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ECOLOGISTS STAGE DEMO

More than a thousand people took part in a mass demonstration in Calpe on Sunday against the planned construction of a residential zone in the Saladar district of the town.
The turnout greatly exceeded the expectations of the organisers, the Asociación Cultural Ecologista of Calpe (ACEC).
The demonstrators, carrying placards that read “No to the Saladar construction plan”, “Save the Salinas” and “Yes to reasonable expansion; No to uncontrolled development”, marched from Plaza de la Constitución to Plaza de Colón, where ACEC member and sociologist Jaime Ripoll thanked the demonstrators for their massive support.
The organisation is against the building of 2,200 houses, a 30-storey hotel, and apartment blocks, some of them high-rise, in El Saladar and around the salt flats.
The organisation is also calling for the salt flats to be included in the Peñón de Ifach Nature Park, which would guarantee the environmental protection of the area.


LOCAL WINDMILLS TO BE RESTORED

A congress is to be held in Javea on October 2 and 3 to discuss the restoration of the windmills in the Marina Alta region.
The congress, which is called ‘The Windmills of the Marina Alta’, will include talks by Ana Vasbinder, Javea’s Minister for Culture, Joaquim Bolufer, director of the Museo Arqueológico y Etnográfico ‘Soler Blasco’ in Javea, and UNESCO representative Fernando Redondo Benito.
Congress director, Luis Pablo Martínez, said that he hoped the discussions would achieve concrete objectives and not only deal with the technical aspects of the windmills, which are considered to be an important part of the cultural heritage of the area. The congress would bring together experts and possible sponsors who would hopefully draw up a plan of action for the restoration work, which will hopefully get underway next year.
The restoration project is to start with the most prominent windmills in the area, notably those in Pedreguer, Jesús Pobre, Calpe, Benissa and Javea.

DRUG TRAFFICKERS CAUGHT
Police in Teulada have arrested four men at a villa in Teulada which they believe the gang used as their base for drug trafficking operations.
Substantial amounts of cocaine, speed, ecstasy tablets, hashish and marihuana were found at the house, which is owned by one of the arrested men.
Police believe that the drugs were stored at the house before being distributed to suppliers in the vicinity.
Two pistols and an amount of cash were also found in a safe.
The Spanish nationals, who have been identified as Pedro L.B., Vicente M.B., Miguel R.C. and Tomás G.M., have been remanded in custody in Denia pending trial.
Police investigations are continuing to determine the supply route of the drugs to the arrested men, and also whether other people were involved in the operation.

NEW THEME PARK ON TRACK

Benidorm’s latest theme park, Terra Natura, has already started to contract staff in preparation for its scheduled opening in the autumn of 2003.
More than 200 employees, including persons specialising in the care of animals, as well as catering staff and entertainers, will be taken on to work at what is planned to be one of the top animal theme parks in Europe.
The sum of 36 million euros is being invested in the new park by the owners, textile group Colortex.
The theme park will recreate the habitat of around 200 different species of animals on a 32 hectare plot of land near Terra Mítica.
More than 1,500 animals will be housed in areas representing the different continents of the world and in enclosures where, unlike a traditional zoo, the barriers between the animals and the public will be invisible.
The park will also feature the largest reserve of Asian elephants in Europe.

TAXI DRIVERS TAKE ACTION
Benidorm radio taxi group reported three unauthorised taxis to police last weekend for taking visitors from their hotels in Benidorm to El Altet airport.
The three cars had British number-plates and were transporting British tourists.
President of the taxi drivers’ association, Joaquín García, said on Tuesday that this summer had seen a dramatic increase in the number of taxis operating illegally in Benidorm.
In July and August, police received reports about as many as thirty such vehicles.
Police are currently investigating whether the vehicles were in fact operating illegally or not.
According to García, some years ago there were as many as 300 taxis of this type operating in and around Benidorm, but during the last couple of years the practice had more or less disappeared.
This summer, the problem had recurred.
Local taxi drivers had a note of the registration numbers of the suspected vehicles and when they saw them picking up customers, reported the incident to police.
Business cards of illegal taxi drivers offering to take British tourists to the airport had also been found in the Rincón de Loix district of the town.
ALTEA JEWLLER´S RAIDED

Robbers broke into a jeweller’s shop in the centre of Altea on Wednesday morning and made off with jewellery valued at more than 60,000 euros.
The incident occurred at around 03.00 at the Arres jeweller’s opposite the town hall. The robbers wrenched open the security grille protecting the shop front, smashed the shop window and front door, and then grabbed as many items of value as they could.
Two men carried out the attack, which took less than three minutes, while a third man waited at the wheel of the getaway car. When the security guard from the Wanadoo call centre situated next door to the jeweller’s came out into the street to see what was going on, the robbers pointed a pistol at him. The robbers then fled at top speed in a light brown Lancia car that bore registration plates from Milan, Italy, moments before police arrived at the scene.
Police said that the robbers were a well-organised gang and that they also appeared to have known how far away the police were and how long it would take them to get to the shop after the alarm went off.