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 MONDAY JUNE 9, 2011

YOUTH ACCUSED OF MARÍA ESTHER’S MURDER PLEADS INNOCENCE


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The 17-year-old youth arrested over the murder of María Esther Jiménez Villegas in Arriate in January has declared his innocence before the prosecutor of minors in Málaga. The 13-year-old victim was found in a swimming pool pump house behind the village just 24 hours after her disappearance on January 19 and had been brutally murdered by a violent blow to the head.

The lawyer for María Esther’s family, Bárbara Royo, said the youth had not admitted to the crime as he believes there is insufficient evidence to prove his guilt. She added he had refused to answer any questions and maintains he shouldn’t even stand trial let alone be convicted.

However Royo went to on to state that the biological evidence gathered by the Guardia Civil “in this case is very clear” and it has not been necessary to request more tests at this stage of the court process. In the lawyer’s opinion there has been no problems with the investigation, all is clear even if the youth declares his innocence.

During the testimony the 17-year-old complained about his treatment in detention but the family’s lawyer said this was just a ploy by his defence lawyer to discredit the investigation.

The accused was arrested in Arriate just two weeks after María Esther’s murder. Investigators found her blood on a sport’s shoe belonging to the youth after they search the house where he lived with his family. The Guardia Civil arrested him after DNA tests also linked him with the crime.

The Málaga youth court ordered the accused’s detention in February and he can be held at a centre for six months. It is possible for that to be extended by three months but after that period he must be released.

The parents of María Esther had moved to Arriate to seek work. They have now left the village and returned to Paterna de la Rivera in Cádiz province in an attempt to restart their lives.

LESS DEBT

According to a ministry of the economy report on the level of debt at Spain’s town halls Ronda in 2010 owed 13.418 million euros which is 4.1 million euros less than in the previous year. This makes Ronda proportionally the least indebted town hall in Málaga province. However back in 2008 the debt stood at 18,871 making Ronda the most indebted after Benelmádena.

MARIPAZ MAYOR

If all goes to plan on Saturday Maripaz Fernández will be the PP mayor of Ronda. Her party have pacted with the Partido Andalucista; its leader Isabel Barriga will be deputy mayor. PP take the key posts but it is a return to power for the PA which controlled the last administration before the mayor and eight councillors defected to PSOE.

KNIFE ATTACK

A man aged between 40 and 50 caused alarm at Ronda’s Sur health centre when he threatened a doctor with a knife last Tuesday morning. He shouted insults at staff and patients fled to the reception area. Police soon arrived, the man was tranquilised and after being taken to the emergency unit at Ronda’s hospital was transferred to the Málaga mental illness unit.

HOME GROWN

The National Police have raided a house in Ronda and arrested a 21-year-old woman and 27-year-old man both of whom are accused of growing marihuana on the premises. The couple had set up a nursery to cultivate the illegal plants with heat lamps, thermostats and pump driven ventilation systems. Officers confiscated ten plants and seeds which have been destroyed by the health authority.

NO HANDICAP

Montejaque has put into effect the first guided walks for handicapped people. This is the first initiative of its kind in Europe and allows those with various physical handicaps to enjoy the walking experiences for which Montejaque is internationally famous. They can now experience the Serranía de Ronda and Grazalema national park taking the route to La Raspa which is 900 metres high.

WATER AWARD

The Plataforma Cueveña del Agua has been awarded the Dragona Iberia 2011 prize by a foundation dedicated to promoting a new culture in guarding and using water resources. The Cuevas del Becerro action group works to defend the valuable water aquifers in the Sierra de Morinos, Carrasco and Bobollón which are under threat from urban and golf developments in the Serranía de Ronda.

HOW MANY

The Partido Popular has reported irregularities in the electoral census in Atajate, Málaga province’s smallest municipality. The party’s candidate Julio Sánchez says at the 2009 European elections the number of voters was 127 but this rose to 157 in May adding such an increase is rare amongst so few residents. He suspects voter fraud with votes going to ruined houses and non-existent properties.

CLASSIC RALLY

Lovers and owners of vintage cars and motorbikes should head for Benalauría on Sunday when the municipality in the lower Genal valley holds its first rally. Participants have to enrol between 9 and 11 then set off for the Mirador del Genal in neighbouring Algatocín. Details of the events and how to get to Benalauría can be found on the town hall’s website.

TEACHER ASSAULT

The 19-year-old boyfriend of a 17-year-old pupil at the Martín Rivero school in Ronda attacked her teacher in an access way to the educational centre at 8.00 on Friday. The youth pushed the teacher to the ground inflicting light injuries. The incident was reported to the National Police who arrested the lad from Pontevedra. The attack is said to have been education related.

NIGHT SHOPPING

Ronda’s calle Nueva is to open on selected Friday nights over the summer months in an effort to beat the economic crisis. Many people pass through the central street to shop in the Carrera Espinel known as La Bola. However there are bars, restaurants, shops, hotels in the calle Nueva and traders say whilst tourists shop there currently the people of Ronda don’t.

BLUE MOVIE

The normally white village of Júzcar in the Serranía de Ronda has turned blue. The media giant Sony is to blame as it has selected Júzcar as being the most like the Pueblo Pitufo featured in the movie for its world wide publicity campaign. The film Los Pitufos 3D launches in the USA on August 3 and here in Spain two days later.

PENSIONER ALERT

The local police in Ronda have alerted the elderly to take a family member with them when they go to collect their pension from the bank or cash machine. This follows a recent attack and robbery on a vulnerable pensioner. The police say such small robberies are the most common in the town and tourists should also be alert when using cash machines.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY APRIL 14, 2011

SPECTACULAR TAJO LIGHT AND SOUND DISPLAY


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

“A light and sound experience that is unique in the world” is how Ronda’s councillor for tourism described plans for an extravaganza using the Tajo gorge as a backdrop.

To make the “Ronda Experience” a reality will cost three million euros. The light and sound spectacle has been created by Manuel Coronado, a company that is the international reference point for such displays having staged similar projects on the Egyptian Pyramids and at Expo 92.

The plan is to project giant images on to the cliffs of the Tajo and the Puente Nuevo. The area to be covered covers 120 metres in height and 500 metres in width. The images would reflect the origins and history of Ronda through the Roman and Arab epochs, water vapour would pour beneath the bridge, birds would fly and the town’s links with bullfighting and the Goyesca feria would be displayed.

The soundtrack would rely for its scripting on historians and researchers. The images would be projected from ten cabins in the Molinos del Tajo area situated at the foot of the cliff face. The images will be visible for 15 kilometres and says the tourist office would attract thousands of people to Ronda and boost night stays in its hotels.

However the first phase it to find the funding required for the project. The hope is that the various levels of government will contribute to the three million euros budget. Little is likely to happen before the May elections and of course a change in administration could make the Ronda Experience short lived.

Jardines de Cuenca reopen this month

Ronda’s celebrated and historic Jardines de Cuenca overlooking the Tajo gorge will be reopened to the public this month. The mayor and his wife, who happens to be the councillor responsible for parks and gardens, visited the site last week and reported the work is 95 per cent completed.

The project has been funded with over 211,000 euros from an ICO loan to improve the tourism infrastructure of the town. New furnishings have been installed in the gardens and the height of the wall above the gorge has been increased. In addition over 1,000 roses have been planted from 65 different species.

MAYOR ACCUSED

The case surrounding the diversion of Grazalema’s river and the building of homes on the old river bed is returning to court. The judge has finalised the preliminaries and ten people will face trial including the PSOE mayor of Grazalema and the former mayor. They are accused of bribery, obstructing justice, carrying out businesses prohibited to public officials and town planning law violations.

JOBLESS UP

The number of unemployed in Ronda grew again in March rising to 4,669 from 4,602. Men were the hardest hit sector with a rise of 84 cases bringing the total to 2,249 whilst the number of women has dropped by 17 to 2,420. Women still dominate the totals. Of the new contracts on offer the majority are temporary; agriculture took up most workers.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

The training section of the Andalucía health service dedicated to domestic violence is working with nurses in emergency units to enable them to detect cases of women who have suffered abuse. Currently these courses are being held in hospitals in Ronda and La Línea but will be extended to all medical centres in due course. Often these nurses are the victim’s first contact.

STRONG WINDS

Residents of the Ronda area woke up last Wednesday morning to find that 80 km an hour winds had left a trail of destruction overnight. One woman was injured after a lamp post fell on her. Trees were toppled crashing on to cars – eight vehicles were damaged in the Patronato Militar alone and a large pine fell on the hospital’s parking area.

MASS OPPOSITION

PSOE in Ronda is feeling the heat from the PP, PA and IU ranged against it. The problem is the socialists absorbed the former PA mayor and his fellow councillors who were officially labelled political turncoats. The PA has sworn it will not pact with PSOE and the socialists say the PP, PA and IU have a secret agreement to keep them out.

RURAL CINEMA

The second edition of cinemáscampo is being held in Benarrabá, Benalauría, Júcar, Jimera de Líbar, Cartajima and Cortes de la Frontera in conjunction with the CEDER rural development programme. The object is to bring dynamism to the rural communities and especially young people in small municipalities through short films with workshops on production and script writing in conjunction with Ronda and Málaga University.

DODGY MAYOR

The socialist mayor of Alpandeire in the Serranía de Ronda, Gabriel Jiménez, will still be number one on the party’s list for the town hall elections despite being recently accused of receiving stolen heavy machinery. The Guardia Civil say he received construction equipment that had been stolen on the coast. Jiménez insists he was set up and never new the machinery was illicit.

SUSPICIOUS NUMBERS

The national statistics institute (INE) and the office of electoral registration have voiced their suspicion over the number of residents added to the roll in seven municipalities of Málaga province, five of them in the Serranía de Ronda and are investigating. They say the increase cannot be justified in these small communities: Benarrabá, Genalguacil, Atajate, Faraján and Jubrique along with Sedella and Totalán.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY MARCH 17, 2011

COURT FILES LOS MERINOS CASE AGAINST RONDA’S MAYOR


By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

After the Málaga prosecutor recently announced it had no case to put against the mayor of Ronda over the case on the proposed Los Merinos golf course development the court has now followed up by filing the proceedings.

The court ruled that Antonio Marín had not obstructed justice by approving the project by his own decree to build a luxury golf, residential and tourism complex at Los Merinos. The prosecutor had stated that it believed the mayor had acted unethically but could not find grounds for a legal case.

The case was brought by Izquierda Unida in 2007 when it complained to the Málaga prosecutor that the mayor had committed an offence against the town planning laws, the natural resources of the area and the environment.

The mayor had given the go-ahead for the two golf courses, 800 luxury homes and three hotels even thought the Andalucía water authority had produced a report stating the site did not have its own water resources to sustain such a development.

The water issued has seen widespread protests by environmentalists and residents of Cuevas del Becerro the nearest village to Los Merinos which is many kilometres from the centre of Ronda. Residents and farmers fear the development will drain the water aquifers on which they have depended for generations.

After the court announced its decision the spokesperson and candidate for mayor for the IU in Ronda, Rafael Ruíz, announced they would appeal against. Ruíz labelled it a bad decision and intends to call the former provincial delegate for the environment, Ignacio Trillo to give evidence.

Los Merinos covers around 1,000 hectares near the boundary of Ronda with Cuevas del Becerro. Although the developers have maintained the scheduled payments to Ronda town hall demanded by the planning accord work has been halted since 2008 because of the economic crisis in the construction sector.

APPEAL AGAINST THE GO-AHEAD IN THE TAJO STABLES CASE

The decision by Ronda’s court to proceed to the pre-trial stage in the ‘Caballerizas” case has been appealed by the lawyers acting for the ten councillors from a former administration implicated in the investigation.

The case revolves around the illegal construction of a house and a stables complex in the Hoya del Tajo area of Ronda – a zone that enjoys strict environmental protection.

In the dock are the promoter plus the ten councillors from PSOE, PP and GIL. They are accused of breaking the town planning laws and also offences against the administration of justice.

In 2005 the councillors were all members of municipal commission of works that approved the construction despite the lands protected status. However they insist all they agreed to was the refurbishment of a building that already existed on the site.

The judge has called on the Málaga prosecutor and the individuals presenting the case to formally request the opening of oral hearings or the case would be shelved.

The majority of the councillors implicated in the case have now quit public life. Three are still on the council and the socialist Isabel María Aguilera has since become director general of the regional government’s rural sustainable development authority.

SUSPECTED SUICIDE

A 45-year-old man disappeared last Wednesday in Montecorto after having drinks with a friend then going to move earth near the village square. On the way back from another property in search of a more powerful machine his tractor slid into a ditch but despite a widespread search there was no sign of him. On Saturday his body was found near his home and police suspect suicide.

NO PROJECT

The controversial toll motorway between Ronda and San Pedro officially doesn’t exist. Proposed by PSOE before the last elections it was due to be completed next year but work never started. PSOE in Ronda have been featuring it on their election material but when IU asked the Andalucía ministry of works for details of this phantom motorway the answer was it doesn’t exist.

NEW PARISH

Ronda is to have a new parish in fast growing San Rafael district. The Bishop of Málaga has allocated two million euros for the church and is due to lay the first brick shortly. The faithful in the zone have had to worship in San Cristóbal. The new church will be built on land donated by the municipality and will accommodate 500 people.

POPULAR MAYOR

Benalauría’s Eugenio Márquez is a much sought after politician. He sits as mayor as an independent but both the centre right PP and centre left PSOE wanted him to head their lists at the municipal elections. However he has rejected their advances and will stand again for the independent Agrupación de Electores de Benalauría which last time received 13 votes more than PSOE.

BLIND TOURISM

The tourist office in Montejaque in the Serranía de Ronda has presented a special tourism plan of the municipality designed for people with impaired sight. Montejaque is only the second municipality in Europe to make specific provisions for visitors who are partially sighted or blind. Montejaque is a key walking centre and a special route has been created for those with eyesight problems.

FOOD FAIR

Ronda Abierta wants to help integrate foreign residents living in the municipality with the local population. On April 15, 16 and 17 it’s organising at the Casino the first Feria Gastronómica Internacional where food from various countries will be on display and can be sampled. Currently there are 22 participants in what is billed as an international celebration of the arrival of spring.