Construction company refuses payment for El Algarrobico

From Typically Spanish

Azata, the construction company which built the controversial Hotel El Algarrobico in Carboneras, has refused to accept payment from the Junta de Andalucía for the plot on which the hotel stands together with an adjacent site.

Azata would have been paid more than 2.3 million € for the two plots, after the courts recently awarded the Junta de Andalucía the retrospective rights of first refusal on their purchase, as both lie within the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Nature Park. The regional government said they planned to demolish the hotel and return the site to its former condition.

Azata representatives have refused the payment and have announced an administrative appeal to the Andaluz Supreme Court. That body will now have to rule on which party is deemed to be the owner of the land.

Construction work at the site is currently halted under a ruling issued by an Almería court in a separate case.

Halloween in Spain

Halloween is celebrated in Spain, but in a different form. It is know as the "Day of the Dead," or "El Dia de los Muertos." It is a three day event beginning on the night of October 31 and ending on November 2, in which family members commemorate their loved ones whom have passed. It is believed that the dead return home to be with their families. Families sometimes make an alter at home as a way to reminisce. It is also common to visit the grave sites and both picnic and decorate.

Spain to hit 'Costa del Crime' with UK hotline

From Reuters

MADRID (Reuters) - British and Spanish police, struggling to track down expatriate fugitives and break into a web of foreign traffickers and fraudsters, have asked charity Crimestoppers to set up a tip-off hotline on the Costa del Sol.

Both countries hope Crimestoppers Costas, launched on Tuesday, will become an key intelligence source from the 350,000 expatriates living around the southern city of Malaga -- a group difficult to tap because of the language barrier.

For years British criminals have used the Spanish Costas as the perfect place to disappear among English-speaking expatriates and tourists, but British police are increasingly concerned it is being used by drug traffickers as a base for British operations.

A series of adverts in local papers and on the Crimestoppers website: www.crimestoppers-uk.org/wanted/spainwanted/ aims to hunt down criminals wanted in Britain for a range of crimes including fraud, trafficking, kidnap and murder.

Tip-offs passed to the charity in Britain help solve an average 17 crimes a day and one murder a week, and its head of operations Dave Cording said that until-now weak links between Spanish police and expatriates meant the pilot scheme could make an immediate impact.

"There is good information out there to be had and it's just a question of coordinating the whole thing to bring these people back into the British crime justice system," he told Reuters.

Crimestoppers' anonymous freephone number -- 900 555 111 -- will route calls directly to its London call centre and information will then be passed to Spanish police.

Ronnie Knight, jailed for one of Britain's biggest-ever cash robberies hid on the Costa del Sol as did Kenneth Noye, who helped melt down millions of pounds of stolen gold from the Brinks Mat robbery and was jailed years later for stabbing to death a fellow motorist in a road-rage attack near London.

Water tax in Spain

Spanish Government announces new plan to tax excessive use of water

The Spanish government yesterday announced its most recent proposal to limit the use of water in Spain and protect the dwindling water reserves which after one of the driest spells in Spanish history are at an all-time low.

The Environmental Minister, Cristina Narbona, told the Spanish media that the government is looking for ways to encourage "responsible use" of water and is considering the possibility of setting a new limit to domestic consumption. The proposed limit is a daily limit per person of up to 60 litres. According to the new plans, all water consumed in excess of this limit would be charged at a higher rate than the usual price of water.

Reaction to the Minister's declarations yesterday in Spain has been mixed. While most people here are perfectly aware of the serious problem of water shortages and the need to rationalise the use of water, many question the fact that the first measures taken by central government are aimed at domestic use, rather than tackling the hundreds of kilometres of rusty, leaky water pipes all over Spain or the continuous growth of new golf courses needing constant watering in some of the driest regions of Spain.

Spain's Mediterranean diet is increasingly a myth

From Expatica

MADRID — Spain's famous healthy Mediterranean diet may be little more than a myth, say experts.

Instead of a diet of fish, fresh vegetables, fruit and olive oil, Spaniards are increasingly eating pre-cooked food, meat derivatives and fruit substitutes.

Social changes, imported habits and fashions, as well as dietary advice are said to be to blame, say officials at the agriculture ministry.

It means they are eating too many proteins, carbohydrates and not enough cereals and vegetables.

Jesus Roman Martinez, a professor of nutrition, said: "We want quick food because we have no time."

Breakfast, considered by dieticians as crucial, is increasingly ignored.

Parents have quick lunches as do their children at school.

Four out of ten Spaniards said they ate no greens every day, 30 percent no fruit, 66 percent ate less than four daily portions of carbohydrates and 59 percent ate snacks while watching the television.