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August 4 – August 31, 2016 Active tourism
Summer special
Fine food
The Blues Brothers
High accident rate
Barbecue brilliance
Fifty five good reasons
Music, comedy & fun
Page 9
Pages 12 to 15
Page 20
Page 33
Critical endangerment
Angelshark anger
The angelshark, a critically endangered species of shark, has made the headlines in the Canaries recently – for all the wrong reasons. Due largely to overfishing, the angelshark (squatina squatina) has all but disappeared from Mediterranean and North Atlantic waters in recent times. However, the shark has found refuge in Canarian seas where a small population still exists, although they appear to be far from safe here based on two recent news stories that caused a stir.
Photo: Alianza Tiburones Canarias
Continued on page 2
Two endangered angelsharks were killed on the beaches of Las Teresitas and Las Canteras
Playa de Las Teresitas
Dreaming of a beautiful beach Tenerife’s capital city Santa Cruz is one step nearer to having the beach it deserves after a wait, and scandal, of many years’ length. Santa Cruz is already an excellent area for those who live there and its hundreds of thousands of visitors. There’s plenty to do, a great atmosphere, fabulous shops, and beautiful architecture. All it needs now, says local mayor José Manuel Bermúdez, is a beach that is worthy of its holiday haven status. The development of the city’s Las Teresitas beach has a long and complicated history, but Bermúdez and his associates are determined there should be a happy ending to the sad and sorry story. A shadow has hung over proposed improvements to Las Teresitas since plans for the area fell through in style, ending in one of the longest judicial sagas in the Islands’ history. The ongoing allegations of massive corruption involving the previous mayor, Santa Cruz officials, and well-known property developers have been running since 2001. Pro-
A beach oasis of greenery is to be built by Playa de Las Teresitas
ceedings have been passed through various courts, with another round expected to start in September. Accusations centre around ex-mayor Miguel Zerolo and various council cronies for wasting vast amounts of public money in buying up expensive tracts of land for the previous redevelopment project. The operation cost the council – and taxpayers – about €40 million. However, it later emerged that the land
was already in public hands but had been acquired by the accused developers after they supposedly received insider information on the upcoming seafront project. The ensuing legal battle has cost more than money – it has robbed residents and visitors of the new beach and surrounding leisure facilities that have been proposed for decades. However, the dream is not over.
In late July the mayor presented the latest plans to the public and press. Developed by the Gestur Company, they are based on earlier proposals by French architect Dominique Perrault. The project has an estimated cost of €30 million and expectations are high that it will receive initial approval by the end of this year. Continued on page two