No interest in the Hotel Byblos auction

Nobody turned up at the auction to sell off the Hotel Byblos Andaluz in Mijas yesterday, and that despite that the reserve price was set at 15.1 million €, estimated to be less than half the hotel’s real value.

The luxury hotel is owned by the troubled Aifos real estate developer and Mijas Ayuntamiento had organised the auction to collect a debt owed to it by the company. Aifos owes 1.2 million to Mijas in IBI and IAE taxes, and also find themselves implicated in the Malaya corruption case in Marbella.

The lack of a buyer now gives Mijas Town Hall the option to sell the hotel to whom they deem fit, and those who are interested in the sale now have six months in which to present their offers.

Source: www.typicallyspanish.com
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Calahonda bridge accident report

One of the two seriosly injured is making progress in hospital.

The driver of the crane which hit the pedestrian bridge in Calypso, Calahonda in July 08, leading to the collapse of the structure and resulting in two serious injuries, has said that he does not understand why the bridge came down.

The driver has told the Diario Sur newspaper that he noted a scraping sound as he went under the bridge, with coins on his dashboard rattling as a result, but did not know why the hook of his crane was in a lifted position. He was on his way home after a day’s work and says he was not even travelling at 60 kms/hour.

He asks the question how can such a contact bring down a bridge, and since the accident he has been doubting whether it would have been better if the bridge had fallen on him, rather than the two victims in the following car.

One of the two seriously injured in the Costa del Sol hospital in Marbella, the 47 year old, is now making progress, while the younger man, the 30 year old remains in a serious but stable condition.

Source: typicallyspanish.com

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THE CLUB LA COSTA SMILE MILE CHARITY RUN

THAT’S what Club La Costa’s charity, The Smile Foundation, is asking members, friends and staff to do this summer.

Wednesday 23rd July is the date set for the first SMILE MILE, set on a circular route of exactly one mile around the Club La Costa resort in Mijas Costa. It’s a charity fun run that anyone can enjoy, whether they want to run or simply walk a mile.

Event organiser and Smile Foundation Committee member Alastair Fitchett explains, “It’s five euros to enter and all proceeds will go towards the completion of the new ADIMI Hospital in Mijas*. It should be a spectacular night of fun for everyone.”

The run starts at 8pm and the official race starter will be none other than UK snooker legend, and star of TV´s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, Willie Thorne.

The five euro entry fee includes a Smile Foundation T-shirt for every participant. There’s no age limit and runners are encouraged to obtain individual sponsorship to help boost the fundraising efforts. The form is available for download on the website at www.clublacosta.com/smilemile.

Smile Foundation President Richard Fletcher says, “The Smile Mile is open to people of all ages, and is a run (or a walk) that can make a difference to so many less privileged children and their families here in southern Spain. While the run may not take long, we hope that everyone will stay to enjoy the various attractions, planned for the whole night.”

As part of the evening’s entertainment there will be a full bar, barbecue and live music. The organisers’ ambitious target is to have at least 1000 runners on the night, made up of guests staying on the resort, members of Club La Costa’s 1300-strong staff, as well as friends, relatives and local people from along the coast. In fact, everyone is welcome and even if they don’t want to run, they can still enjoy the party atmosphere.

Sponsorship forms can be downloaded from the website, along with the registration form and full details of the event at www.clublacosta.com/ smilemile.

“Run a mile, and make a difference”

* The Cruz Dias ADIMI Hospital Project is a brand new, state of the art, 3 million euro hospital (being built on land donated by the Ayuntamiento of Mijas) designed to provide 24 hour care and support for local families with disabled children.

The Smile Foundation is funding the entire hospital project from it´s own efforts and from generous donations. 100% of all monies raised goes directly to the charity.

www.clublacosta.com

Source www.euroweeklynews.com
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1.2 million for street improvements in Mijas

Seven Mayors signed an agreement with the Junta de Andalucía in the offices of Turismo Andaluz yesterday.
The President of the Junta de Andalucía, Manuel Chaves, met yesterday with the Mayors from seven municipalities of the Western Costa del Sol to seal the deal on the new ‘Qualifica’ plan which will see the investment of nearly 11 million € to improve tourism.

The agreement was signed in the offices of Turismo Andaluz with the Mayors of Torremolinos, Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmádena, Mijas, Manilva and Casares.

The idea is to better promote the Costa del Sol brand, with the Junta putting up 80% of the 11 million € funding.
Estepona will join the plan once the current problems in the municipality have been solved.

Among the projects included, 1.13 million for the redevelopment of Benalmádena pueblo, 1.85 million for the sports marina in Marbella, 1.61 million for the Paseo Marítimo in Torremolinos and 1.2 million for street improvements in Mijas.

Manuel Chaves described the program as a pioneer in innovation
‘We are a world power, and we have to work to affirm and strengthen this position of privilege’, he said.

Source: typicallyspanish.com

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Missing teen's family in Amber Alert petition

The aunt of a missing Dublin teenager is to present a petition calling for the implementation of a Europe wide ‘Amber Alert’ system.

Christine Kenny, whose niece Amy Fitzpatrick (16) has been missing since January 1st, will deliver the petition to the EU Commission’s office in Dublin today.

A majority of members of the European Parliament have signalled their support for the system, which would involved greater co-operation between countries when a child is reported missing, following a campaign by the parents of Madeline McCann to adopt the system across the EU’s 27 member states.

Sinn Féin MEP Mary Lou McDonald said today that implementing an EU wide alert system is essential if member states want to effectively tackle the abduction of children in Europe.

Ms McDonald urged French President Nicolas Sarkozy to prioritise the delivery of the system during the current French Presidency of the Union.

Amy Fitzpatrick was last seen leaving a friend’s house where she was babysitting in Calahonda near Mijas in southern Spain.

She lived in Donaghmede on Dublin's northside before she moved to Spain with her mother three years ago.
In April, Spanish police stepped up their search following the reported sighting of clothes Amy was wearing when she went missing. Civil guard teams with tracker dogs and backed by a helicopter combed the area for several days but failed to identify the exact spot where the clothes were believed to have been seen.

Earlier this month, Amy’s mother urged the international media and the Spanish authorities not to drop the case.
Audrey Fitzpatrick gave an interview to Spain’s EFE news agency in which she expressed her hopes that Amy will still be found.

She said she believed her daughter might be with “an older man” and probably left the country by car, despite not having her passport. She is convinced that, even though Amy may originally have “made plans” with the man, she is now being held against her will.

She asked for posters with Amy’s picture not to be taken down in case she might be recognised by people living in Spain or on holidays there. Local reports in Mijas had stated that many posters were being removed because of concerns expressed by the tourist industry.

The US Amber Alert system began in 1996 in Texas following the abduction and murder of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman.

Source irishtimes.com
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N340 footbridge collapses at Calahonda

Photo EFE



Image Source: MARI CARMEN JAIME / JOSELE-LANZA. 07/07/2008
Six people were hurt, two of them seriously, when part of a footbridge which goes over the N340 Motorway where it passes through Calypso, Calahonda collapsed this afternoon. The injured parties, one of whom is a child, have been taken to the Costa del Sol Hospital in Marbella.

It looks as if the bridge could have collapsed as a result of a crane lorry having impacted with it as it passed underneath. When the upper part of the bridge fell, it hit a car travelling on the road at which point another car crashed into the back of the first one.

See photos of the seen here

The accident took place at Calypso km 198 of the N340 Motorway at 4:50 p.m. and traffic has not been able to move in either direction since. Sources at the Andalucía 112 emergency service have informed SUR that the fire services and police officers as well as their own personnel are all currently working to relieve the situation.

The accident led to 30 kms tail backs, and complaints that the only other alternative route, the toll AP7 continued to charge for some time before tolls were finally lifted. The road itself was cleared and opened again for traffic at 1130 pm last night, after being closed for some six hours.

Update 08-07-08: Two people are still in hospital with serious face, neck and abdominal injuries as a result of being crushed by the concrete. Another women was suffering from multiple bruising and a couple and their child were given the all clear.

Source: www.surinenglish.com

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Google map photo of bridge here

Six months since the disappearance of Amy Fitzpatrick

Her mother Audrey said she was optimistic of finding her daughter alive.
Audrey Fitzpatrick, the mother of the 15 year old Irish girl who vanished from Calahonda, Mijas Costa on January 1 this year, said on Tuesday this week that she was optimistic of finding her daughter alive.

Speaking to the EFE news agency she said that at first the family and the police thought that she had run away, given that she was a teenager living in a place that she did not like, but now that possibility has passed.

Speaking on the six month anniversary of her daughter’s disappearance, Audrey made a fresh call to the media and the authorities to not forget the case and to keep posters and photos on display so that people visiting on holiday could see them.

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Costa del Sol marinas under attack in a Greenpeace report

The ecologist group has just published the eighth edition of their report on construction along the Spanish coastline.
Greenpeace has attacked the continued construction of marinas along the Andalucian coastline and named Mijas, Fuengirola and Vélez in their latest report against building along the Spanish coastline.

The updated report ‘Destrucción a toda costa 2008’ was published yesterday and says there has been a notable increase in ‘artificial areas’ in Andalucía.

The report attacks the plans to build a new marina at La Cala de Mijas, given that it is so close to Fuengirola where 650 new berths have just been added. Greenpeace says the La Cala plans, promised by the local Socialists, will damage marine diversity where European, African, Atlantic and Mediterranean species currently coexist.

The report also attacks plans to develop the port at La Caleta in Vélez-Málaga where they claim that specific species are under threat.

Andalucía comes out badly in the new report which also highlights the chemical pollution in Huelva and the Algeciras Bay and the ‘barbaric’ construction of the Algarrobico Hotel in Almería.