ISSUE 30Santa Cruz de TenerifeSaturday 24 March 2012

“The secret of being boring is to say everything” Voltaire

www.diariodeavisos.com/thesupplement

WHOOPING COUGHNUMBERS CONCERN

!Although widely thought to have been vir-tually eradicated in the Canaries, severalcases of whooping cough already this yearhave led experts to recommend vaccinationagainst this and a small number of other ill-nesses, including measles, as a precaution.

Eight cases of whooping cough have beenreported in Tenerife alone already since Jan-uary and last year there were 600 in theCanaries, all of them in the province of LasPalmas. An outbreak of measles is alsobelieved to exist at present in Las Palmas,

similar to that seen in Tenerife last year.Paediatrician Luis Ortigosa says although

the vaccination rate among children (95%) isvery high here, some parents are reluctantfor their youngsters to be inoculated, due tothe influence of the anti-vaccination lobby.

Leading paediatrician urges people to get jabs as a precaution

EMPLOYMENT

!Over half (55%) of workers inthe Canaries believe that theirproductivity on the job wouldincrease substantially if work-place noise were reduced, asurvey has found. Many saidthey would be able to concen-trate ‘a lot better’ without thecurrent level of noise suffered,while a small number thoughtabsenteeism would be cut alsoif quieter working environ-ments were imposed. Howe-ver, 2% of respondents saidthat less noise would result in‘a more boring job’.

Less noisemeans morework, sayssurvey

TRANSPORT

!The latest increases in fuelprices have put the cost offilling a tank at its highestever in the region and therises show no sign of ending.Pump prices continue to esca-late in March, with a litre oflead-free petrol (95 octanes)reaching 1.09 euros in manyfilling stations and diesel bre-aking the psychological 1.00euro barrier. Despite therises, prices are still muchlower than on mainlandSpain however.

Fuel pricescontinueto rise inCanaries

AIR TRAVEL

!Flying to the Canaries from Madridcan be as expensive as a trip to NewYork due to the limited seats availablefollowing the collapse of Spanair, saysthe Canarian government, amid fearsthat the high fares will discourage Spa-niards from holidaying here at Easter.

New York flights‘cheaper thanto Canaries’

POLITICS

!Britain’s ambassador toSpain, Giles Paxman, visi-ted Tenerife this week toformally present MariaLeng as the new Consul inthe Canaries. Paxman hos-

ted a lunchtime cocktailreception for local authori-ties and members of theBritish community in SantaCruz’s prestigious Club Oli-ver on Thursday.

BRITISHAMBASSADORIN TENERIFE VISIT

The rise in the number of cases of whooping cough and certain other illnesses has led to calls to get vaccinated. / DA

The ambassador and consul met with Cabildo president Ricardo Melchior. / DA

2 Saturday24 March 2012The Supplement

GREENPEACE JOINS CANARIANGOVERNMENT IN ANTI-OIL FIGHTDiario de AvisosSanta Cruz de Tenerife

Ecology organisation Greenpe-ace is lending its support to thefight to prevent a big oil multi-national from drilling in watersclose to the islands of Lanzaroteand Fuerteventura. Within daysof the announcement by theSpanish government that per-mission is to be granted to Rep-sol to carry out exploratorysearches for oil, Greenpeacerepresentatives met with Cana-rian president Paulino Rivero toexpress their support for thegovernment’s bid to block thedrilling and to confirm they willtake part in the protest ralliesscheduled for today (24 March)throughout the Canaries.

The alliance may appearrather bizarre given that ecolo-gists have repeatedly criticisedRivero and his government overthe mega-port planned for Gra-nadilla on the grounds that itwill cause major environmentaldamage, but their pleas for arethink have been repeatedlyignored. Mario Rodríguez, exe-cutive director of GreenpeaceSpain, said the decision by theSpanish authorities ‘placed theCanaries at risk’ due to the veryreal prospect of an oil spill. ‘Thespill in the Gulf of Mexico whena BP rig sank caused a slick thatreached the coast 250 kilome-tres away. Lanzarote and Fuer-teventura are just 60 kilometresfrom the locations chosen forthe oil search’ said Rodríguez.

Despite cross-party opposi-tion to the plans, Repsol insiststhat the early signs are that itcould make the biggest ever oilfind in Spain in the sea off theCanaries and the islands ‘wouldbenefit greatly’ from its opera-tions. ‘No drilling will take placebefore the mandatory environ-mental studies are completed’said a spokesman, adding thatRepsol adheres to the strictest

possible environmental stan-dards in its operations in morethan 30 countries worldwide.

News of the authorisationshas triggered a furious reactionby the authorities both at regio-nal and island level. The Cana-rian government has vowed togo as high as it takes to preventRepsol or any other companyfrom drilling in Canarianwaters. In addition to Rivero’s

vow to fight to the bitter end,the head of the FuerteventuraCabildo Mario Cabrera has pro-mised to take the case to courtto defend his island's rights.‘They did not want to meet withus to discuss the options butthey will have to see us in court’he said earlier this week. Lanza-rote has also made known itsdispleasure at the granting ofthe authorisations.

The prospect of oil drilling off the Canaries has united ecologists and government for once. / DA

DA Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The recent 2-week operationin Santa Cruz to detect the useof mobile phones and otherdistracting devices at thewheel saw 662 ‘suspicious’drivers pulled over by the city’spolice during the periodbetween 5-18 March.

The operation was part of anationwide campaign orderedby the Spanish traffic authori-ties to clamp down on danger-ous but increasingly commonpractices by drivers, particu-larly talking on the phone orusing touch-screen satellitenavigation.

146 of the drivers who wereasked to pull over were foundto be using their phones with-out a hands-free kit and face ahefty fine and loss of licencepoints for their actions. A smallnumber were reported forwearing headphones to listento music while driving and sev-eral others for reading throughdocuments or making noteswhile at the wheel.

According to the authorities,606 people died on Spanishroads in 2011 in crashescaused by driver distraction.

Mobile phoneclamp-downcatches146 drivers

DA Santa Cruz de Tenerife

A Las Palmas man said to haveextensive connections withdrug trafficking in the Cana-ries has been arrested on arri-val in Cádiz after Customsfound a million euros in hisvehicle. The car, an expensiveMercedes, arrived in the main-land port by overnight ferryfrom Gran Canaria earlier thisweek and aroused suspicionamong officers.

A search led to the discoveryunderneath the driver’s seatof a false bottom with the mas-sive stash of money, which farexceeded the amount that canbe carried legally withoutdocumentary proof of itssource. The vehicle and themoney have been confiscateduntil the driver can furnishevidence that both were obtai-ned legitimately.

According to Civil Guardsources, the man, aged 34, hasa long record of drug offences.The find is one of the biggestdrug-related cash seizures inrecent times.

Drugmoneyseized in carferry swoop

Diario de AvisosSanta Cruz de Tenerife

An experimental closure of muchof the road from Santa Cruz tothe coastal village of San Andrésto give fun cyclists their ownspace for Sunday morning ridingis to be repeated at least once amonth, promises the capital’smayor José Manuel Bermúdez.

A 7km stretch of the road wasset aside for the cyclists last Sun-day and the council said the turn-out, which it put at around 3000people of all ages, has encoura-ged him to repeat the initiativeuntil May and then again as ofOctober.

‘There is certainly a demandfor a car-free area for families toenjoy a day out on their bikes andeven on skates and skateboards.

We don’t have the money to builda dedicated bicycle lane all theway to San Andrés at present sothis is the best option in the inte-rim’ explained Bermúdez, whotook part in the fun ride on hisown bike to see for himself theinterest among the public.

The mayor added that the clo-sure had not caused the fearedcongestion although it would notbe feasible to close the stretch ofroad once Sunday traffic headingto the Las Teresitas beach picksup in earnest at the end of May.

However, not everyone is asthrilled as the mayor at the SantaCruz on Wheels initiative. Localresidents say they were not con-sulted and are unhappy at theprospect of regular disruption ofpublic transport due to the roadclosure.

Santa Cruz roadclosure experimentto continue

Diario de AvisosSanta Cruz de Tenerife

Recent improvements to partsof Las Verónicas , one of Teneri-fe’s biggest and best-knownnight-life spots, are entirely thework of the bars, restaurantsand shops there, not the autho-rities, according to the head ofthe Playa de Las Américas-Costa Adeje business associa-tion.

Víctor Sánchez said this weekthat the much-maligned LasVerónicas district is slowlyachieving a badly-needed face-lift but no help has been recei-ved from local government. ‘Wehave already done a lot butmuch still remains to be done toaddress some of the issues thatmost annoy tourists, such as

looky looky vendors, PRs andtouts, and even prostitution’explained Sánchez, who was re-elected chairman of the 73-member association recently.

The street vendors are themost urgent problem in need ofremedy, according to the asso-ciation, not just for the nuisancecaused to tourists but also theunfair competition posed forbona fide tax-paying traders.

‘When they see an Adeje localpolice patrol, they simply moveup the road and cross the townboundary, safe in the kno-wledge that the Adeje policecannot touch them in Arona’complained Sánchez, who saysthe problem would soon beresolved if vendors’ particularswere noted by police and theirproducts confiscated.

Las Verónicasforced to go italone on facelift

3Saturday24 March 2012 The Supplement

Diario de AvisosSanta Cruz de Tenerife

The resurgence of Tenerife inDivision 2B over the past twomonths, after the slump in formthat led to the departure of theprevious manager, was broughtto an untimely and unexpectedhalt by lowly San Sebastián de losReyes (‘Sanse’) on Wednesdaynight in the Heliodoro Rodríguezstadium.

The 0-2 home defeat was all themore embarrassing since it camejust hours after several Tenerifeplayers had openly praised theperformances of the defenceunder new manager Andrés Gar-cía Tébar. The side’s impressiveshowings at the back of late hadensured that few points were pic-ked up by opposing teams asTenerife rose to second place andwithin touching distance of lea-ders, Real Madrid Castilla.

Prior to the mid-week fixtureagainst Sanse, Tenerife had con-ceded just four goals (never morethan one per game) in the eightgames since García Tébar tookover from Antonio Calderón andin four of those matches a cleansheet was kept. Full back Raul Llo-rente, who has turned out to be asolid and hugely popular signingin the winter transfer window,

explained that the manager hadlaid down the rules immediatelyon arrival.

‘He told us we had to tighten upcollectively at the back and I rec-kon we are now the best sidedefensively in the league’ said Llo-rente, whose words were soon tocome back to haunt him as ahorrific first-half mix-up betweenhim and goalkeeper Sergio Ara-goneses gifted Sanse their ope-ning goal. Worse was to comewhen, in desperation, Tenerifecommitted themselves to all-outattack in the second half and leftthemselves wide open in defence,allowing Sanse to score a second

goal completely against the run ofplay.

The defeat cancelled out thegood work done last Sunday atRayo Vallecano B, where Tenerifebattled to a 0-2 win. With fixturesagainst teams in the lower half of

the table (beginning with Lega-nés away tomorrow) to come inthe next few weeks, the team havea golden opportunity to pick upmaximum points and remain incontention for the play-offs at theend of the season.

However, they cannot affordany more defensive slip-ups suchas those that earned the playersjeers and catcalls from fansagainst Sanse. Leganés arecurrently bottom of the leagueafter their 2-1 loss to Castilla.

Tenerife surprisingly lost 0-2 to lowly Sanse on Wednesday. / DA

The Tenerifedefence has beenvery solid untilthe midweekSanse disaster

ment and is threatening toreclaim almost 150,000 euros infunding already paid. ‘Tenerifehave breached seven of the condi-tions, including the submission ofproper proof of how it has spentpublic money. If the club do notjustify the expenditure we haveno choice but to recover themoney’ said island sports counci-llor Cristo Pérez, who took theunusual step of convening a pressconference on Tuesday to publiclylist the breaches committed byTenerife. The failure to mergecould have a nasty effect on Ibe-rostar Canarias, given that a uni-fied club would have access to thebond of nearly two million eurosdeposited by Tenerife to competein the ACB Premiership over adecade ago and which is still heldby the league. It is believedbehind the scenes talks have beenheld with ACB officials to clarifythe status of the bond if the LaLaguna side earn automatic pro-motion as winners of the LEB Orodivision, which could happen asearly as next week.

Tenerife clubs’ mergerwar hots up even further

Diario de AvisosSanta Cruz de Tenerife

The simmering conflict over plansto merge Tenerife’s two big bas-ketball clubs escalated this weekand now threatens to mar thelikely promotion celebrations ofone of the pair. Iberostar Canariasand CB Tenerife are supposed tobe nearing the end of a long mer-ger process imposed on them bythe island’s Cabildo, which refu-ses to continue to fund two teamsfrom the island in senior basket-ball.

Although the merger detailswere thrashed out some time agoand should have resulted in Tene-rife effectively becoming a juniorfeeder team for Canarias, the for-mer decided to ignore the condi-tions and registered to play in the

professional LEB Plata league thisseason, despite the much highercost in player wages and travel.However, the move has backfiredbadly and Tenerife are currently

anchored to the bottom of the lea-gue table.

Even worse, the Cabildo hastired of Tenerife’s failure tocomply with the merger agree-

Tenerife’s councillor for sport openly criticised Tenerife’s actions. / DA

‘Firm’ defencelets Tenerife

down

FOOTBALL

!Leo Messi is now the world’sbest-paid footballer, accordingto a survey by France Footballmagazine. The World Player ofthe Year heads the latest richlist after earning 33 millioneuros in wages, bonuses, spon-sorships and endorsements.The Barcelona star topped hisannual salary from the Spa-nish giants last year with spon-sorship deals from the likes ofAdidas and Pepsi.

Messi heads worldrich list with 33million euros

WATERPOLO

!Waterpolo side AcuasportEcheyde took a giant steptowards returning to the Pre-miership with a deserved vic-tory over near rivals Helios lastweek-end. Lying second goinginto the game, the Tenerifeclub defeated their fanciedopponents 10-7 to take over atthe top of the table, with agame in hand. Having lost justone game they are now hotfavourites for promotion.

AcuasportEcheyde moveinto top gear

CD TENERIFE

!Tenerife player Víctor Bravomay have landed himself introuble with his manager afteropenly complaining that hissituation has changed drama-tically since the arrival of Gar-cía Tébar. ‘It is clear I don’tfigure in his plans, which isstrange after the good first halfof the season I enjoyed, withfive goals. I am the same pla-yer but if I don’t get a chance toplay I can’t show that’ he said.

Bravo voicesunhappinessunder new boss

MOTOR RACING

!The future of the Canaries’top car rally is secure for thenear future. The Islas CanariasRally will remain part of theprestigious International RallyChallenge (IRC) for the nextthree years thanks to a spon-sorship deal announced thisweek which sees the race get190,000 euros annually fromthe Gran Canaria Cabildo.

Future of IslasCanarias Rallyclarified

BASKETBALL

SPORT

4 Saturday24 March 2012The Supplement

TASTES OF TENERIFETenerife offers visitors authenticand innovative cuisine with highquality homegrown produce. Thequality of local cheese, wine, po-tatoes, tomatoes, honey and ba-nanas is excellent. The island’syear round spring climate andfertile volcanic soil is perfect forvegetables, tropical fruit, vine-yards, banana plantations andalmond trees. This is why theTenerife Tourist Board is marke-ting a major project to promotefood and wine tourism calledSaborea Tenerife or Taste Tene-rife. To herald the arrival ofspring, a series of Local FoodFairs will be staged in 2012 allover the island in over 20 diffe-rent municipalities.

The star products will be Tenerife’swines and local farming and dairy pro-duce. The programme schedule will bepromoted to the public in English, Spa-nish and German, making it easy for visi-tors to attend these events and meet thelocal people. It is hoped they will help tospotlight the island’s gastronomic de-lights and the quality of its natural re-

sources to the holiday trade. TenerifeTourist Board successfully launched thepromotion called Muestras Gastronómi-cas Locales one and a half years ago andit has been welcomed by local councilsand associations around the island. Anever increasing number of public bodiesare now keen to participate in the driveto encourage food and wine tourism.

New to this year’s programme are im-provements which streamline the flow ofinformation to ensure that it will reachusers earlier and supply more detailsabout the Food Fairs. The programmewill not only feature food and wineevents but it will also showcase the localculture and traditions.

The Local Food Fairs, themed aroundTenerife’s gastronomy, will link thelandscape, folklore, culture, farming andlivestock with the typical traits of the peo-

ple of Tenerife, which, inturn will give our visitors amore enjoyable and emotiveexperience during their stay.

The Rabbit Stew Fair orCondumio de Conejo, is thetheme of the first Local FoodFair, which takes place from10-19 April and promises allthe rich traditional flavourof Icod de los Vinos.

This northern municipa-lity, which boasts a numberof traditional cultural cele-brations, will be the first tohost a Local Food Fair in2012, featuring a perfectcombination of culinaryskills and wine. The winesare significant because theirbouquet links the ancientvines which were the first tobe grown on the island tomodern winemaking techni-ques that seek to extract thehighest quality from the gra-pes. Icod is easy to get to sovisitors can fully enjoy the

programme of activities on offer. Teneri-fe’s Local Wine Fairs will promoted in thewidest possible number of media, by theorganizer s of each fair and through allthe information channels operated bythe Tenerife Tourist Board.

More information:www.webtenerifeuk.uk.co