The Supplement #34

“Crime does not pay... as well as politics” Alfred E. Newman

ISSUE 34

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Saturday 21 April 2012

PRESCRIPTION CHARGE DECISION ANGER Fury at decision to increase the charge for medicines ◗The decision by the Spanish government to raise prescription charges for everyone is the latest in a long line of austerity measures to cause anger among the public. Under the new proposal, which was unveiled by Spain’s health minister Ana Mato on Wednesday, the

general contribution towards prescription costs increases from 40% to 50% (60% for those earning above 100,000 euros per year), while pensioners -who have been exempt from the charge until now- are to pay 10% of the cost of their medicines. The measure is

part of a drive to trim billions of euros from the health budget but has already come in for widespread criticism, particularly in the case of the country’s 8 million pensioners, who say they have been targeted unfairly by ‘an easy money-raising initiative’.

SANTA CRUZ

Tourist car thief arrested in Anaga hills ◗Santa Cruz police have arrested a man thought to be behind recent car break-ins at a popular tourist spot in the Anaga hills. The arrest came after several visitors reported their vehicles had been broken into while parked at the Cruz del Carmen viewpoint. The man was acting suspiciously in the area but when police tried to intercept him one officer was struck in the face with a large stick. A bag carried by the suspect contained a hammer used to smash car windows.

MUSIC

Cypress Hill join Rock Cost Festival line-up ◗Californian band Cypress Hill are the latest big-name band signed up for the 3-day Rock Coast festival to be held next month (24-26 May) in Santa Cruz. The cult gangsta rap group have sold tens of millions of albums worldwide and are the final name in a line-up that includes Ben Harper, Marilyn Manson, Iggy & The Stooges, Evanescence, The Smashing Pumpinks, Sepultura, Orbital, Fatboy Slim and Ministry of Sound.

The vast majority of people will have to pay more for their prescriptions under the new rules. / DA

TRANSPORT

RELIGION

POPE STATUE UNVEILED IN LA LAGUNA

Drunk holds up Santa Cruz tram services ◗Santa Cruz’s tram service was interrupted on Wednesday due to a drunk pedestrian. The man tried to cross the tramlines at a busy junction as a tram was about to pass and sustained minor injuries despite the driver slamming on the brakes to avoid hitting him.

The statue stands next to the Concepción church in La Laguna. / DA www.diariodeavisos.com/thesupplement

◗ A statue of the late Pope John Paul II has been unveiled in La Laguna. The bronze statue, which weighs one ton, is by Polish sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj and depicts

the former Pope blessing two youngsters in traditional Canarian costume. It was donated to the city by the Juan Kobylansky Foundation.

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ENGLISH COMMUNITY GETS READY FOR ST GEORGE’S DAY Diario de Avisos Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Just over a month after the Irish community in Tenerife celebrated St Patrick’s Day with shamrock and Guinness-filled parties, Monday 23 April sees the rather larger community of English ex-pats here mark St George’s Day. Many pubs and restaurants in Tenerife’s resorts are commemorating the occasion with events and will be decking out their premises appropriately with the flag of England’s dragon-slaying patron saint. ‘San Jorge’ is also marked across Spain, particularly Catalonia, with people buying books and flowers, especially roses, to give to their loved ones.

Efforts have been stepped up in recent years to make 23 April England’s official national day and a designated public holiday.

Members of Parliament frequently debate the issue but no formal action has been taken yet despite the submission of hundreds of thousands of signatures on a petition organised by a website which was set up to expand the awareness of St George’s Day and promote English Heritage and patriotism.

One obstacle has been the existence of a traditional bank holiday in early May, which would have to be moved to late April.

Another is the use of 23 April, the date of the deaths of both William Shakespeare and Spain’s Miguel de Cervantes, as World Book Day

by Unesco.

Here in Tenerife, one of the biggest events takes place tomorrow (Sunday) at the VIVO Treasure Island in Playa de Las Américas, which -like last year- is organising afternoon events and evening entertainment to raise money for the wounded servicemen’s charity, Help for Heroes.

As part of this year’s activities marking St George’s Day, a spon-

sored ‘yomp’ is being held from Palm Mar to Playa de Las Américas. Yomp is the Armed Forces term for a gruelling long-distance march carrying full kit.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of one of the most famous yomps in recent military history: the long march in May 1982 by Royal Marines and members of the Parachute Regi-

ment who were forced to walk over 80 kilometres with 36-kilo packs on their backs in rugged terrain in the Falklands after an Argentinean air-launched Exocet missile sank the British supply ship Atlantic Conveyer, which was carrying their Chinook helicopters for an assault on the defences around the Falkland capital, Port Stanley.

The Cross of St George will fly high in English-run bars and restaurants this week-end. / DA

Mayor expresses fury at Añaza TV programme slur

‘Wrong baby’ compensation pay-outs continue

Diario de Avisos Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Diario de Avisos Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Santa Cruz’s mayor is furious at the way one of the capital’s districts was portrayed last week on a prime-time TV programme.

The show, Callejeros, depicted the Añaza high-rise estate off the motorway near the big Carrefour shopping centre as a ‘hotbed of juvenile crime and teenage pregnancies’.

While the programme was on air, the pictures and comments triggered a storm of protest on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, not to mention subsequent angry reaction by local community leaders.

‘We invited them with open arms to film here and they focused on all the bad bits. Messages

conveyed such as the percentage of locals who have spent time in jail are unhelpful. There is much more to Añaza than the biased impression given by Callejeros, which has set us back years in terms of community development’ said one district representative. Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez promised to take the matter up with bosses at the Cuatro channel, which screened the programme.

However, not everyone disagrees that the coverage was unfair. Police and emergency services have long complained that the district has become a virtual no-go area, particularly at night.

Attempts by police in recent times to detain youths suspected of crimes have triggered serious riots in the area.

A couple who were given the wrong baby in a hospital mixup 30 years ago are to receive nearly half a million euros in compensation for the trauma caused by the gaffe, a regional court has ruled. The award is the latest instalment in the controversial case, which came to light a few years ago when a chance meeting by two women led to the discovery that they were twins separated at birth.

The twins have already been compensated by the Canarian Health Service for the emotional repercussions caused by the massive mix-up but a judge has now ruled that a couple who received one of the pair instead

of their biological daughter is also entitled to compensation.

Each ‘parent’ has been awarded 220,000 euros for the mistake, for which the regional authorities originally denied liability given that the Canaries did not have its own health service at the time and hospitals were run by central government in Madrid.

The case of the Las Palmas twins made world headlines when it emerged that the two women had met after a misunderstanding at a clothes shop. A close friend of one of the women was puzzled when she was snubbed in the store by her friend, who turned out to be a total stranger but was identical in all respects, including mannerisms, to the other woman.

South stages protest at hospital delays DA Santa Cruz de Tenerife

Los Cristianos stages a big rally today in protest at the delays in building the new hospital for the south of the Island.

Amid fears that the latest government cutbacks could mean the definitive shelving of the project, the area’s Civic Forum is calling on as many people as possible to turn out to voice their opposition to the delays and demand a firm commitment by the health authorities to finish the hospital and day-care centre in El Mojón.

The rally departs the Infanta Leonor Auditorium at 4pm and follows a route to the Plaza Pedro García Cabrera, where Forum leaders will read out a statement denouncing the failure to complete the badly-needed facility on time. A spokesman said this week that the lack of a public hospital in the south of Tenerife was ‘playing into the hands of private clinics’ and was already responsible for the deaths of people who could not receive appropriate medical care in time.

Canaries to fight new education measures DA Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The controversial cost-cutting measures announced by the Spanish Ministry of Education this week will affect an estimated 3500 teachers here, say the regional authorities.

The two governments look set to clash over the implementation of the new rules which, among other things, increase class sizes by up to 20% and force teachers to teach several extra hours as part of an overall package of steps to cut wage bills.

Within hours of the announcement by Madrid, regional education chief José Miguel Pérez said teaching quality would be ‘severely impaired’ by the extra demands imposed on teachers at all levels, from primary through to the final years of secondary schooling. ‘As long as education powers rest with us as a regional government, we will resist these moves’ vowed Pérez, who does not rule out a legal challenge to the country’s highest court.

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SPORT CYCLING

Contador back for more training in Canaries ◗The benefits of the Canaries for cycling training have again been showcased by the presence of Alberto Contador in Gran Canaria this week. The world’s best known rider was joined by Saxo Bank colleague Jesús Navarro for an intensive training programme ahead of his return to competition in August, following his controversial ban after testing positive in the Tour de France.

CANARIAN WRESTLING

‘Lucha’ world mourns loss of popular Perico

Fans displayed a sarcastic good luck message to the new manager. / DA

Fans turn on Tenerife players Diario de Avisos Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The lower than usual turn-out for last Sunday’s game against Lugo and the very hostile reception given by fans to the Tenerife players as they took the field confirm, as if confirmation were needed, that an irreparable split has opened up between the team and the until now faithful supporters.

The whistles and jeering that greeted the players as their names were announced were followed by the unfurling of a giant banner addressed to new manager Quique Medina

and reading ‘Quique, we hope they take to you’, a stinging rebuke to a squad that is held directly responsible for the sackings of Tenerife’s two previous managers this season, Antonio Calderón and Andrés García Tébar, both of whom fell foul of influential dressing room figures.

Despite playing against the side lying second in the table and which is a direct rival for a promotion playoff spot, the game attracted just over 8000 fans, a big crowd by league standards but one of the lowest crowds of the season for a Tenerife home game and a clear sign that many have tired of the goings-on at

the club on and off the field. The Heliodoro Rodríguez crowd’s displeasure, particularly the angry reception given to ‘keeper Sergio Aragoneses, even merited a mention in national sports daily Marca on Tuesday of this week. Another player to feel the Heliodoro fans’ wrath was winger Ferrán Tacón, who was booed loudly as he left the pitch to be substituted by debutant Sandro and then appeared to spit at a team official as he took his seat on the bench.

Luckily for Tenerife, Oviedo are performing even more poorly and have taken just 1 point from a possi-

ble 9 of late, which means they have failed to capitalise on Tenerife’s dismal run (4 points from 15) and overtake them in fourth spot. The game between the two in Santa Cruz on 29 April is likely to decide the fate of the last of the places to take part in the play-offs for promotion to Division 2.

Before then, however, Tenerife face a difficult hurdle tomorrow at Atlético de Madrid B, who are currently 6th and have lost fewer games than the Canarians so far this season. The two sides drew 0-0 draw in in he first game back in December.

BASKETBALL

Conspiracy theories gain ground as Canarias celebrate Diario de Avisos Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The engraving was still fresh on the league winners’ trophy when rumours began to surface in Madrid that newly-crowned LEB Oro champions Iberostar Canarias may have an even bigger fight on their hands to take their place among the big guns of Spanish basketball next season.

In addition to the financial issues that need to be resolved in the coming months, not least the approximately 8 million euros required to compete in the ACB league, speculation is rife that the La Laguna club will encounter various other obstacles in its path due to the influence of senior members of the ACB who do not want to see one of its historic

Rumours of potential ACB problems have not deterred Canarias. / DA

clubs relegated this season. The candidates for the drop include one of the country’s most famous and best-loved clubs, Estudiantes, whose departure would be a

massive blow to the world’s second top league. Various media sources report this week that moves are afoot to make life difficult for Iberostar Canarias by

refusing to be flexible on the rules of admission to the ACB, especially the financial conditions, in order to make the club think twice about taking up a place next season, in which case Estudiantes would be allowed to stay on.

Canarias chairman Félix Hernández said this week he was aware of the speculation but would not let it deflect him from the task of preparing his club for ACB participation next year. In the meantime, he and his Board colleagues have been making sure the loyal fans can celebrate the historic Cup and league double in style.

Last night’s home game against Lobe Huesca saw Canarias presented with the championship trophy by the Spanish Basketball Federation even though the season has still one game to go.

Following the game, the party moved to the centre of La Laguna, where a special stage was erected for the players to share the celebrations with local fans.

◗Canarian ‘lucha’ wrestling is mourning the loss of one of its most famous figures. Pedro Perdomo, known by his nickname Perico, passed away this week after losing a long battle against illness. His funeral in Santa Cruz was attended by scores of past and present names from wrestling. Perdomo, who was originally from Furteventura, competed until the age of 60.

BASKETBALL

Veteran Yáñez calls time on long career ◗Veteran basketball player Nacho Yáñez has announced his retirement from the game after his record-breaking season with Iberostar Canarias.

Now 39, Yañez has decided not to try and play for another year despite the prospect of glamour games against Real Madrid and Barcelona. It is possible that he might stay on at the club in another capacity, however, according to insiders.

FOOTBALL

Big game interest prompts pay-perview warning ◗Massive interest in tonight’s league decider between Barcelona and Real Madrid has prompted pay-per-view channel Gol TV to step up checks to ensure bars have the required public viewing licence. 105 bars in the Canaries have already been disconnected by the channel for unlicensed screening.

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