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.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY OCTOBER 7, 2010

ANOTHER ROAD DEATH IN THE SERRANÍA

By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

Just three week’s ago the fifth person in five years to die on a treacherous bend on the A-369 Ronda to Algeciras road was killed in an accident at Atajate when a 72 year-old Dutchman, fell from his bike and was struck by a car travelling in the opposite direction.

Now two weeks later a tragedy has struck on the MA-7401 – the road that links Benaójan with Ronda. The accident happened at 13.25 on Friday when a Ford Focus collided with a motorbike close to the famous Cuevas del Gato. The rider died instantly after being trapped between the car and a wall.

The victim was aged 34 years and was well known in Montejaque where he owned the pub and the official tobacconist. The mayors of both Benaójan and the neighbouring village of Montejaque attended the scene with their respective municipal workers being ordered in to clear up the remains of the wreckage.

The MA-7401 is a busy road used by residents of both municipalities to travel to and from Ronda. It is in a poor state having suffered badly in last winter’s rains, with works to repair subsidence and asphalting due to commence this month.

This further tragedy has again opened up the debate on the bad condition and unsafe nature of the Serranía road network. During the summer the mayor of Jimera de Líbar lamented on the dangerous state of the road between the village and Atajate with one accident a day and a serious collision occurring on a monthly basis.

The Guardia Civil from Marbella attended the accident scene at Benaójan and will now conduct an enquiry in to what happened. According to officers the woman driver of the car was uninjured by suffered a breakdown after the accident.

STRIKE SUPPORT
The unions in Ronda reported 37 per cent support for the general strike last Wednesday. The major construction projects in the town such as the new hospital and road network were at a standstill but for the shops in the main commercial street it was business as usual. Companies on the industrial estate were open as were the schools and health centres.

BIO SAVE
Ronda’s indoor swimming pool now has a state-of-the art system to heat the water and to control the climate. It has cost 270,000 euros to install but half of that has been paid for by the Andalucía energy agency. It’ll use biofuel to power the boiler equipment, a clean fuel, which will also result in a 40 per cent cost saving over diesel.

PAY UP
The opposition Partido Popular in Ronda is pressing the town hall to speed up the payments to companies that supply goods and services. In 2008 the average settlement of a bill was 78 days, last year it was 135 days and that has probably lengthened in 2010. At the end of 2009 the town hall owed 11 million euros largely to small businesses.

BIRD DAY
A series of events were held in Ronda to mark the World Day of the Birds. Schools had special classes dedicated to the birds of the area. There was a seminar on the importance of ornithology as a tourist attraction at the Mondragon Palace, a talk on the vultures residing in the Serranía plus a guided excursion to the Sierra de las Nieves.

WATER DOGS
Every dog has its day and the ‘perros de agua’ recently had theirs in Cuevas del Becerro. The water dog is an authentic Spanish breed, they are working dogs and their association held a show attended by 100 dogs from all over Andalucía as well as Badajoz. In the municipal pool the dogs displayed their skills, carried out rescues and searched for drugs.

TO RUSSIA
Three Ronda bodegas will be taking their wines to the VI Salón de Vinos de España held in at two major hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg on October 26 and 28. The event has been organised by the Spanish commercial office with wines from Descalzos Viejos, Federico Schatz and Doña Felisa amongst over 35 Spanish wines selected for their superior quality.

RISE ROW
PP and IU councillors in Ronda have discovered Francisco Márquez, who’s the local PSOE secretary for politics, has been given a pay rise. He has taken over municipal responsibility for management and grants. The IU angrily points to a time when pensions are frozen, employees’ wages are slashed by 5 per cent, Márquez gets a raise from 1,400 to 1,900 euros a month.

DATELINE RONDA THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 9, 2010

INTERNET DEATH THREATS AGAINST JIMERA’S MAYOR

Arrested man PA candidate for mayor

By David Eade – Costa del Sol News

The Guardia Civil have arrested Eugenio Becerra who is alleged to have used the internet to make threats and coercion against the mayor of Jimera de Líbar.

Becerra is 64-years old, a resident of the village who has also been detained on illegally carrying weapons. It is alleged he used the internet forum Forociudad.com - municipio de Jimera de Libar to make threats under the pseudonyms jesusmartinez, eusebio 1964 and liberarte.

The threats – which included murder – included one saying that the locality of Jimera de Libar would become another Fago – a municipality in which the mayor was killed in January 2007.

The mayor of Jimera de Libar is the Partido Popular’s Mayte Domínguez. She has declined to make any pronouncements on the hate campaign against her saying it is in the hands of the courts but admits she has been very worried for her family.

The mayor has put up with the situation for over a year and only went to the Guardia Civil when the detained man physically assaulted the owner of a camping site in the municipality. She asked that a psychiatric evaluation be carried out at the time on the arrested man.

The accused was arrested on his land last Friday. Officers found two fire arms hidden in his vehicle, one was loaded and ready to fire. He had no documentation so the shotguns were owned illegally.

It has since been revealed that Eugenio Becerra was intending to stand against the mayor as the main candidate for the Partido Andalucista at the next municipal elections. He has dismissed the charges against him saying the accusations are politically motivated. He says the internet threats could have been written by anyone in an internet café and explained the weapons on the fact he used to be a hunter.

THE OBAMA EFFECT CONTINUES

President Barack Obama might be struggling in the USA and facing difficult elections for Congress and the Senate this autumn. However in Ronda his popularity and the knock-on effect of his wife’s recent visit has brought major tourism benefits.

Ronda’s mayor, Antonio Marín, said Michelle Obama had promised to return “and not alone”. This has fuelled speculation that she will bring her husband with her. For now the town of the Tajo has had to be satisfied with the arrival of the US Ambassador to Spain, Alan Solomont, who dropped in on the Pedro Romero fair celebrations.

Interestingly Solomont trod in the footsteps of his nation’s first lady being escorted to the Casa de Don Bosco with its gardens and views of the Tajo gorge as well as the splendid Palacio de Mondragón.

Whether the Obamas return remains to be seen. What is certain is that Ronda has received a major boost in the USA and along with the ambassador many US citizens have also added the historic town to their schedules.

FOURTEEN YEAR OLD SHOT BY FRIEND

Last Tuesday night Ronda was preparing for its annual Pedro Romero feria with processions through the streets and crowds thronging the bars before heading to the fair ground.

Then at 21.40 a shot rang out above the avenida de Andalucía and both the National Police and the ambulance service were racing to the scene. Cars came to a halt with residents hanging from their balconies to see what had happened.

A 14-year-old youth had been in one of the apartments with his friend. On the wall had been an old hunting gun and they started to play with it. It had been a decorative item and the surprising fact was not they used it for a game but loaded it with a cartridge.

During the larking around the gun went off and the 14-year-old fell to the ground injured. He had been shot in the back and shoulder but thankfully although he was rushed to hospital and later transferred to the Carlos Haya in Málaga his injuries are not life threatening. His friend was also treated for extreme shock.

Police have stated that thanks to the gun being old and had not been used for sometime the cartridge was not fired with the force of a maintained weapon. Although the shot gun was decorative it is understood it was licensed by the father of one of the boys.

BANDIT MUSEUM
The Museo del Bandolero dedicated to the bandits who lived in the Serranía de Ronda has received 51,000 visitors every year since it opened in 1995. The museum housed in a fine 19 th century house in the historic quarter of Ronda has over 1,300 exhibits. There is also a collection of comics dating from the 1940s on the life of the bandits.

BARRACK PARKING
The former Concepcion military barracks in the centre of Ronda have now been demolished. The cleared space has been given over to parking until the plans for the site have been agreed. The area has been tarred over and has room for 200 cars plus 30 motorbikes. Opposition parties opposed the demolition believing the historic buildings could have been put to use.

PINSAPO CAMPAIGN
The Andalucía ministry of the environment has started a campaign to improve the stock of the rare pinsapo pine trees in the Sierra de las Nieves national park. Twenty volunteers are taking part in the planting which will continue to September 13. Studies are also being carried out in to the numbers of pinsapos and on the ecology of the Genal river.

JOBLESS RISE
The number of unemployed rose in Ronda by 61 in August. The new total stands at 4,103 of which 2,177 are women and 1,926 are men. The summer months have traditionally seen a fall in the jobless total as people are employed in the tourist related industries but this year the number of those out of work rose across the province of Málaga.

ANNIVERSARY CORRIDA

Ronda has celebrated another Pedro Romero fair which was also the 225 th anniversary of the founding of the town’s bullring. The star matador, Francisco Rivera Ordóñez, who holds the concession for staging the famous Goyesca bullfight, was also overseeing the 45 th such event.

DATELINE RONDA TUESDAY OCTOBER 20, 2009

JUDGE REFUSES TO FILE LOS MERINOS CASE
By David Eade

Last Thursday the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, appeared in the town’s court to answer the case that he had broken the town planning and environmental laws by giving his personal decree to approve the controversial Los Merinos golf and urbanisation development.

Marín claims he acted within the law stating that he took the advice of reports produced by town hall officials although the prosecution says he ignored negative reports from the regional government. He also said the project was allowed for under the local development plan (PGOU). His lawyers then asked the judge to dismiss the case against him which he refused to do.

The court has been investigating a complaint laid by the Málaga prosecutor and the Izquierda Unida. The development would see the creation of two golf courses, 800 luxury villas and three five-star hotels on a site of high ecological value - part of which is within the boundaries of the Sierra de las Nieves UNESCO biosphere. As the development has no water resources of its own it is feared it would drain the vital aquifers that supply the local municipalities and agriculture.

However the legal battle is not yet over as the mayor’s lawyer are determined to return to court this week to apply once again for the case to be filed. If it is the mayor may then pursue his case against the IU alleging that their legal complaint was a political act.

Trillo slams mayor’s defence

The former Málaga delegate for the environment, Ignacio Trillo, who held the post at the time that the alleged offences took place has slammed the defence offered by the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, at last week’s court appearance.

Trillo said the mayor could not plead ignorance nor lay the blame on the town hall officials for his actions. He said the town planning project for Los Merinos was approved by the mayor, who is a lawyer by profession, in contravention of the DIA environmental impact and transformation of the lands report that was sent by the Andalucía ministry of the environment to the regional government. His approval also went against the Andalucía ministry of public works own study.

The regional government is taking its own legal action against Los Merinos. However Trillo observed that the mayor cannot ignore the clear position of the Andalucía government that has exclusive competence over water supplies and the environment. The opposition of the regional government and the Cuenca Mediterránea Andaluza water authority had been known by Marín in 2006 when he chose to issue his decree approving the golf –urban – hotel complex.

(As we went to press the mayor of Ronda issued a letter responding to Trillo’s charges. We will report on that next week.)

TEMPORARY ROAD ACCESS TO RONDA

Drivers using the Ronda to Sevilla road that wish to access the north of Ronda will soon be diverted along a temporary road through La Dehesa. A new road is currently being created that will pass the former cemetery that now houses the municipal garden centre.

Around 10,000 vehicles a day use the current road in to the town but that will be closed whilst a new roundabout is constructed that will filter traffic off the Ronda to Sevilla highway. The work is expected to take two months to complete and traffic on the main road will also face delays whilst the project is carried out.

This is all part of a major scheme being implemented by the regional government’s ministry of public works costing 17 million euros that was started last July and will continue for 30 months. It will see new access roads created in to Ronda including one by the existing hospital and another at the site of the new hospital on the road to the Costa del Sol.

The scheme is giving employment to 234 people, 136 of them directly and 98 who are sub-contracted to the project. Fifty per cent of the funding is coming from the Andalucía government with the balance from European FEDER development funds.

TAX REDUCTION
Ronda’s council has decided to reduce the level of local taxes and charges in 2010 by two per cent. Mayor Antonio Marín has stated the move was necessary so that residents could better cope with the financial crisis and compared the move with other municipalities which have frozen or raised their charges. The PP opposition abstained saying it wanted to study the proposals.

SECOND PHASE
The project to construct the second phase of Ronda’s ‘Ciudad Deportiva’ has gone to tender stage with a budget of 1.4 million euros and a 18 completion deadline. The works will include the provision of additional sporting facilities and stands. The stadium is adjacent to the former fair ground and sports stadium that is now being made in to the Eroski commercial centre.

NOT AFFECTED
The provincial co-ordinator of Izquierda Unida, José Antonio Castro, has said relations with PSOE on the Diputación de Málaga are not endangered by the IU backing a no-confidence motion against the socialist mayor of Benaoján. He added that Soraya García had broken her agreement with the Partido Popular and AIB hence the municipality was now ungovernable and García could be ousted this week.

TUMBLING DOWN
Over 13 centuries ago the Muslim rulers of Ronda constructed the famous walls still surrounded the old town. However the ravages of time have taken their toll and sections of the stonework are in danger of collapse. The delegation of culture has called for urgent action with money being set aside in the 2010 budget plus a plea for help to the regional government.

ANIMALS RESCUED
Seprona, the environmental arm of the Guardia Civil, working with the National Police have seized eight exotic animals, birds and reptiles at an express courier company in Ronda ahead of them being delivered to customers in Spain and Portugal. The creatures were spotted by an off-duty policeman who alerted Seprona and a local young man has been arrested for trading in them.

CAVE RESCUE
Last Thursday afternoon a team from Ronda fire station equipped with mountain rescue equipment went to the aid of a youth lying injured inside a cave. The accident happened at Limosna cave in the Sierra Hidalga – an area that is difficult to reach. The 16-year-old had injured his knee in the fall and the rescuers had to lower themselves into the cave’s galleries.

ANCIENT FIND
The Fundación Nueva Cultura del Agua which is funded by Caja Madrid has been carrying out studies in the Genal Valley. The main project has been to study the fish and the problems they are encountering. However researchers have found two species of dragonfly that are in danger of extinction. They date back to the period before the glaciers formed in the region.

EXCELLENT HEALTH
The Andalucía agency that monitors the levels of health care has given its accolade of high quality to the Algatocín, Benaoján, Ronda Sur and Norte health centres. The authority has also praised the on-going improvements in medical care in the Serranía de Málaga and especially in Ronda and the surrounding areas. The certificate was first issued in 2005 and is revised each year.

NO TRAINS
Renfe suspends its trains on the Bobadilla-Ronda-Algeciras line from October 26 for a period of up to six months as the section between Ronda and San Pablo is upgraded requiring work in difficult terrain with lengthy tunnels. Buses are running along the route - also to take people to Málaga to connect with the AVE to Madrid. Phone 902 24 05 05 for details of the bus services.

DATELINE RONDA TUESDAY OCTOBER 13, 2009

SCENTIFIC REPORT BACKS LOS MERINOS PROTESTORS


By David Eade


Although work on the controversial Los Merinos golf and residential complex in Ronda is on hold because of the financial crisis there has been no easing off in the battle to have the project halted.

Ecologistas en Acción, the Plataforma Cueveña en Defensa del Agua, Grupo de Trabajo Valle de Genal, Plataforma Arriateña en Defensa del Agua and COAG-Málaga have sent a report to the courts and the regional government that was prepared by hydrogeology experts at the Universities of Oviedo and Zaragoza.

This document says that there will be “terrible consequences” if the urban development is allowed to proceed at Los Merinos. The land is of high ecological value and part of the area is within the boundaries of the Sierra de las Nieves biosphere reserve.

The plan is to build 800 dwellings, two golf courses, three luxury hotels plus other leisure complexes. Los Merinos has no water reserves of its own hence would have to supply the massive development from the aquifers that for centuries have served the local villages, agriculture and maintained the ecological balance in the area.

However the university report says that if Los Merinos was allowed to proceed it would “seriously endanger and alter the ecosystems.” Furthermore it argues that the aquifer system that supplies Cuevas del Becerro, Arriate, Serrato, La Cimada and Los Prados would have to be protected so that their supplies were not lost.

High court rejects ecologist’s action

The Andalucía high court in Málaga has rejected an appeal brought by Ecologistas en Acción against the partial plan for the Los Merinos golf course – a case that a lower court had previously dismissed. Whilst this may be seen as a victory for the developers and Ronda town hall there are a number of other legal fights still to be won, one appeal having being lodged by the regional government.

On Thursday of this week the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, will appear before Ronda’s number one court. He will be answering charges that he has committed offences under the town planning law and against the environment by giving the go-ahead for the golf and residential development by his own decree.

PSOE UNDER THREAT IN BENAOJÁN

Soraya García is currently the PSOE mayor of the Serranía de Ronda municipality of Benaoján. However all that may change of October 21 when a no confidence motion is presented by Izquierda Unida and the other opposition parties.

The action in Benaoján, which rarely makes any news headlines, is being watched closely by politicians because it is a further sign in the rift between PSOE and Izquierda Unida in Málaga province. The parties of the left are supposed to support each other but Benaoján is seemingly going down the path recently trodden in Mollina, Torrox, Yunquera, Velez-Málaga, Casabermeja and Ardales.

The situation in Benaoján is very simple. There are nine councillors and after the last elections the IU held three seats, PSOE two, the Agrupación Independiente de Benaoján two with a seat each for PSOE and the Agrupación Progresista de Benaoján.

As the largest elected party the IU expected to take the mayoralty in coalition with other parties. However PSOE stepped in, formed its own partnership with the two councillors of the AIB and the one of the Partido Popular.

Now the AIB has abandoned the coalition so the IU is bringing the motion backed by the AIB and APB on the basis that Benaoján is now ungovernable. For her part the mayor Soraya García is remaining calm insisting that she is getting on with the task of overseeing the development of the municipality and claiming the motion is totally unjustifiable.

SLOVAK FUGITIVE WHO LIVED IN MANCHESTER ARRESTED IN RONDA

The National Police in Ronda, acting on a European arrest warrant, have arrested a 32-year-old Slovak national who is wanted by the judicial authorities in his home country.

He has been sought by the police since August of last year. He was tracked to a hotel in Ronda but is said to have resided in the UK in Manchester. After establishing his identity officers held him in detention to await extradition proceedings.

It is alleged that in 2005 he sold and was to have installed windows for a client in Slovakia. It is said he took the 2,500 euros, caused serious harm to the client and then fled the police. He also has previous convictions in Slovakia.

STREET WEB
Installed in Ronda’s plaza de España is an internet booth. It allows users to read for free the town hall and tourist office websites or to surf the web, send emails, hold a video conference for just two euros an hour. In the coming weeks there will be 15 of these booths and they will be located in all areas of the town.

SOCCER FOUL
Ronda’s Izquierda Unida claims mayor Antonio Marín gave permission for the demolition of the soccer stadium before Eroski purchased the land for a commercial centre - the licence was issued on May 14 but the deal wasn’t completed to June 12. The IU alleges that Eroski paid 2.8 million euros in August but this sum has yet to appear in the town hall’s coffers.

PLAZA PLAN
Work is underway in Ronda’s plaza de España to install a roundabout that will dramatically alter the traffic flow in the centre. The project will take four months to complete and cost over one million euros from State funds. There had been fears that traffic would be cut in the plaza by the Tajo bridge but that has now been ruled out.

NEW LOOK
Since the Partido Popular was kicked out of the coalition in Ronda by mayor Antonio Marín it has been in disarray. A meeting was held last week attended by PP Málaga president, Elías Bendodo, where the new commission running the local party was presented that will organise the next congress. Missing is Begoña Chacón now a national MP and critics’ leader José Herrera.

DATELINE RONDA TUESDAY JUNE 23, 2009

LOS MERINOS MAKES ANOTHER MASSIVE PAYMENT
Almost 9 million euros paid to town hall to date
By David Eade

Work at the site of Los Merinos in Ronda may have been halted because of the economic crisis but that has not stopped the owners of the controversial golf development from paying 866,258 euros to the town hall. Copisa have now handed over nearly nine million euros in eight payments to date as part of its town planning agreement with the town hall.

It is proposed that apart from two golf courses Los Merinos would also be home to a major luxury urbanisation and a number of hotels. There has been widespread opposition from environmentalists and surrounding communities including Cuevas del Becerro town hall who fear that the development will steal their valuable water resources and damage the ecology of the area.

There are also a number of court cases pending in which the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, has been accused of giving the go-ahead for the development decree flying in the face of the environmental laws. The regional government is also trying to have the project legally halted on the water resources issue.

Copisa avoided an immediate clash last year by halting work because of the slump in the construction market. It also laid off the majority of those working at the site as well as sub-contractors just keeping a skeleton staff for essential maintenance. This week 14 new workers have been contracted and they will be employed on fire prevention over the hot summer months.

Once construction starts in earnest Copisa say they will invest around 100 million euros in the project. In recent weeks directors have met with the mayor of Ronda, Antonio Marín, to discuss the future restarting of work. As Marín has now switched from the Partido Andalucista to PSOE he could find himself in conflict with his new party at Andalucía government level over the future of the controversial development.

LUCKY’S FAMILY PRESENT A 16,000 SIGNATURE PETITION

The family of Luis Alberto Ramírez, known to his friends as “Lucky”, have presented a 16,000 signature petition to the Andalucía Ombudsman, José Chamizo.

As was extensively reported in the Costa del Sol News at the time in April 2008 the youngster from Gaucín died of peritonitis after having been discharged on a number of occasions by staff at Ronda’s hospital.

The petition calls for an investigation in to the causes of “Lucky’s” death and demands an improvement in the general level of medical services in the Valle del Genal.

Speaking after handing over the signatures “Lucky’s” sister, María José Ramírez, stated: “The hospital has said it was going to hold an internal investigation, but at the moment nothing has been done and the situation is the same.”

The family also have a case in the Ronda court, a ‘curso de reforma’ which prevents it from being filed by the judge. They have also issued legal complaints against five medical staff at the hospital and one at the medical centre in Gaucín.

Luis Alberto Ramírez died in April 2008 whilst being driven in a family car from the health centre in neighbouring Algatocín to Ronda hospital as an emergency ambulance was not available. Previously he had been sent by the local medical staff to the hospital but had been discharged without receiving the appropriate treatment. It is also alleged that the local doctor refused to visit him at his home stating there was no cover at the health centre.

BODEGAS LA SANGRE HONOURED
The Ronda wine producer – Bodegas La Sangre – has been awarded a major prize for its wine by Radio Turismo. Its gold medal for 2009 was given to the wine Espinel 2007. In the competition 300 bodegas in Spain presented 1,300 wines. Sergio Flores the director of Bodegas La Sangre stated: “this is an important recognition and is welcomed by our project.” To visit the vineyard’s website click on the Bodegas La Sangre banner on the right side of this web page.

POWERFUL ROW
The regional government has given the go-ahead for a power line from Buitreras sub-station in a protected environmental zone to Corchado-Casares. This will pass through Gaucín and Casares and as previously reported here has been strongly opposed by the town halls and Gaucín residents’ groups. The Andalucía government says it has approved the scheme because of public need but protestors say no such need exists.

POISONING FINE
The Málaga provincial court has ordered a campsite in Algatocín to pay over 20,000 euros to four members of the same family who ate tortilla there in September 2006 contracting food poisoning causing them to require medical treatment for three weeks. A Ronda court first ruled the compensation should be paid and that decision was upheld on appeal by the higher court.

IMPROVED ACCESS
Work has started on creating new access routes and roundabouts in Ronda to improve the road network from Sevilla, San Pedro, Campillos, El Burgo and Algeciras. The major road improvements are being funded by the regional government in a 17 million euros scheme that will take some 30 months to complete. The IU has complained that no environmental impact study has been carried out.

CORK HARVEST
Ronda owns nine fincas in Los Montes de Propios that each year produces a large quantity of cork that is then sold at auction. This year’s harvest is reported to be of less quality than in recent years and the economic crisis has also seen a drop in prices. None-the-less the municipality expects to earn between 500,000 and 600,000 euros from the harvest.

HEALTH AWARENESS
Twenty children from the infant’s school in Benaoján have visited the village health centre to learn more about the services on offer. The five-year-olds had the chance to meet the staff, talk about their work and how they could look after their own health. They also saw demonstrations of the electric medical equipment including heart machines and visited the emergency service ambulance.

LIGHTNING STRIKE
The Serranía de Ronda has had its first forest fire of the summer and the culprit was a lightning strike. The flash ignited ten hectares of scrubland at Parauta in the Sierra de las Nieves last Monday and took four hours to control. Two fire-fighters were hurt after being hit by the water from a fire plane and were treated at Ronda hospital.

CASH BLAZE
There was alarm in Ronda on Friday when a security van delivering cash to the Banco Santander in the avenida de Málaga caught fire close to a petrol station. The blaze started after a fault developed in the van’s engine. The three security guards fled the van the called the fire brigade and the traffic was held up on the town’s busy main road.

WINE WORKS
Work has now started on a one million euros multi-functional wine centre in Ronda. The project has been organised by the town’s agricultural department in the old water deposits complex that dates back to the 18 th century. Once completed there will be a wine bodega in the old cellars, a museum, a teaching centre for wine growers and a research unit.

NO CHANGE
PSOE in the Andalucía Parliament has rejected a call by the Partido Popular to reduce the limits on building homes, farm or industrial units or rural tourism complexes in Los Alcornocales national park. The PP argued that the current rules are far stricter than in other protected green zones in Andalucía and need amending to allow economic development. The IU abstained in the vote.