One of Ibiza’s best-known clubs has been fined 18,000 for having the wrong sort of licence. DC10, one of the clubs closed by the authorities at the beginning of the summer for lax attitudes to drug dealing, was hit by the fine when it was revealed the club only has a “café concierto” licence.
Councillor Paquita Ribas said: “This does not even permit dancing inside.” Another 13 bars, restaurants and clubs were fined varying amounts mostly for breaking noise regulations and leafleting without a licence.
Drugs admissions in Ibiza
Ibiza’s main hospital Can Misses said that admissions for drugs overdoses increased last year from 679 in 2005 to 824, a rise of over 20%. Cocaine emerged as the most common cause of emergency admissions, accounting for almost a third of the cases. Next were amphetamines and designer drugs – speed and ecstasy- which were behind a quarter of the overdoses.
Alcohol was reported as the principal cause of emergencies in almost a quarter of drug-related admissions; doctors only register booze problems for these statistics if other drugs are involved as well.
Red tuna sanctuary
The Ministry of Agriculture is considering setting up a sanctuary for red tuna off the coast of Formantera. The giant fish are in danger of becoming extinct as a result of the Japanese passion for sushi.
The best specimens can fetch thousands of euros in Tokyo’s fish market. Scientists say the threat comes not from the traditional fishermen who have caught tuna in the Mediterranean for thousands of years, but from high-tech guided by spotter planes.
Disco booze cruises under threat
A judge in Ibiza has refused to rule out criminal charges against the captain of a disco boat following the death of a young Irishman in July 2006. The case came to prominence because 24-year-old Basil Bourke was the nephew of the then Irish defence minister Willie O’Dea.
Bourke and a friend jumped off the “Captain Nemo” into the sea. His friend was rescued, exhausted, 90 minutes later. A post-mortem showed Bourke had ingested a significant quantity of drugs. Judge Santiago Pinsach referred the case to the public prosecutor saying this could result in manslaughter charges.
Making the captain responsible for the actions of holidaymakers could threaten the future of these cruises which often provide unlimited booze which youngsters combine with the consumption of illegal drugs.
Fake kidnap
A man who police say faked his kidnapping has been found in Ibiza. The Huesca National Police have been seeking him since the summer when another man contacted the police to show them messages on his mobile phone.
These demanded a ransom of 15,000 euros and included a picture message showing the “victim” with a plastic bag over his head. Police became suspicious when they discovered that the man owed Social Security 15,000 euros.
Cretu mansion to be demolished
What could be the final legal attempt to prevent the demolition of the Ibiza mountain-top mansion of multimillion-selling musician Michael Cretu has failed. Courts now say the massive house with its recording studio, cascading swimming pools and hanging gardens must be knocked down and the hill restored to its natural state by November 2008.
The secretive Cretu is the man behind the phenomenally successful Enigma project which has sold well over 100 million albums worldwide with no live performances. His early success, however, came in the 1980s working as a keyboards player with massive-selling pop artists such as Boney M and Milli Vanilli. He later collaborated with Mike Oldfield.
Despite living in Ibiza for many years the Rumanian-born musician has seldom been seen in any of the island’s clubs. He prefers instead to work in his private studio, often with his wife Europop diva Sandra Cretu.
For years he has fought legal battles with the government which accuses him of building his mansion on protected land. He has been supported frequently by the local council of Sant Antoni (San Antonio in Castilian) which originally granted planning permission.
Four years ago the council was told it will have to pay for the cost of the demolition which would run into millions of euros. Not long after that the Balearics Islands Council passed a law which would provide an amnesty for some illegally-built properties. As the Partido Popular controlled both the Sant Antoni and islands councils this was widely seen as politicians of similar political persuasion helping each other out.
But last week the judge threw out the latest appeal saying that the Cretu mansion could not be legalised under the act. The current mayor of Sant Antoni responded to the judgment saying: “Our war is over. We will do what the court says.”
As always throughout this saga there was no public comment from Cretu.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Sometimes it's hard to feel sorry
The torrential rain last week brought misery to many on the island last week, including parts of the Matutes Group of companies. Anybody who knows the island at all well will be familiar with the name "Matutes" through Señor Abel, the former foreign minister in the Spanish government and his company that owns a large part of the business on the island including construction companies and the Fiesta Hotels group.
Abel Matutes was seen very much as the guiding hand behind the massive and controversial road-building project on the island. The fact that his daughter Stella was head of the council committee responsible for the construction didn't do much to allay the suspicions. There was, however, never any evidence that the Matutes family would benefit financially from the road-building project.
There are other construction activities where Matutes definitely has an interest. One of those was a golf course planned for Playa d'en Bossa. Again there's been opposition on the island. The argument for golf courses is that they'll attract more high-spending tourists to the island year-round. Those against are concerned by the huge amount of water and chemicals needed to keep the courses green. They also wonder if golfers are really the sort of tourists Ibiza needs especially as there are loads of other places for them to go.
Anyway, one of the problems with Ibiza's new motorways is they can't cope with rain. All of them have had sections closed during last week's storms. The airport road has had particular problems and its construction has turned the area round the proposed Playa D'en Bossa golf course into a quagmire. And this is pouring mud into the Fiesta hotels near Space. The land for the golf course and the Fiesta hotels are owned by the Grupo Matutes...
DC10 is not a disco
A list has just been published of the various bars and nightclubs that have been prosecuted for breaches of various regulations. At the top is DC10 which has collected 18,000 euros in fines mostly because it has a "cafe concierto" licence. This sort of licence is intended to allow bars to provide musical entertainment, not including dancing. Bit of problem for a disco.
Rumours have abounded this summer from "well-informed sources" that this was definitely the last summer for DC10. I just went to see if there was a DC10 website. There isn't. But I did find the Circo Loco MySpace page. It says:
The long-running saga involving the illegal construction of Michael Cretu's hill-top mansion finally seems to be coming to an end. The high court has ruled that an amnesty on illegally-built properties doesn't apply and it's going to be demolished.
I find that I now live in the most expensive area for property prices in the Balearics. That's the municipality of Sta Eulalia, followed by Calvia in Majorca and then Ibiza Town.
The government´s published a slightly confusing set of figures showing that emergency drug admissions to Can Misses, Ibiza's main hospital, increased by 41.3% in 2006. The figures are for people who've been admitted after taking drugs not prescribed by a medical professional. It's the breakdown I don't understand - cocaine (31.7%), followed of amphetamines and designer drugs (26.2%) and alcohol (23.3%). That doesn't add up to 100% and I'd be surprised if a large proportion of the cases didn't involve multiple consumption. Still 824 people is a lot, whatever the technical reason for their admission.
Abel Matutes was seen very much as the guiding hand behind the massive and controversial road-building project on the island. The fact that his daughter Stella was head of the council committee responsible for the construction didn't do much to allay the suspicions. There was, however, never any evidence that the Matutes family would benefit financially from the road-building project.
There are other construction activities where Matutes definitely has an interest. One of those was a golf course planned for Playa d'en Bossa. Again there's been opposition on the island. The argument for golf courses is that they'll attract more high-spending tourists to the island year-round. Those against are concerned by the huge amount of water and chemicals needed to keep the courses green. They also wonder if golfers are really the sort of tourists Ibiza needs especially as there are loads of other places for them to go.
Anyway, one of the problems with Ibiza's new motorways is they can't cope with rain. All of them have had sections closed during last week's storms. The airport road has had particular problems and its construction has turned the area round the proposed Playa D'en Bossa golf course into a quagmire. And this is pouring mud into the Fiesta hotels near Space. The land for the golf course and the Fiesta hotels are owned by the Grupo Matutes...
DC10 is not a disco
A list has just been published of the various bars and nightclubs that have been prosecuted for breaches of various regulations. At the top is DC10 which has collected 18,000 euros in fines mostly because it has a "cafe concierto" licence. This sort of licence is intended to allow bars to provide musical entertainment, not including dancing. Bit of problem for a disco.
Rumours have abounded this summer from "well-informed sources" that this was definitely the last summer for DC10. I just went to see if there was a DC10 website. There isn't. But I did find the Circo Loco MySpace page. It says:
Jan 1 2008 8:00A circoloco@dc10 Ny special event! @ Ibiza (baleares)Quick round-up of other Ibiza news
The long-running saga involving the illegal construction of Michael Cretu's hill-top mansion finally seems to be coming to an end. The high court has ruled that an amnesty on illegally-built properties doesn't apply and it's going to be demolished.
I find that I now live in the most expensive area for property prices in the Balearics. That's the municipality of Sta Eulalia, followed by Calvia in Majorca and then Ibiza Town.
The government´s published a slightly confusing set of figures showing that emergency drug admissions to Can Misses, Ibiza's main hospital, increased by 41.3% in 2006. The figures are for people who've been admitted after taking drugs not prescribed by a medical professional. It's the breakdown I don't understand - cocaine (31.7%), followed of amphetamines and designer drugs (26.2%) and alcohol (23.3%). That doesn't add up to 100% and I'd be surprised if a large proportion of the cases didn't involve multiple consumption. Still 824 people is a lot, whatever the technical reason for their admission.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Oh dear water calamity
Ibiza's not designed for anything but sunny weather. The roofs are flat. Nowhere's insulated and drainage is unheard of. But, actually, the island has as much rain as some parts of England, except it comes all at once.
So now the wonderful new motorways resemble rivers, the power's going out intermittently and half the people I know have flooded homes. Still, a bit of discomfort's good practice for winter and joys such as scraping the black mold off walls.
The good thing is that we're suffering now, but it's in the knowledge that within a few days it'll be warm and dry again. The rain will bring out the flowers. Yes, even in October.
Fair fares
One of the benefits of being resident on Ibiza, or on other Spanish islands, is you get a discount on flights and ferries of about 50% for travel within Spain. There's a continuing debate about how this should be applied. One proposal that flights from the islands should be a flat 27 euros has been bombed out. Now the politicians are trying to decide how to administer the scheme so it's fair for all.
Obviously a lot of people will think it's unfair that somebody should get to live on Ibiza and enjoy cheap travel. But the island is an expensive place to live and there are real problems attracting teachers, doctors and so on to run essential services. And, of course, there can't be any real competition as residents have to travel across water somehow, so it's boat, plane or stay put.
The thing is air fares in particular are very much tied to demand. Of course it's cheap at the moment when nobody wants to fly, but come the summer even with a heavy discount the price would be too much for some. And without the subsidised tickets the airlines and ferry companies would stop services throughout the winter. As it is there are very few flights direct to anywhere outside Spain and none to the UK from November to April.
So the idea seems to be to fix the price so there's a maximum and minimum. It's got to be sorted before January 1 so what odds on a solution being announced on December 31.
Meanwhile, when the rest of the world seems to be discussing how to limit flights to reduce global warming it's a bit much that we're talking about increasing the number of passengers.
Tax and too many men in Ibiza
Anyway I haven´t got time to cover much more of the news except to say that the latest survey from La Caixa bank shows the number of foreigners increasing faster than the indigenous population, and more of them are men. The other thing is our equivalent of the council tax is going up by about 7%. For an average family that'll be about 300 euros a year extra. Work that one out.
So now the wonderful new motorways resemble rivers, the power's going out intermittently and half the people I know have flooded homes. Still, a bit of discomfort's good practice for winter and joys such as scraping the black mold off walls.
The good thing is that we're suffering now, but it's in the knowledge that within a few days it'll be warm and dry again. The rain will bring out the flowers. Yes, even in October.
Fair fares
One of the benefits of being resident on Ibiza, or on other Spanish islands, is you get a discount on flights and ferries of about 50% for travel within Spain. There's a continuing debate about how this should be applied. One proposal that flights from the islands should be a flat 27 euros has been bombed out. Now the politicians are trying to decide how to administer the scheme so it's fair for all.
Obviously a lot of people will think it's unfair that somebody should get to live on Ibiza and enjoy cheap travel. But the island is an expensive place to live and there are real problems attracting teachers, doctors and so on to run essential services. And, of course, there can't be any real competition as residents have to travel across water somehow, so it's boat, plane or stay put.
The thing is air fares in particular are very much tied to demand. Of course it's cheap at the moment when nobody wants to fly, but come the summer even with a heavy discount the price would be too much for some. And without the subsidised tickets the airlines and ferry companies would stop services throughout the winter. As it is there are very few flights direct to anywhere outside Spain and none to the UK from November to April.
So the idea seems to be to fix the price so there's a maximum and minimum. It's got to be sorted before January 1 so what odds on a solution being announced on December 31.
Meanwhile, when the rest of the world seems to be discussing how to limit flights to reduce global warming it's a bit much that we're talking about increasing the number of passengers.
Tax and too many men in Ibiza
Anyway I haven´t got time to cover much more of the news except to say that the latest survey from La Caixa bank shows the number of foreigners increasing faster than the indigenous population, and more of them are men. The other thing is our equivalent of the council tax is going up by about 7%. For an average family that'll be about 300 euros a year extra. Work that one out.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
No fare for temporary Ibiza taxi drivers
Discussions between the local government and Ibiza taxi drivers continue, as they have done for years. The problem is that there are not enough taxis at the peak of the season. The government wants to hand out another 150 licences, the taxi drivers are concerned about who will get them.
This is symptomatic of the the way the island's economy is hopelessly skewed around a few weeks of hyperactivity. People and businesses have to make enough over a few weeks to survive for the rest of the year. You can understand why the taxi drivers are concerned as it's a delicate balancing act between having enough to ensure punters aren't waiting too long and having too many so the drivers can't make a living.
At the moment the balance is clearly wrong which is why there are so many pirate taxis around from July to September. The drivers of these vehicles are not insured and may be unsafe. But, at 6am outside a club on the other side of the island from your hotel, who cares?
The other part of the problem is there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to a “mini cab” or other licensed private hire service in Spain. The limos that ferry superstar deejays, models and millionaires round the island are technically as illegal as the clapped-out pirate taxis outside Pacha. The theory is that Kate Moss and co should wait for a taxi or a bus like everybody else.
What do you do with a shipwreck?
Ibiza has another problem without an obvious right solution. The Don Pedro sank in July after hitting a small island just outside the Ibiza Town harbour. It didn't turn into the ecological disaster that it threatened. A couple of beaches were closed for a few days and the oil doesn't seem to have damaged any of the environmentally fragile areas close by.
Today it's been announced that a robot is being used to find if there are any traces of oil left on the ship. The next stage is to remove solid debris including a large consignment of used car batteries. Once that's finished a decision will have to made on what to do with the wreck.
If it's raised experts reckon that it'll break in two. Leaving it would provide an attraction for tourist divers – the council actually looked at the idea of deliberately sinking a ship for just this purpose. But nobody seems sure what the long-term risks are of leaving the wreck on the seabed.
For once the decision to set up a committee of interested parties to examine the situation does seem to be a sensible course of action rather than an excuse for putting off a difficult decision.
My next post will no doubt be looking at the Ibiza weather and the damage done by the storms.
This is symptomatic of the the way the island's economy is hopelessly skewed around a few weeks of hyperactivity. People and businesses have to make enough over a few weeks to survive for the rest of the year. You can understand why the taxi drivers are concerned as it's a delicate balancing act between having enough to ensure punters aren't waiting too long and having too many so the drivers can't make a living.
At the moment the balance is clearly wrong which is why there are so many pirate taxis around from July to September. The drivers of these vehicles are not insured and may be unsafe. But, at 6am outside a club on the other side of the island from your hotel, who cares?
The other part of the problem is there doesn't seem to be an equivalent to a “mini cab” or other licensed private hire service in Spain. The limos that ferry superstar deejays, models and millionaires round the island are technically as illegal as the clapped-out pirate taxis outside Pacha. The theory is that Kate Moss and co should wait for a taxi or a bus like everybody else.
What do you do with a shipwreck?
Ibiza has another problem without an obvious right solution. The Don Pedro sank in July after hitting a small island just outside the Ibiza Town harbour. It didn't turn into the ecological disaster that it threatened. A couple of beaches were closed for a few days and the oil doesn't seem to have damaged any of the environmentally fragile areas close by.
Today it's been announced that a robot is being used to find if there are any traces of oil left on the ship. The next stage is to remove solid debris including a large consignment of used car batteries. Once that's finished a decision will have to made on what to do with the wreck.
If it's raised experts reckon that it'll break in two. Leaving it would provide an attraction for tourist divers – the council actually looked at the idea of deliberately sinking a ship for just this purpose. But nobody seems sure what the long-term risks are of leaving the wreck on the seabed.
For once the decision to set up a committee of interested parties to examine the situation does seem to be a sensible course of action rather than an excuse for putting off a difficult decision.
My next post will no doubt be looking at the Ibiza weather and the damage done by the storms.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
How do you revise for a drugs test?
Sometimes I'll admit that it could be my lousy Spanish that's at fault, but there really does seem to be a course of evening classes entitled: “Drugs: Reality or fiction?” which includes practical work. If you want to see what I mean, check out this link:
Diario de Ibiza - Energy Control organiza el curso `Las drogas: ¿Realidad o ficción?´
More usefully the Balearic government is planning an office that will bring together all the information that immigrants require. Given that more than half of the population of Ibiza wasn't born on the island this should be valuable, if it's done properly.
I know it probably makes sense, but it somehow sounds typically Ibizan that the planned emergency practice at the airport has been cancelled because of bad weather. It would have been the first full-scale test of emergency procedures since 1998. Ah well, mañana...
This week is diving week, intended to promote underwater tourism in Ibiza and Formantera. The water's supposed to be particularly good for that here. (I must admit the longer I live here the less time I spend in the sea. Twice this summer I went in. Shame on me!)
It was sad to read that the first speaker was talking about species of shark becoming extinct in Ibiza's waters thanks to overfishing. Better news is that there's serious talk of a red tuna sanctuary off Formantera. Apparently it's the sushi craze that's threatening them.
Finally, I keep hearing about budget airline Jet2 launching a service from Blackpool to Ibiza. That'll surprise a large number of people in Britain who seem to think they're the same place.
Diario de Ibiza - Energy Control organiza el curso `Las drogas: ¿Realidad o ficción?´
More usefully the Balearic government is planning an office that will bring together all the information that immigrants require. Given that more than half of the population of Ibiza wasn't born on the island this should be valuable, if it's done properly.
I know it probably makes sense, but it somehow sounds typically Ibizan that the planned emergency practice at the airport has been cancelled because of bad weather. It would have been the first full-scale test of emergency procedures since 1998. Ah well, mañana...
This week is diving week, intended to promote underwater tourism in Ibiza and Formantera. The water's supposed to be particularly good for that here. (I must admit the longer I live here the less time I spend in the sea. Twice this summer I went in. Shame on me!)
It was sad to read that the first speaker was talking about species of shark becoming extinct in Ibiza's waters thanks to overfishing. Better news is that there's serious talk of a red tuna sanctuary off Formantera. Apparently it's the sushi craze that's threatening them.
Finally, I keep hearing about budget airline Jet2 launching a service from Blackpool to Ibiza. That'll surprise a large number of people in Britain who seem to think they're the same place.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Ibiza's new mountain
It's definitely Catherine Zeta-Jones advertising the new Elizabeth Arden perfume Mediterranean, but where is she? Could that be Ibiza Town in the background? But when did that mountain appear? Is that what happened to the rubble from the motorway tunnels?
One friend's suggested that it would be an ideal place to film the remake of "The Sound of Music."
Can anybody think of anything better?
Monday, October 08, 2007
Lads cash in on lurid Ibiza diary
A group of Essex students have come up with a novel way of paying for their 2008 Ibiza holiday. They're using a website to sell a no-holds-barred diary of their sex, drugs and alcohol-fuelled exploits on the island last summer (2006).
The six 22-year-old lads from Leigh-on-sea came up with the idea of keeping a diary after a seventh mate who couldn't make the trip asked them to jot down some of their exploits. “We didn’t take the suggestion seriously apart from one of us who actually bought a diary out there. We caught him making the odd scribble on the beach. After a lot of pointing and laughing we read the diary, liked what we read and before long were fighting for the diary to jot down our latest thoughts,” said “Danny”.
The diary includes descriptions of how one lad lost his shirt as he had sex in the sea with a blonde, another went with a prostitute and they all ogled the girls in the hotel room next door. “Things were going perfect, they were naked and we were perving complete with beers in hand, we had a beautiful view of some very lovely jubbleys and no one had even so much as bought them a drink!”
Unsurprisngly given the immoral and sometimes illicit nature of their exploits, the lads are all keeping their identities carefully hidden. “Nobody knows who we are. Some of us have girlfriends and all of us have parents,” joked Danny.
Copies of the diary can be downloaded price £1 from http://www.ibizadiary.com/.
Duff beer
It's a long way from The Simpsons' hometown of Springfield to Ibiza, but that's where Homer would have had to to go last week for a special glass of Duff, his favourite beer. Mexican entrepreneur Rodrigo Contreras chose Ibiza for the worldwide launch of the brew which he cheekily named after stuff served at cartoon bar Moe's.
Contrareras claims he came up with the idea after checking the registration of the name “Duff”. He says Simpsons creator Matt Groening only registered the name in the USA and Australia meaning he can use Duff as a beer brand in the rest of the world. “Doh!” as Homer would say.
Solar powered killer
A group of ecologists are asking a council to stop work on a project that's supposed to protect the environment. Councillors on the island of Formantera, next to Ibiza, want to build a solar energy farm to provide clean electricity for the population. But ecologists from the Grup d´Estudis de Naturalesa warn that construction in the cove chosen for the project will mean the disappearance of a type of flower only found on Formantera. The type of Delphinium is on the official list of plants in Spain which are danger of becoming extinct.
Dutch consul apologises to bishop
The former Dutch consul stepped into a row about art and pornography by apologising to the Bishop of Ibiza. Paul Wienen de Vries said in a letter that the exhibition which included a collage showing the late Pope John Paul II in a gay sex act was: “offensive and in bad taste”. The show of works by a number of Dutch artists was forced to close early after the bishop demanded the return of keys to the former church which was being used as a gallery.
Don Pedro captain faces prosecution
The captain and the officer who was at the wheel of the cargo ship Don Pedro which sank in July off Ibiza are to appear in court in November where they may face prosecution for crimes against the environment and criminal damage. The ship was off-course when it struck rocks threatening Ibiza with a financial and environmental catastrophe if the oil it was carrying leaked onto the beaches. Salvage specialists were able to remove the oil without too much spillage. The authorities are still deciding what to do with wreck which may break up if it's moved, but presents a long-term threat if it's left.
Ibiza to offer more for disabled people
Ibiza Town's tourist chief wants the city to attract more disabled holidaymakers. Francesc Buils says he wants the city to become famous as a destination for accessible tourism. The aim is to remove the architectural barriers which exist in the ancient walled city and to create more disabled parking. He says this is a central aim of plans to make Ibiza a cultural as well as a sun and sea destination.
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