo, an area that enjoys environmental protection. The environmentalists notified the Policía Autonómica who carried out an investigation and sent a report to the prosecutor who brought court proceedings.

When Marín was called to give evidence he insisted he had no responsibility for the building as the matter was in the hands of his councillor for public works José Herrera who had insisted it was legal.

Of course it clearly isn’t and both Marín and Herrera will now face a full trial. Also in the dock will be the owner of the building but he insists that he only proceeded because he was assured it was legal and the town hall had issued the licences.

RONDA’S FOUR YEAR AUDIT

On taking control of Ronda town hall the Partido Popular – Partido Andalucista coalition announced that the municipality was bankrupt. It has ordered an external audit to determine where the money has gone. The investigation will be solely on the previous four years when Antonio Marín was mayor.

First he governed with his Partido Andalucista councillors in a coalition with the PP then when he broke that pact, he and all his PA councillors quit the party and become non-aligned whilst forming a coalition with PSOE. Both Marín and his former PA councillors then became members of the socialist party and he was their candidate for mayor in May.

At a council meeting held last Thursday night whilst approving the audit the proposal put forward by Marín for its to cover the past three legislatures was roundly rejected. Both the PP and PA had included in their election manifestos a promise of an audit and they insist that pledge is now being honoured.

Both the mayor Maripaz Fernández (PP) and her deputy Isabel Barriga (PA) have spoken of the town hall’s finances being in ruin. In addition they have accused Marín and the socialists of “ill fated economic management” over a three year period and have referred the accounts to the State auditing body.

MUSICAL HOME

A recent session of Ronda council decided that when the Giner de los Rios College is returned to the town hall’s ownership it will be used as the future home of the Municipal Music School. Councillors were very keen the building should be reserved for educational uses and it will also be home to the municipal band. The move was opposed by PSOE.

EROSKI GO

Málaga’s commission for town planning which falls under the Andalucía ministry of public works - housing has given its approval for the lands of Ronda’s old fair ground to be given over to commercial use. The site is adjacent to the former football ground which means that all the land required for the Eroski commercial centre has now been freed by the regional government.

FUNDING LOST

PIAGRO, which represents the agriculture sector in the Ronda area has issued a statement condemning the poor management of the previous council led by Antonio Marín. The Andalucía ministry of agriculture had offered a subvention of 250,000 euros to repair rural roads severely damaged by the heavy rains. However the cash has been lost because of numerous errors in the town hall’s application.

ECO WINE

The Andalucía government is very keen to boost the production of ecological wines. The Málaga delegate for this sector, Mónica Bermúdez, has allocated 380,000 euros for Thalassa Taller de Vino in Ronda as its contribution to the 1.4 million euro project to establish an ecological bodega at the finca Corchero. Thalassa is made up of local, Spanish and overseas businesses committed to eco-wines.

NEW ACCESS

The regional government projects to create two new access points in to Ronda may be frozen till next year because of lack of funds but work is underway to create a new southern roundabout to serve the San Rafael –San Jorge quarters. It is due to be completed in six months and is being funded by the town hall with an ICO loan.

SUPPORT PLEDGE

The Andalucía minister of culture, Paulino Plata, has written to the mayors of Ronda and Antequera to reiterate his ministry’s support for the candidacy of both towns for UNESCO World Hertitage status. Ronda is basing its candidacy on its natural beauty, the famous Tajo gorge and its bridges. However Ronda has ruled out a joint application with Antequera and will go it alone.

ROBBED CUEVAS

The mayor and councillors of Cuevas del Becerro have threatened to lock themselves in the town hall unless the 380,000 euros taken by the former municipal secretary – accountant is repaid. The theft was denounced in 2009 and in May 2010 the former employee was ordered by the court to pay 400,000 euros. This has not been done nor have his assets been embargoed.

POSTER ROW

Atajate is furious with the nearby village of Montejaque. Atajate held a competition for its fair poster using Tuenti and Facebook with the Sevilla artist Raúl Castellano beating 29 entrants. However the poster for Montejaque’s fair is virtually identical with just the names changes. In its defence Montejaque says its poster was a year in the making and used images from the internet.

SAGE ADVICE

An interesting initiative in Ronda where past mayors since democracy was declared in Spain have been formed in to a council of wise men. Last week the PP mayor Maripaz Fernández met with Juan Harrillo, Juan Fraile, Juan Benítez and José Herrera for the first of these encounters. The idea is they meet quarterly to give advice and suggestions to the current administration.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY JULY 28, 2011

GUILTY OF MURDER


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

A jury has found a gypsy youth guilty of the murder of José Muñoz Soto in a shooting by the Spanish Legion barracks in Ronda on September 8 2009.

Soto was a respected businessman in the town and also the senior brother of the Gitanos brotherhood that carried one of the thrones during Ronda’s Semana Santa parades.

The nine-member jury were unanimous in their guilty verdict after a week long trial. The prosecution alleged the youth, who was 18-years-old at the time, was sitting in the passenger seat of Soto’s car parked by the barracks when the murder took place. It was claimed he drew out a Glock semi-automatic pistol and fired in to his victim’s side killing him instantly.

For his part the assailant would not admit he was in the car when the murder took place and denied there were any differences between them. However he did arrive at the nearby Hotel Don Benito shortly after the shooting then took a taxi to Algodonales but it was intercepted by police.

The court has yet to hand down a jail term. Both the prosecutor and the lawyer acting for the Soto family are seeking 18 years for the murder and two years for the illegal possession of the weapon. Now the guilty verdict has been returned the defence is pleading for 15 years. There are also demands for indemnity payments to his widow and children.

The youth is a member of a well-known Gypsy family in Almeria that has a string of previous convictions. It is thought the argument may have been over a debt involving horses. Soto had a furniture business in Ronda and was highly regarded in the community.

He had been elected as the senior brother of Los Gitanos at the beginning of 2008. The famous fraternity traditionally takes its throne out on Palm Sunday. Such was the impact of the shooting on the members that they withdrew from the 2010 procession. There was widespread mourning in Ronda after his death and a huge turn-out at the funeral including representatives of all the fraternities in the town.

SMURF WEEKENDS IN JÚZCAR

The small Serranía de Ronda village of Júzcar has been propelled to international stardom after it was painted blue and presented to the world as the village of the Smurfs.

It is all part of Sony Pictures promotion of its film The Smurfs in 3D – the Smurfs are Los Pitufos in Spanish – which saw Júzcar chosen as the typical Smurfs’ home.

This has led to Smurf weekends being held over the summer at Júzcar. The “Aventura Pitufa” has seen dozens of children take part as they travel to the village from all over Andalucía.

The adventure has been organised by a local company and is open to all children aged over two years. They follow a route around the village looking for the Smurfs’ mushrooms, treasure, take part nature orientation, in the search for water and spiders and they meet personalities and encounter magic.

The adventures start on Saturdays at 11.00 and 20.00 and at 21.00 on Sundays. Mayor David Fernández said the aim was to maintain the expectations of the young visitors to when they arrived in the Smurfs’ blue village there were related activities for them to do. Adults haven’t been forgotten because in addition to the adventure there is a craft market.

YOUR DEBT

The new Partido Popular – Partido Andalucista administration says Ronda town hall is bust and has ordered an audit to ascertain where the money has gone. The PSOE opposition led by former mayor Antonio Marín has demanded the audit goes back to 1999. The socialists insist the debt is historic, was run up by previous PP administrations and should be compared with compatible municipalities.

HALF FAIR

With the economic crisis and a new cost cutting administration Ronda’s famous Feria de Pedro Romero is having its budget cut by 50 per cent. It runs from August 30 to September 4; includes the Goyesca bullfights, international folk festival, parades plus day and night fairs. The town hall hopes much of the cash shortfall will be made up by clubs and businesses.

PROTECT TAJO

Recently Ronda council voted to allow the building of a five-star luxury hotel and 22 homes in the protected Cornisas del Tajo after a lengthy legal battle with the family that own the site since 1980. Now it’s back to court as Ecologistas en Acción, backed by IU, want the scheme halted saying residents shouldn’t be penalized because past administrations have made mistakes.

UNESCO BOOST

Ronda’s PP mayor and her PA deputy have met with the Plataforma Pro Ronda Patrimonio Mundial which is promoting the bid to have the town of the Tajo recognized as a world heritage site by UNESCO. They voiced their backing for the project being launched by the regional government and have promised to allocate a heritage expert, David Becerra, to the action group.

WINE TRAINING

The wine industry in the Serranía de Ronda is growing fast hence the need to train young people to handle the vines and to work in the bodegas. Ronda town hall has signed an accord with Lecharry which will see nine students given work experience at the company’s Cortijo de San Juan and its wine making centre – they will receive certificates on completion.

VIVA COLMENAR

Residents of El Colmenar – Estación de Gaucín live in the municipality of Cortes de la Frontera. The zone is now demanding to be an ELA giving it local autonomy, then take the next step and become an independent municipality. The administration in Cortes is a PA - IU coalition and residents of El Colmenar believe they will back and promote their separation interests.

DIGITAL JIMERA

Málaga province through its technology development department has installed its MOAD digital town hall system in Jimera de Líbar. MOAD allows local residents to carry out a lot of business with the town hall on-line so saving the need to visit the offices. With a digital certificate or electronic DNI residents can access on a 24-hour basis all the municipal services and departments.

GENAL DESTRUCTION

The Genal Valley working group reported the Andalucía ministry of the environment to the environment prosecutor and the EU over the cleaning of the river in the Puente de Gaucín area. It claims the flora and fauna have been destroyed by heavy excavation machinery moving earth. The Genal river has LIC status making it a place of environmental importance giving it European protection.

EAST WEST

On July 30 at 21.30 in Ronda’s bullring the internationally celebrated conductor and musician Daniel Barenboim brings his West Eastern Divan Orchestra to perform. The orchestra brings together young people from Israel and various Arab states to prove they can be united through music. They will play Beethoven’s 4 th and 7 th symphonies then play Mozart with the Al Andalus orchestra.

SHEIK ACADEMIES

Sheik Adbullah Al-Thani has taken Málaga football club by storm investing in numerous big name players ahead of the new season. However he is also supporting the game at the grass roots level with the opening of five academies. There is much excitement in Ronda at the establishment of one of the academies there as well as in Marbella, Benalmádena/Mijas, Vélez-Málaga and Antequera.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY JULY 21, 2011

HOUSES AND LUXURY HOTEL FOR PROTECTED TAJO


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

A major surprise at one of the first meetings of Ronda’s new council when a project to build 22 homes and a luxury hotel was approved for the Cornisas del Tajo.

The owners of the land are the Sánchez Robles family. They first presented a project to the town hall in 1980 when the local development plan (PGOU) of that time permitted urban use of the land.

However since then the PGOU has been changed to protect the lands and visual impact of the Tajo gorge. The project known as the Cornisas del Tajo has never been dropped by the family although subsequent administrations have refused to discuss it – a stance they received support for from the Andalucía government.

In 1988 after another rejection by the full council the Sánchez Robles family decided to take the case to court. In 2006 the High Court handed down a decision allowing them to build on 16 hectares of the land.

The plans had been for 121 homes plus a small hotel but now an out-of-court agreement has been reached between the town hall and family. They will now be allowed to build 22 homes plus a five-star luxury hotel with 80 rooms, all of which is to have less negative visual impact.

The measure was passed by the PP and PA administration backed by the PSOE opposition. The IU is still against the project arguing there should be no construction in the Tajo gorge. However the party accepted that the new plan would be less invasive than the original proposal.

TWENTY YEARS JAIL SOUGHT FOR RONDA MURDER

The Málaga prosecutor is seeking a 20-year jail term for the 18-year-old who is alleged to have shot the driver of the vehicle he was a passenger in. The victim is well known in Ronda as a local businessman and he was also the senior brother of the “Gitanos” confraternity which carried one of the thrones in the Semana Santa processions. After his murder the brotherhood did not take part in the following year’s events. The accused is part of a gypsy family with numerous previous convictions.

The slaying took place at 14.20 on September 8, 2009, on the perimeter road of the Spanish Legion barracks just outside Ronda. The events were witnessed by Legionnaires and the security cameras. The prosecutor alleges the victim’s Land Rover was parked by the barracks and the two were talking. Then seemingly without warning the youth drew a Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol and fired three times into the driver’s right side. As the victim had no time to defend himself the prosecutor concludes the shots were fired with intent to kill. The weapon requires a licence which the accused does not possess.

The severe nature of the wounds meant the victim died immediately. There are said to be eight devastating injuries within the body including to the heart.

The youth fled the scene and walked the short distance to the Hotel Benito on the Ronda to Sevilla road. From there he phoned for a taxi which was later intercepted further along the same road near Villamartín.

The Ronda businessman leaves a wife and three children, one of whom is a minor. In addition to the jail term the prosecutor is seeking 104,000 euros in compensation for his wife, 43,000 euros for the youngest child plus 8,736 each for the older two.

ROAD HALT

The regional government has been constructing three new major junctions in Ronda. Whilst the flyovers on the Sevilla road at La Dehesa were completed earlier this year the works on the San Pedro road and the current hospital have been at a standstill for months. The Andalucía authority says it has run out of cash and work won’t start again before next year.

TWELVE ROBBERIES

Farmers in outlying districts of Ronda have reported a wave of robberies on their lands and country houses over the past fortnight. In all 12 break-ins have taken place with the main targets for the thieves being tools, small agricultural equipment plus antique utensils. At each location items stolen were valued at over 1,000 euros and the booty is being sold at markets.

MAKING GOOD

Arenal 2000 that constructed an urbanisation in Ronda that has been beset with problems has finally agreed to rectify the defects. The works are estimated as costing 700,000 euros. The main problems revolve around the green zones, lighting and sanitation. The town hall holds a deposit from the company and says it will use this to fund the works unless Arenal 2000 acts.

MARIHUANA TRADING

Guardia Civil in Arriate arrested a 49 year-old man who is alleged to have supplied a 21 year-old in Cañete la Real with marihuana that he’d grown. Officers became suspicious when in June they found an industrial unit close to the river with a giant generator that operated on a 24-hour basis. When they raided the premises they discovered a sophisticated marihuana factory.

TAJO BLAZE

Ronda fire brigade tackled a major blaze in the Cornisas del Tajo on Saturday last. There are a number of houses in the area; there was also a fear the flames could spread to the urban zones. It was a difficult location to reach; a helicopter was brought in from the nearby forest defence centre to dump large amounts of water on the flames.

BY-PASS DELAYED

Arriate’s Eastern by-pass has been on hold for over a year with no sign of being restarted. The 5.3 million euros road was one of the first victims of the economic crisis. The by-pass should take 4,000 vehicles a day away from Arriate especially lorries that have to navigate its narrow streets. Started in April 2009 it was to be completed last October.

KNICKER PROTEST

The 68 pre-retirement workers from the Bonpunt textile factory in Ronda, famous for making knickers, were laid off in 2007 under an ERE agreement. They are now pensioners and their spokesperson Isabel Guerrero insists they have not received any payments for seven months. They all travelled to Sevilla in June to protest over their plight and have now returned to stage another demonstration.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY JULY 14, 2011

LOS MERINOS PAYS ANOTHER 700,000 EUROS


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The company Copisa that is behind the controversial plans to build a golf and luxury residential – hotel development at Los Merinos in Ronda have paid a further 700,000 euros to the town hall.

The payments have been made under the terms of the agreement with the town hall for the development accord. The only change is that on this occasion it was the Partido Popular mayor Maripaz Fernández accepting the cheque instead of her Partido Andalucista –socialist predecessor Antonio Marín.

This brings the total paid by Copisa to over 12.2 million euros. However Fernández noted the payment of 700,000 euros is less than the usual 866,000 euros as it does not include IVA which is subject to an appeal by Copisa.

The total agreement is for around 15 million euros and the monies have been spent on various projects in the town. The mayor said she was going to follow to the letter of the law the legality of these payments and the use to which the money would be put.

Although the payments have kept coming the project to build the golf complex with its two courses, 800 luxury urbanisation and three hotels was halted in April 2008 because of the crisis in the construction industry.

Merinos Norte is within the boundaries of Ronda but lies adjacent to Cuevas del Becerro. There have been numerous protests by its residents, ecologists and the agriculture sector as the golf development does not have its own water resources and it is feared it will drain the aquifers on which the community has relied on for generations.

The project has also been the subject of numerous court actions many involving the actions of the previous mayor Antonio Marín. Before work can be restarted Copisa will have to demonstrate how it intends to guarantee the water supply to the development.

GAUCÍN GUARDIA CIVIL ARRESTED IN CHILD PORN CASE

At the end of last week a Guardia Civil officer stationed at Gaucín was one of six people arrested in various locations in Spain on child pornography charges.

Specialist officers from the National Police discovered the downloading of paedophile images of children from a video camera which were then offered over the internet on a “peer to peer” basis through the next work. One of these links was found to be to a computer in the Serranía de Ronda which belonged to the Guardia Civil.

Officers from the technology crime unit backed up by another from the Guardia Civil detained their fellow officer and raided his home confiscating various items including his computer. He later appeared before the duty judge at Ronda’s court.

The raid in Gaucín was timed to coincide with the other five in Spain and investigators have not ruled out further arrests in the coming weeks. The case is being run by a judge in Badajoz in conjunction with the town’s National Police and the technology crime specialists. The arrest of the Gaucín based officer is said to have been met with great shock in the village.

ARRESTED FOR RAPING NEIGHBOUR

The National Police in Ronda have arrested a 45-year-old man accused of sexual aggression against a minor of 16 years who was his neighbour.

The police HQ issued a statement to say the alleged sexual attack took place on Saturday with the victim requiring treatment at the local hospital.

According to the victim she had been lured to the neighbour’s home by various excuses and once inside the sexual attack took place. The girl fought back and fled the house rushing to her parents for help. It was they who took her to hospital and reported the attack.

Special units of the Judicial and forensic police have taken statements and items for analysis. The neighbour was tracked down, arrested and awaits a court hearing.

GOING PRIVATE

It’s an example followed by other municipalities governed by the Partido Popular and now the new administration in Ronda is privatising the municipal cleaning company. It has already held discussions with the unions and the move has added urgency as Soliarsa needs 700,000 euros to survive the year. In the past Ronda has won awards for the high standard of its street cleaning.

EROSKI DEBATE

Ronda council will debate the future of the Eroski commercial centre in the town. It is due to be the largest in Andalucía and the company insists it will now start work next summer. New PP mayor Maripaz Fernández has accused the previous socialist administration of lying to residents over the development. The centre will cost 120 million euros covering 70,000 square metres.

JOBLESS UP

Summer is here and Ronda’s unemployment totals normally fall but they rose by 22 in June. The total last month was 4,354 up from 4,332 but it has to be noted over the year so far jobless totals have fallen by 326. Women still make up the majority of the unemployed yet the construction industry is the hardest hit along with the services.

INDEPENDENCE DAY

The Partido Popular is talking of increasing the size of administrations should it come to power but the PP is now in control in Ronda and intends to push through the process to allow Montecorto and Serrato to gain their independence. The two small tiny hamlets are over 20 kilometres from Ronda, have autonomous status and are due to becomes Málaga’s newest municipalities.

ROAD RE-OPENS

The A-367 that unites Ronda with Ardales and Málaga has been re-opened. The new section that runs from Teba to the Campillos to Ardales road had been recently closed whilst repairs were carried out on a section that had fallen away during the heavy winter rains. Traffic had to be controlled by traffic lights as the road was reduced to a single lane.

ROAD DEATH

The Operación Salida de Verano which started on July 1 and relates to the start of the heavy traffic movements over the holiday season has claimed a life in the second crash recorded by the traffic authorities in Málaga province. A 35-year-old was killed in a collision in Arriate road after two cars collided. He suffered serious leg injuries and had been hospitalised.

GOYESCA TIME

Ronda’s famous Pedro Romero fair is fast approaching and last week both the poster for the Goyesca bullfights and the Damas Goyescas – the 17 beautiful young ladies who preside over the celebrations in Goya-style dresses - were presented to the media. Celebrated matador Francisco Rivera who organises the three-days of bullfights starting on September 2 presented the poster by Sevilla artist Miki Leal.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY JUNE 30, 2011

SUMMER DEATH TOLL OF WILDLIFE ON SECONDARY ROADS


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

Officers of Ronda’s Patrulla Verde have stated that every summer many wild animals perish on the tarmac of the Serranía’s secondary roads. The environmental patrols on one recent morning found the remains of a badger, jennet wild cat and a squirrel on the road that connects Ronda with Los Montes de Propios in Cortes de la Frontera.

Juan Gutiérrez, one of the officers who makes up the patrols, explained that the majority of the accidents happened at night. This is the time the wild animals are hunting or looking to drink in the mountain streams. He said the younger animals are less experienced when it comes to the hazards of the roads and tragically are run over.

The Patrulla Verde accepts that the majority of these accidents are impossible to prevent as the driver has no time to react. The death toll is at its highest amongst snakes, owls, badgers, jennets and foxes. Either they are killed outright or suffer such serious injuries there is little chance of recovery.

The wild animals also present a danger to drivers because suddenly they see something in their headlights and in attempts to avoid hitting the creature they can find their vehicle going off the road.

The environmental patrols ask all drivers who use the secondary roads late at night during the summer to take the maximum care for both their own and the wildlife’s safety. The roads are not the only threats to these creatures with electric pylons and illegal poisoning also taking their toll.

LYNCH MOB

The former mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, who is now the PSOE spokesperson has denied claims by the new Partido Popular mayor, Maripaz Fernández, that he left the town hall in financial ruin after she called for a State audit. Fernández says debts amount to 30 million euros without any liquidity. Marín says it is all part a campaign to lynch him politically.

EX CHIEF

A new administration comes in at a town hall and officials exit. One is the local police chief in Ronda, José Carrasco. He served with the new mayor Maripaz Fernández when as part of the PA-PP coalition she was the councillor for fiestas. Now seemingly he has lost her confidence and his departure is explained by a need to improve to police service.

PSOE DIVIDED

Divisions have opened up in Ronda’s PSOE over the party losing the mayorship after the recent elections. The party’s local secretary Francisco Cañestro survived a vote of confidence. However there has been anger amongst activists over former PA mayor Antonio Marín being absorbed along with eight of his councillors. This has meant long term PSOE councillors being dumped or moved down the list.

TRACTOR THEFT

Guardia Civil have arrested a man after a tractor was stolen in Pujerra in the Serranía and was later found in Cartajima. The alleged thief is said to have changed the tractor’s colour from blue to deep red and also erased the chassis number. The local man is accused of robbery with force. There have been numerous recent thefts of heavy farm equipment.

CORK HARVEST

This year’s cork harvest is underway. Ronda’s environment department has started its campaign in Los Montes de Propios and expects to collect 7,000 Spanish quintals of high quality oak cork. The municipal plantations run up to the border with Cortes de la Frontera. The town hall expects to bank around 600,000 euros although sales have been hit by the use of plastic corks.

EIGHT YEARS

There are reports the prosecutor has sought an eight year detention term for the 17-year-old youth who is alleged to have murdered María Esther Jímenez in Arriate on January 19. In addition he would be subjected to another five years of supervised detention. He is said to have battered her to death with a four kilo brick but he has pleaded not guilty.

STAY PUT

Ronda is to enlarge its industrial estate by 500,000 square metres in an effort to prevent companies leaving the town. It is an interim measure as once the new local development plan (PGOU) has been passed a new industrial zone and technology park will be created off the El Burgo road. However in the meantime land is being allocated between Torrecilla and Cuco.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY JUNE 23, 2011

MARÍN HAS RUINED RONDA’S FINANCES


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

Within days of leaving office Ronda’s former mayor Antonio Marín has been accused of ruining the town hall and the State auditors have been asked to examine the accounts.

Marín has twice been elected as the Partido Andalucista mayor but during the last term he and his eight fellow councillors defected, sat as non-aligned but joined PSOE. At the May elections he headed the socialist’s list for mayor.

The town is now run by a Partido Popular – Partido Andalucista coalition and the PP mayor, Maripaz Fernández, last week held a press conference to announce the municipal coffers were bare and Ronda faced financial ruin.

She accused Marín over a three-year period of “ill-fated economic management” adding the accounts were being forwarded to the Tribunal de Cuentas for investigation. Fernández added that legal action could also be instigated against the former mayor and his socialist deputy, Francisco Cañestro, saying they had brought Ronda to ruin but had been so tranquil about the consequences of their actions.

It now appears the town hall has debts of 30 million euros, far more than was thought. The new mayor said there was no bank liquidity and it was not known how the salaries of the municipal workers would be paid for the month of June.

Around 10.5 million euros is owed on invoices to those providing services to the municipality. The balance is due on the various loans taken out by the town hall with financial entities. In addition Ronda owes 575,000 euros to social security plus 700,000 euros for the public cleaning company Soliarsa to keep running for this year. To make matters worse it appears all the municipal companies are running at a deficit.

CASE OF “LUCKY” FINALLY BEING INVESTIGATED

Ronda News has covered intensively the case of 24-year-old Luis Alberto Ramírez ‘Lucky’ who was anything but. He tragically died in April 2008 of peritonitis at Ronda’s hospital after twice being discharged by medical staff.

Since then his family have been pressing for an official investigation and finally four members of staff at the hospital and another from the health centre in ‘Lucky’s’ village of Gaucín have been called to give evidence in an enquiry in to his death.

Lucky’s sister says immediately after his death they issued a complaint over the actions of the medical staff but this was filed by a judge in September 2008. An appeal was lodged in March 2009 and now the Málaga prosecutor has started proceedings.

The four staff from Ronda hospital have all denied any negligence and insist that when he was admitted to the hospital he showed no symptoms for peritonitis. However this is denied by the first doctor who saw ‘Lucky’ at Algatocín health centre on March 31 who immediately diagnosed peritonitis and sent him to the hospital advising they would probably operate immediately.

However both the hospital and the health centre at Gaucín insisted he either had salmonella or a virus and treated him for those. On Saturday April 5 he returned to Ronda hospital, was given antibiotics and discharged. That night at 23.00 his sister called an ambulance as he was very ill. The ambulance was out on a call in Genalguacil and would have taken 90 minutes to arrive.

In the event the sister drove him to the hospital but he suffered a heart attack en route. He died in hospital from peritonitis at 16.00 on the Sunday. The family and village of Gaucín immediately held protests over ‘Lucky’s’ death and finally a full investigation may be held to determine the blame for this tragedy.

LONE DEATH

A lone motorcyclist was killed on the A-374 at km 15 in Ronda at 19.50 last Wednesday evening. No other vehicle was involved in the tragedy and the bike left the road with the biker dying immediately. Police, fire crews and an ambulance attended the scene. The victim, from Ronda, had been attending a bikers’ event in Villamartín to raise money for charity.

ROAD CLOSED

For about two weeks the A-367 that connects Ronda with Ardales will be closed. A section of the road collapsed in the winter rains and major works will be required to repair it. For the duration traffic will be diverted along the A-7278 until the crossing with the MA-5404 and from there to the junction of the A-357 Ardales to Campillos road.

HEALTH VISITORS

Children from infants’ schools in Cortes de la Frontera and Benaoján have visited their health centres. Organised by local social workers the pupils saw how the medical staff worked with residents and hopefully also instilled a sense of confidence and respect for the nurses and doctors. Also should the children need medical treatment they’ll be less scared and more familiar with the surroundings.

OFF SICK

In Cortes de la Frontera the Guardia Civil linked the theft of an official stamp from the health centre with the number of certificates handed to teachers saying a child was ill. Two pupils have now been arrested for the theft and for forging official documents. The theft in March coincided with a sharp rise in absentees who had bought the fake certificates.

EAR ARRESTS

As reported last week a young Ronda bull fighter recently lost part of his ear after it was bitten off during a fracas at the late drinking spot in the Blas Infante gardens. The National Police have now arrested a 21 and 23-year-old who live outside Ronda but came for the festivities. The victim was treated locally then transferred to a Málaga hospital.

ILLEGAL SOUNDS

The Guardia Civil in Ronda have been investigating a robbery from the culture centre in the nearby village of Arriate. Various items of musical equipment were stolen and stupidly their photos were posted on a social network website offering them for sale. Officers have arrested two minors for the offence and they have been released pending a hearing in the young people’s court.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY MAY 19, 2011

EROSKI CENTRE STARTS AT THE END OF JULY


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The Eroski commercial centre in Ronda has been a long time coming and now it has been announced work will start at the end of July. The announcement was made by mayor Antonio Marín but as this is election season it remains to be seen if that date is fact or fiction.

The development has been billed as the largest by Eroski in Andalucía. The Basque based supermarket group has allocated 120 million euros to the project spread over 73,100 square metres.

The commercial centre will be located on land formerly occupied by the soccer stadium and old fair ground. The local development plan (PGOU) has been amended to allow the project to proceed and the regional government’s consultative council has given its approval.

Marín stated that the commercial centre will be a reality between 10 and 12 months of work starting although curiously the initial estimates were double that time scale.

The Ronda Eroski is meant to be 50 per cent bigger than the company’s existing development in Antequera. It will create 1,500 construction jobs with 1,200 employees working there once it is operational.

The supermarket will occupy 8,000 square metres with 15,000 square metres given over to fashion outlets, 3,000 square metres to services and a further 6,000 square metres on leisure and restaurants including a multi-screen cinema.

NEW IMAGE

The religious image of Nuestro Señor del Ecce-Homo has been a familiar sight at the Easter parades in Ronda for generations. Now it has been sent to the Instituto Andaluz de Patrimonio Histórico in Sevilla. The regional government has agreed to fund the 40,000 euros required to restore the valuable statue. Incredibly it’s returned to the workshop where it was made in 1713.

SEXUAL CRIME

Guardia Civil have stated they believe the murder of María Esther Jiménez in Arriate in January had a sexual motive although investigations remain on-going. Meanwhile the examination of witnesses by the prosecutor continues and so far 13 people have given testimony. The 17-year-old accused of her murder is being held in detention for an initial six months which can be extended by three.

BLESSED INVESTMENT

The Andalucía ministry of health, Málaga province and Alpandeire have grouped together to fund the 312,600 euros next phase of the medical centre in the Serranía de Ronda village. Málaga province is providing 138,569 euros ensuring work could start shortly. In addition the museum dedicated to Blessed Fray Leopoldo, also backed by the province, is now at an advanced stage of its construction.

BLAS AID

Blas Infante, the father of the modern Andalucía, has special links to Ronda and is honoured by the Paseo Blas Infante, a garden area over the Tajo gorge by the bullring. Sadly the zone was badly damaged in the rains and work is now being carried out to remove the constant threat of flooding. Around 58,000 euros is being assigned to the work.

PALACE ROBBERY

Two youths have been detained accused of breaking into Ronda’s historic Casa del Rey Moro dating from the 18 th century with famous gardens by Forestier. The duo are said to have stolen various antiques and crystal lamps. The police were informed the palace was robbed within the last month; when detained the youths had all the stolen artefacts hidden in a garage.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY APRIL 28, 2011

HAVE PATIENCE OVER UNESCO BID


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The Andalucía minister for culture, Paulino Plata, has urged caution and patience on Ronda over its bids to be declared UNESCO Ciudad Patrimonio de la Humanidad. He was referring to a motion in the Andalucía parliament demanding that the regional government initiate the process necessary for the town of the Tajo to be given this UNESCO status.

Plata told a press conference in Ronda that the drawing up of such applications never took less than three years and were resolved between three and five years. He said the work to prepare Ronda’s application had started very well and there had been no difficulties along this road or obstacles encountered.

However the minister explain these applications were “very complicated” and the fact the town’s name was being put forward was being linked with parties’ campaigns the municipal elections being held in May.

Plata insisted the regional government clearly supported the candidature of Ronda – a town in which the urban and natural scenery was very special – and there is enthusiasm and hope for the application.

Ronda has formed an action group amongst political parties and local associations with heritage groups to work for its candidature for UNESCO status. A petition has also been started to collect signatures in support of the project.

TENSIONS GROW OVER EXPANSION OF CHINESE BUSINESSES

Spanish businesses are becoming very uneasy and angry over the proliferation of Chinese owned shops on the Costa del Sol, Ronda and elsewhere in Spain including Madrid and Barcelona.

The highly decorated Chinese restaurant facades became a familiar feature in the 1980s but now they have been joined by a network of supermarkets, cheap stores and wholesale outlets on industrial estates. They are family run, have the minimum of investment and sell their goods at low prices.

In Málaga province the number of Chinese owned shops has risen from 2,277 in 2005 to 4,591. At the same time the number of Chinese residents has grown from 575 to around 1,800 largely to staff these businesses.

The president of Federación del Comercio in Málaga, Enrique Gil, has observed the Chinese are buying business outlets including cafes, keeping the same appearance, offering the same products and services but vastly undercutting the Spanish businesses trading alongside them.

The federation complains the Chinese businesses do not apply the same employment agreements or working hours and therefore do not compete on an equal footing. There is disquiet amongst the shops in the various town neighbourhoods as each time they look another Chinese shop has opened up.

A new aspect of the Chinese competition is now increasing traders’ alarm. In the past a Chinese shop was very distinctive. Now they are copying their Western counterparts. One example is the arrival of ‘Zara Chino’ where the decoration and products ape the major fashion stores but are of inferior quality and far cheaper.

The federation says ‘Zara Chino’ has yet to arrive in Marbella but there are similar operations with one located by the old cemetery in premises formerly used by a car workshop and tyre business.

All the products sold are low priced and manufactured in Asia but imitate Italian designer bags and shoes along with French and Spanish fashion items and sell for around 30 euros.

One of the families have been in business in Spain for around 16 years. They started off with a Chinese restaurant in Fuengirola, then opened a 100 peseta shop in Marbella before graduating to the textile business.

Like all Asians the families that run these businesses work hard, have a good business sense and are able to set up without having to rely on bank finance because they finance themselves. The problem for Spanish shops at this time of financial crisis is they are seen as having an unfair advantage as they open all hours, do not have to worry about work contracts or minimum wages and are able to access and sell cheap Asian goods at prices that undercut their Iberian competition.

SIGN LANGUAGE

If you live in the Serranía de Ronda and would like to learn sign language for the deaf then you can attend a course being given by professionals from the local health service. It is organized by the Asociación de Personas Sordas de Ronda and it aims to break down the barriers between people, patients and families with members who have hearing difficulties.

HORSE BIDS

Ronda has spent 360,000 euros on creating a municipal horse school and equine therapy centre at its stud farm. The project has been funded by the town hall, Málaga province and the regional government. In May the tenders will be issued for the management of the complex which aims to make equestrian activities and skills more accessible to the public and handicapped.

MURDER EVIDENCE

Thirteen year old María Esther Jiménez was murdered in Arriate on January 20. A 17-year-old youth from the village has been arrested for her murder and between May 6 and 10 the process will start for those required to give evidence before the minors’ prosecutor. The law of minors stipulates an under 18 can only be held for six months before being released.

CLASSIC VISIT

Before Easter the Club Amigos de los Clásicos de Ronda held an event at the Ascari race track with around 50 people with 21 classic vehicles attending. The celebrity cars were put through their paces and then were parked in the paddock for all to admire. The newly formed club intends to hold regular local and regional events for classic cars in Ronda.

OBAMA EFFECT

The visit last August of the US President’s wife Michelle Obama with her daughter to Ronda still bears fruit for the town. Over Easter the councillor for tourism Francisco Cañestro played host to 20 of the top travel agents in the USA. They spent three days in Andalucía on a fact-finding visit anxious to visit Ronda in the footsteps of the First Lady.

RAIN SHELTER

Seven of the brotherhoods were unable to take to the streets of Ronda as their Semana Santa processions were cancelled due to the heavy rains. However the museum dedicated to the town’s fraternities has just been completed and was open for inspection making a useful shelter from the weather. The museum is still empty but answers a 15-year call from the religious groups.

CUTTING IT

Can you cut it? The cutting of the Jamón is a prized skill and will be displayed this year at Ronda’s Feria de Mayo. Champions of the art are the Corbacho family who own Ronda and Marbella’s Casa de Jamón. A national competition will be held on May 15 so if you fancy trying your hand phone 95287159 or 952773488 for entry details.

AZNAR VISIT

The Partido Popular are pulling out all the stops to win Ronda at the local elections. Recently leader Mariano Rajoy visited the town of the Tajo and last week former premier Jose María Aznar and his wife Ana Botella were in Estepona. Although they met all the local PP candidates for mayor Aznar spent time talking about Ronda with mayoral hopeful Mari Paz Fernández.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY MARCH 31, 2011

FRAY LEOPOLDO NEEDS A NEW MIRACLE


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

Fray Leopoldo de Alpandeíre, named after his birthplace in the Serranía de Ronda village, was beatified last September 12 in Granada. The Capuchin friar served the poor of the city for many years - he is widely followed by Catholics in Andalucía and beyond.

The friar is now on the road to being declared a saint but one of the miracles that propelled him to be beatified has been discounted by the Vatican from the process. This is because it predates his being beatified and miracles for his sainthood have to have occurred after last September.

Fray Alfonso Ramírez Peralbo, who heads the cause towards sainthood, visited the Holy Office in the Vatican on February 9, the 55 th anniversary of the friar’s death. It was then he was given the news which he admits left him shocked.

The previously admitted miracle happened to Ileana Martínez who interceded to Fray Leopoldo and was cured of an aneurism in her aorta. Patrizio Polisca, the medical consultant to the Congregation for the Cause of the Saints and the pope’s personal doctor, had ruled her cure out because of the timing.

Fray Alfonso is not deterred. He says the process to have Fray Leopoldo made a saint continues and adds that many letters have been received from people who credit the friar with being responsible for miraculous cures. These will now be studied closely to see if any meet the strict requirements demanded by the Vatican.

PP LOSS

José Herrera has resigned from the Partido Popular in Ronda after 24 years on the council. He is angry that he is not on the PPs list for the elections saying the decision was personally motivated. Herrera has twice been mayor of Ronda and had his own party before linking with the PP. He is expected to stand as an independent in May.

NO APPEAL

A Málaga court has ruled that an appeal by the Asociación Silvema Serranía de Ronda against an earlier court decision not to proceeded with a case against the mayor of Ronda over the Merinos golf development would not be allowed. The Málaga Prosecutor had recommended the case be dropped as although the mayor had acted unethically he had not broken the law.

DIGITAL POLICE

Out go the walkie talkies. Local police in Ronda are now using a digital system pioneered in Andalucía which means the control knows the exact location of all its officers and can respond to emergency calls within minutes. The 70 officers will have what looks like a mobile phone which sends a signal that shows up on a screen in the command centre.

WELCOME SIGNS

Ronda’s delegate for commerce, British PSOE councillor Charlotte Wilmot, recently presented the 45 elements of the new specially created sign system for the town’s open commercial centre which is one of those officially recognised by the Andalucía government. Around 132,000 euros has been invested on signs including welcome notices, commercial directories, publicity hoardings for the 100 businesses that make up the CCA.

MILLION STEPS

Málaga’s health authority and Montejaque town hall have launched a scheme to improve the health of those living in the municipality. It’s part of the Andalucía health service’s “Por un millón de pasos” campaign aimed to getting the elderly and chronically ill to walk at least a million steps every month ideally in a group so it becomes an obligation and social activity.

BETTER ACCESS

The Ronda Norte health centre which serves 17,000 people in the town and Serranía has seen a number of recent improvements. These include better access including the installation of a lift plus the opening of a special unit for pregnant women. The 127,000 euros lift is specially adapted for the handicapped allowing easy use by those in wheelchairs or using other walking aids.

WIFI PARK

This summer sees the opening of the Edificio Neotechnológica in Ronda. Over 500,000 euros has been spent on the building which on its top floor will have 60 computers all with high speed internet connection. This is part of a campaign to ensure everybody has access to the internet - outside will be a park with Wi Fi installed permitting free access to users.

TO GAUCÍN

The name of Bernardino Gaona is well known in Arriate as he became deputy mayor in 1995 then mayor in 1999 to the coming elections. The Izquierda Unida politician is not standing in May – well at least not in Arriate –instead he pops up in Gaucín where he is one of the reserve candidates as the party looks to freshen up it appeal.

TAJO DEFENDERS

The project to have a raptor spectacular at the auditorium over the Tajo by Ronda’s famous bullring now has some serious opposition. A dozen associations and political groups have combined to preserve the gorge which they want declared a national monument and stop the demonstration of these hunters as they say they will threaten birds nesting below. They want the spectacular moved elsewhere.

ILLEGAL ROAD

Ecologists in the Serranía de Ronda have reported works to create an illegal road by the arroyo del Algarrobo in Genalguacil to the Andalucía environment ministry. They say its invaded the public domain on the river bank. They are also angry over the extraction of filling material from a nearby site – an action which they say has not been licensed by the authorities.

PIG KILLINGS

Residents of the rural areas of Puerto Saúco and Ronda la Vieja are alarmed after for the third time in a year seven farms were raided on one night. Seven Iberian pigs were killed at a farm and in all farm equipment worth over 20,000 euros was stolen. One raid was prevented when the dogs alerted the owner who turned on security lights.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY MARCH 10, 2011

CASA DEL REY MORO TO BE SAVED


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The historic Casa del Rey Moro in Ronda is to be saved after the town hall reached agreement with the property’s owners. The 18 th century palace that sits on the edge of the Cornisas del Tajo is in danger of collapse after years of neglect.

Jochen Knie, who owns the Casa del Rey Moro SL, has agreed to undertake immediate restoration works and in return the town hall will grant a licence for the property to be converted in to a hotel. The German has accused the administration of paralysing for 14 years his plans to create a five star hotel.

The councillor for public works and town planning, María Jose Martín de Haro will in the next month register the project to urgently refurbish the building which is in a ruined state. Martín de Haro said any work would have first to be approved by the Andalucía culture ministry as the building is a protected historic site.

The town hall has been waging an on-going battle with Knie over the property and has fined him 60,000 euros for not keeping it in order. In addition it has had to close the staircase that descends to La Mina. This deep stairway goes down to a natural chasm in the rock below the bed of the Tajo. The entry to La Mina is in the Jardines de Forestier that were declared of cultural interest in 1943.

The restoration of the site has been held up by the provisions of the Plan Especial del Casco Histórico that was only approved last year. Knie says the company offered to restore the building before the project was paralysed but he seems content with the new accord.

Knie owns the five-star hotel Casa Imperial in La Alfalfa in Sevilla and wanted to turn the Casa del Rey Moro in to a similar establishment in Ronda. The original project would have required an investment of 21 million euros and would have employed 200 people directly and indirectly.

STOLEN COMPUTERS HIDDEN AT MURDER SITE

Arriate was in a profound state of shock at the end of January when 13-year-old María Esther Jiménez was found murdered in the pump house of a swimming pool on land behind the village. A 17-year-old youth, one of her friends, has since been arrested for her murder.

Those raw wounds were re-opened this week when three people were arrested by the Guardia Civil in Arriate for the theft and receiving of stolen computers. Another four have also been implicated. Although the two cases are not inter-related the stolen computers were hidden in the pump house where María Esther was slain.

It was in October of last year that the Guardia Civil opened operation Guadalinix after computers were stolen from the school in Arriate. During the investigation in to María Esther’s murder the fingerprints of two of the youths involved in the thefts were found in the pump house. One of them has since confessed to stealing the computers.

According to the Guardia Civil one of those involved hid in the school after it closed then later gave access to the other. They then hid the stolen computers in the pump house before handing them over to a third person who sold them for 200 euros each. Around 1,000 euros was earned in this manner which they split equally.

JOBLESS DOWN

A glimmer of good news in Ronda where February saw a fall of 78 in the unemployment figures. However at the end of that month the town hall contracted 86 people to work on its latest project to reduce the jobless and it is not clear if that number is included in the February totals. There are now 4,680 on the dole.

RECYCLING THEFTS

Local police were called to the Punto Limpio in Ronda last Wednesday afternoon after three people were seen in the locked premises. Officers caught them in the act, arrested the woman but the two men fled although one was detained later. All are said to be non-Spanish; they were stealing items such as small electrical domestic appliances left at the site for re-cycling.

DRUGS BUST

The National and local police in Ronda have broken up a drugs distribution operation from a house in El Fuerte arresting a 56-year old woman and a man aged 31. Officers had noticed a large number of people going to and from the property. Suspecting they were dealing in drugs they stage a raid on the house and seized 1.5 kilos of hashish.

PAY UP

Mayors in the Valle del Genal and Guadiaro have called on the regional government to pay the 60 students studying at courses run by their consortium. The whole project appears to be in chaos because not only are the pupils owed 1,000 euros for two months but the lack of funding means the staff have been unable to purchase materials for the courses.

LESS INTENSE

An intriguing project in Ronda where the town hall claims it’s reducing the energy bills by 50 per cent. Five hundred thousand euros has been spent installing a system controlling the intensity and reporting faults in the street lighting. Lighting is more powerful in the evening and reduces after midnight. It is operational in calles Jerez, Ollerías, San Molino, Pozo and San José.

SEWAGE PROJECT

The regional government is spending two million euros installing a sewage plant in Cuevas del Becerro. The cash comes from Feder funds and the work will take 14 months to complete. The system can handle 471.8 cubic metres of waste water a day which is not only sufficient for the present population but also allows for growth in the size of the village.

HOMES LOST

According to Izquierda Unida 255 families in Ronda have lost their homes in the last five years. They all have been embargoed by financial entities because the owners could not meet their mortgage repayments. IU blames the calamity on the economic policies of the PSOE government in the financial crisis because it has refused to declare a moratorium for families on the dole.

PALMS SAFE

The Serranía de Ronda is the only zone in the province of Málaga where the plague of red beetles that attacks palms trees has not taken a hold. The coastal areas have been the worst affected by the beetle which destroys the trunks. Some palms in the Serranía have been affected but these are isolated and the disease has not spread to others.

MOLINA AGAIN

Gaucín’s PSOE have again nominated Teodoro de Molina to head their list at May’s town hall elections. De Molina was elected mayor after the last election in a pact with the Partido Popular to keep the Partido Andalucista from power. However PP withdrew; took power itself with the support of the PA. De Molina is an economist, useful as the town hall’s bankrupt.

ASTON LAUNCH

The famous British car manufacturer Aston Martin has chosen Ronda to present this month its latest model to the world. Ronda competed against Sevilla for the launch which will take place in the old town at the plaza Duquesa de Parcent and by the bullring. Three hundred journalists will flock to Ronda –events are also being held in Chicago and New York.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24, 2011

GINER DE LOS RIOS – AUTHOR OF THE YEAR


By David Eade

Britons will have heard of the famous Spanish writer Cervantes and also the poet Lorca. Perhaps not many will be aware of the life and works of Francisco Giner de los Rios.

That could be about to change as the Andalucía government has named him as its author of the year and a travelling exhibition will visit all eight provinces during April. Born in Ronda in 1839, he is described as a “fundamental malagueño” and also as Spain’s Socrates.

Certainly Giner de los Rios was more than a writer. He was a progressive teacher and a thinker – one of the ideologues who was as the forefront of the explosive cultural revolution that overtook Spain.

By honouring him in 2011 the regional government has placed Giner de los Rios on the same pedestal as Aleixandre, Alberti, Bécquer, Cernuda and María Zambrano. The Centro Andaluz de las Letras is organizing the exhibition in conjunction with the Fundación Francisco Giner de los Rios.

The exhibition will be staged in Ronda to coincide with the international day of the book. In addition 100,000 leaflets on his life and works will be distributed amongst libraries in Andalucía.

Although Giner de los Rios died in Madrid in 1915 his ideology was a key element behind the Institución de Libre Eseñanza amongst whose initiatives was the Residencia de Estudiantes. It was this centre that nurtured the talents of Federico García Lorca, Salvador Dalí and Luis Buñuel which formed the revered Generation of 27.

When he died aged 76, lying in bed with his body defeated, he refused any medical attention. He said: “It is futile. One’s duty is to die with dignity” so ending a distinguished lifetime of dignified teaching, thought and writing.

FENCE DOWN

The Andalucía High Court ruled in favour of Ronda town hall ordering the walls and fences erected by a private individual in the area of the Virgen de la Cabeza shrine to be immediately removed. The person has also been fined. The court dismissed an appeal against an earlier ruling the obstructions must go as they impede the enjoyment of this popular area.

MINISTER’S SUPPORT

Spain’s minister for foreign affairs, Trinidad Jiménez, was in Ronda last Saturday to present PSOE’s candidate for mayor at the forthcoming May elections. Jiménez is from Vélez-Málaga and spoke on behalf of Antonio Marín. He is currently a two term mayor having been previously elected for the Partido Andalucista but he and his fellow PA councillors defected, sit as independents and joined PSOE.

GOOD HEALTH

The 40.8 million project to build at new hospital to serve Ronda, the Serranía and parts of Cádiz is proceeding on target. The works started in October 2008 and will be completed in 2012. It will be the first hospital in Málaga province with single rooms – 186 of them. This will give the new medical centre 39 more beds than the existing hospital.

BY-PASS ANGER

Political parties have expressed their anger over the hold put on the by-pass around Arriate. Currently 4,000 vehicles a day have to negotiate the narrow main street. The 5.3 million euros road would take traffic approaching from Setenil via a by-pass connecting with the Ardales to Ronda A-367. Much of the road has been completed but has been halted in the budget cuts.

MISSING CASH

The State auditing body, Tribunal de Cuentas, will complete a report on the missing 360,000 euros from Cuevas del Becerro’s coffers. In January 2009 the long serving town hall accountant was accused of misappropriating the badly needed funds from the small municipality. The mayor and prosecutor have opened a legal case against him, his accounts have been frozen but he says he’s innocent.

SENATOR MAYOR

The PSOE mayor of Genalguacil, Beatriz Álvarez, is to become a senator. She will be one of the four senators (three of PSOE, one PP) representing Málaga province in Spain’s upper house. Álvarez is a two-term mayor and replaces Emelina Fernández who has become president of the Consejo Audiovisual Andaluz. She has stood down as mayor but will be a candidate for councillor.

ESTHER’S PETITION

The parents of Esther, the young girl who was murdered in Arriate by a neighbouring youth, have started a campaign to collect signatures on a petition. Juan and Carmen want tougher sentences handed down to minors convicted of blood crimes under the Ley del Menor. They collected 3,000 signatures in just one week. Shortly they’re expected to return to their native Cádiz village.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY FEBRUARY 17, 2011

ACINIPO IS NOW AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PROTECTED SITE


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The council of the Andalucía government last week placed in the catalogue of historical heritage sites the Roman ruins at Acinipo. It has been entered in the section relating to archaeological zones.

Acinipo is within the municipality of Ronda some 20 kilometres from the town centre. It was the original settlement in the area and is one of the most important archaeological sites in Andalucía. It dates from the first century BC and was used until the Nazari era.

Acinipo has been well preserved given that it was largely uninhabited after the end of the Roman epoch. The site also contains remains from a fortified Iberian settlement with some circular and rectangular prehistoric homes.

Of the Roman town there are the vestiges of the wall, the urbanisation with terraces and some private homes with painted walls. Near the Roman theatre are some ceramic ovens and two necropolises where they held funerals. There are also baths that were part of the forum complex with painted stones dating from the first century AD.

All these remains along with the theatre have been protected since 1931. To this has now been added the Mesa de Ronda la Vieja which takes in a zone of 251.66 hectares.

The theatre is one of the oldest and best preserved in Spain. To this day can be seen the graded seating in consecutive rows. At the front is the orchestra or semi-circular spaces reserved for the dignitaries. These are marked out in pink local stone. Behind the stage rises the high frontage of the building which in the Greek style has three entrances.

The archaeological excavations currently underway have been very fruitful. Amongst the discoveries has been a large extension dating from the first century AD possibly associated with the forum of the town which includes three tiered bathing pools. Also uncovered is part of the water heating system.

Ronda town hall is to create an interpretation centre at Acinipo. However this has been put on hold as both the regional government and environmentalists have objected to its location.

MAYOR ARRESTED

Alpandeire - a Serranía de Ronda village best known as the birth place of Fray Leopoldo – has had its mayor arrested by the Guardia Civil. Gabriel Jiménez is accused of buying stolen heavy construction machinery. A man in San Pedro and Estepona have been arrested for robbery plus another in Ronda for receiving. It remains to be seen whether PSOE insists he resigns.

HABITUAL ROBBER

Local police recently arrested a 35-year-old Ronda man for breaking into a bar in the plaza Duquesa de Parcent making off with the till. First arrested in mid-January he was charged with a total of 18 such offences - that total has risen to 24. The one man crime wave was released by the court but now has been jailed for 18 months.

BONES FOUND

During construction work on a site between the calles Torrejones and Empedrada in the San Francisco old quarter of Ronda ten skeletons and coins have been uncovered. All face towards Mecca and it is believed the site was a burial ground dating back to the Muslim era. Two of the skeletons have been identified as children aged around 3 and 8 years.

ROUND-ABOUTS

Roundabouts are on the agenda in Ronda where large amounts are being spent to easy the traffic flow. The new 23,000 euros roundabout inaugurated last week is easing traffic through the industrial estate which has seen its flow increase to 13,000 vehicles a day because of diversions caused by the massive new access programme. Two new roundabouts are planned for the industrial zone.

SERRANÍA PROJECTS

Two villages in the Serranía de Ronda are benefiting from projects funded by the province. In Faraján there is now an old people’s residence which can cater for 29 people from throughout the area and has created ten jobs. In Alpandeire the first brick has been laid for the new municipal swimming pool. Catering for 156 it will be completed for next year.

LIGHTS OUT

Montejaque faces having the plug pulled. It owes around 240,000 euros to Eléctrica Serranía de Ronda with the town hall’s bill dating back to 2001. The case has gone to Ronda’s court because money was assigned to pay the debt and used for other purposes. The mayor says the debt is no higher than other municipalities and money was used on vital services.

LEAVING TOWN

The parents of María Esther, the 13-year-old murdered in Arriate on January 20, will leave the village after the mass in her memory. They are from Paterna in Cádiz but moved to Arriate to work five years ago. A petition is making the rounds in Arriate demanding the Ley del Menor is changed to increase the penalties for minors convicted of blood crimes.

MOUNTAIN RESCUE

An 8-year-old girl was rescued from the Sierra de las Nieves by Ronda’s Guardia Civil, fire brigade, Protección Civil and forest guards. The child was enjoying a day at Puerto de Los Pilones, one of the highest peaks in the park, with her parents when she fell injuring her back. Rescuers took her by stretcher to Quejifales refuge where an ambulance was waiting.

STORK’S NEST

A campaign is underway to extend the number of stork nests in the Serranía. The birds are widespread in Cádiz and Huelva but less so in Málaga with nests in Alameda, Ronda and Arriate. A new nest has been placed in the high chimney of an old soap factory in La Indiana and it is hoped that young birds from Ronda and Arriate will nest there.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY JANUARY 27, 2011

SEARCH FOR THE CHILD KILLER OF ARRIATE


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

Arriate is a small peaceful village just 15 minutes drive from Ronda. That sense of calm was shattered last Thursday when a fireman, who was part of the search team for missing María Esther Jiménez, found her battered body in a swimming pool pump house.

Her parents had reported her missing in the early hours of Thursday morning. She had spent Wednesday evening in Arriate at the bus shelter with school friends, one even capturing her smiling on her digital camera.

At 21.30 she went into a bar for a glass of water. Since the investigation into her death started one witness has come forward to say he saw her with a man by a bridge some 100 metres from where her body was found. However as the word used was “tarde” it is not clear what time of the latter part of the day the sighting took place. As a veil of secrecy has been imposed no clarification is forthcoming

Arriate is a close community and within minutes of the family raising the alarm local people and the police were searching the streets and disserted outbuildings to try and find the youngster. The hunt went on till the fireman made the tragic find almost 24 hours after her disappearance.

The owner of the pool house in El Membrillar said the door was usual left unlocked. It has been reported that María Esther had received fatal wounds to the head and police forensic teams removed some heavy objects including a blood covered brick from the site.

The council met after María Esther was found and declared three days of mourning. After the body was released from the post mortem on Saturday a funeral service was held in the chapel of Arriate’s old people’s home. On Sunday María Esther was buried in Paterna de la Ribera in Cádiz – her parent’s home village.

A frightened village

The present cause of alarm in the village is because last week the mayor Bernardino Gaona said he was confident that the culprit or culprits will soon be found. His view was further backed up by the family with the grandfather, Moisés Villegas, stating: “the investigation is going very well and soon the culprit will be in prison.” An arrest was spoken of for Monday or Tuesday.

What seems to have changed is that a crime investigation unit has arrived in Arriate from Madrid and taken over the investigation from the Ronda Guardia Civil. Some of the officers worked on the Rocío Wanninkhof (Mijas) y Ana Elena Lorente (Álora) cases. It was this squad that summoned María Esther parent’s back to the village straight after the funeral to take DNA tests. Numerous such tests have been carried out and these will take a week to complete. The sub-delegate of the government in Málaga, Hilario López Luna, says investigations are proceeding well but will take time. The Guardia Civil will make no comment on whether there was a sexual motive till after the post mortem results are released. In the meantime Arriate has a child killer in its midst.

María Esther has been described as an “innocent” thirteen-year-old; she was happy and not bullied. She did not own a mobile phone and the Guardia Civil are examining her friend’s computer as this was the only access to the internet that she had. One line of enquiry is checking social network websites.

The family home, the bus shelter where the children hang out, the bar where she asked for water and the place where she was killed are all within minutes walk from each other. She was never more than three minutes from her front door.

Arriate is a frightened village and none more so that the children at the infants, junior and senior schools. María Esther attended all three and the pupils will gather in her memory on Thursday, a week after her body was discovered.

SNOW CAUSES ACCIDENTS ON RONDA – SAN PEDRO ROAD

At daybreak on Sunday snow started to fall on the Sierras surrounding Ronda. It arrived accompanied by strong winds and low temperatures. Whilst it did not settle in the town itself it did on the higher parts of the Serranía de Ronda and of course the aptly named Sierra de las Nieves.

The Sierra de las Nieves received the heaviest covering and saw families heading out to enjoy the snow. However the snow also caused major problems on the Ronda to San Pedro de Alcántara road between kms 20 and 25.

Two coaches skidded on the ice and a number of cars were also involved in accidents but thankfully nobody was injured with the crash barriers preventing them tumbling down the abyss.

The Andalucía public works authority spread salt on the Ronda road and warnings were placed to alert drivers to the dangerous conditions. However although snow did fall in other areas of Málaga province it did not settle nor cause any major problems.

IU WANT RONDA – SAN PEDRO TOLL MOTORWAY DROPPED

The IU group on the Málaga authority have voiced their opposition to the planned toll motorway that would link Ronda with San Pedro de Alcántara. The project was an electoral promise by PSOE ahead of the last regional government elections but other than a report being produced which is currently subject to consultation nothing has happened.

The road would be very expensive to create which at this time of economic crisis neither the Andalucía government nor any private investor wants to fund. Hence the foot dragging. However the IU wants the regional government to drop the entire project and to improve the existing road instead.

Apart from the high cost factor the toll motorway is opposed by environmentalists as it would destroy many protected zones and also says the IU open up the area to urban development. None-the-less the current road is one of the province’s major accident black spots so some solution is urgently required.

The proposed road would be 32.8 kilometres long, a dual carriageway with a central safety barrier and would cut driving times from 50 to 22 minutes. Crucially it would cost 350 million euros at current estimates and say environmentalists would damage the Sierra de las Nieves and harm the delicate eco-system of the Sierra Bermeja.

Far better says the IU is to stick with the present road. This is currently single lane for its entire lengthy and one of the reasons for the high accident rate is that vehicles overtake slow moving lorries that cause long tailbacks with inevitable collisions and near misses.

The IU wants the road widened so that parts can be dual carriageway or have overtaking zones. The road also has numerous bends which take a high toll on the lives of motorcyclists and these too should be removed. Given the mountainous terrain it would be a costly exercise but nothing compared with the 350 million euros needed for the new road.

BIG TIME

Ronda National Police have arrested a 35-year-old man who is accused of carrying out 16 burglaries in the town. All were on commercial premises where he forced his entry. Officers recovered a cash till stolen from one of the shops and his tools. He was arrested as he broke into a shop at El Fuerte and has a lengthy list of previous convictions.

ANTEQUERA LINK

The Partido Popular is promising to create a motorway between Ronda and Antequera which it says is fundamental to improving communications if it’s elected to government. Javier Arenas and Mariano Rajoy who would lead PP administrations in Sevilla and Madrid have put in writing their commitment to build the road which they say has been an objective of the PP for many years.

MUSEUM NO

The regional government has written to Ronda town hall to say it will not give its approval for the plans to build a museum at the Roman town of Acinipo. The Andalucía authority says the proposed site is not zoned as urban in the local development plan. Environmentalists opposed the location of the building which they say is too close to the ruins.

MAYOR ACCUSED

The socialist mayor of Alpandeire, Gabriel Jiménez, is under investigation by the Guardia Civil after at least two stolen heavy earth moving machines were found in a warehouse on his land. He insists the property is not used by him but his father-in-law. He says he knows nothing about the machinery but Izquierda Unida are demanding explanations alleging he is implicated in illegal sales.

FOOTPATH RIGHTS

Ecologists and walkers’ associations are starting a campaign in Ronda to walk alone the various ‘caminos púbicos rurales’ in the municipality and Serranía. The purpose is to exercise the right of way as in many cases land owners illegally fence off the public footpaths. They start in Los Merinos with the agreement of the developers where the controversial golf course will be built.

NO POLICE

Thirteen municipalities in the Serranía de Ronda including Benalauría, Benadalid, Atajate and Jubrique with less than 500 residents have no local police officers nor could they justify them on economic grounds. Law enforcement is the responsibility of the Guardia Civil but in the case of traffic offences - if a car is blocking a street - residents have to sort the problem out themselves.