The Catalan Agency of Water has decided to increase the release of the water of the Darnius-Boadella reservoir so that farmers can water without restrictions. The reserves today are more than sufficient to assure a summer season with abundant water.

In Portbou, space was dedicated to the Democratic Memorial to the exodus of the exiled persons of the Spanish Civil War in the emblematic pass of Balitres, border point between Portbou and Cerbere.

In Rabos, representatives of the Public Work Department have visited the Monastery of Sant Quirze de Colera to see the state of the works. It is hoped to be able to open it to the public in the next few months.

In Llancà experts in explosives are searching some coves of Llancà looking for ammunition of the Civil War. A local resident located four howitzers and twenty-five anti-aircraft projectiles half-buried on the seabed between beaches of l´Arguilera and Grifeu.

Gastronomical days of the Fish of Palangre in Llancà. Since 2004 every year ten restaurants of Llancà offer menus with fish caught by line instead of net in Llancà. More than 1400 meals were served last spring.

The company Celler Espelt, of Vilajuïga, is among the 250 most dynamic companies of the country according to the department of Innovation, Universities and Business. Their sales grew over 20% annually between 2004 and 2007.

In Ventalló the group Save the Terraprim this past Sunday protested against the construction of a wind turbine park between the mountain range of Ventalló and Gran mountain.

Sant Martí d´Empúries (L´Escala) welcomes the second vitivinícola fair Arrels of Vi. A dozen warehouses with Denominaciò d´Origen Empordà participate this weekend in this vitivinícola fair presenting varieties of wines of the high range and new activities related to the vinícola culture.

The XII Fair of bread, flour and wheat is celebrated this Sunday the 31st of May in Castelló d´Empúries. During the day, the public will be able to taste bread of different types at the fair.

The users of the Barcelona-Portbou line return to protest the service of RENFE. They use handkerchiefs and adhesives with the image of a turtle as emblem and threaten undertaking more forceful actions starting in June.

The exhibition of paintings of Guerrero Angel can now be visited in the coffee shop of the Paris Hotel of the Rambla in Figueres.

Football Fever:  The Barcelona-Manchester football game will be shown live from Rome on a Jumbotron in Figueres on Wednesday, May 27th.  Different 2, a real estate company in Empuriabrava and Cafetó are sponsoring a huge projection screen.

The government has published in its bulletin of information their intention to repair the canals of Santa Margarida and the wharfs.  There will be an opportunity for public input.  The government estimates the routine costs to be about 60 million Euros which are principally the responsibility of the future concessionaire. This would signify the final financial responsibility of the beneficiaries, namely on the owners of anchorages in the canal. The concessionaire will act over the next few years to focus on renovating the critical parts of the canals, and thence to proceed to the entire project.

Castelló d’Empúries will pave the direct street connection between the old part of the town and Empuriabrava. During the construction work the passable stretch will be from C-260 and the traffic circle of Castelló Nou.

Roses begins a campaign to encourage the traders and the citizens to dispose their waste at the Sunday market in a correct and environmentally friendly manner.

In L'Escala the new weekly market location has been opened. Now the market is again directly by the sea, principally on plaça de l'Univers. About 90 traders set up stands every Sunday in the market.

The V FIRA D'INDIANS of Cadaqués begins on the 12th of June at 22 o'clock 30 with the motto “1900: un Americano a Cadaqués”.  There will be music from the Mediterranean area and Havaneras. The Fiesta will run until 14 June.

Llançà will arrange a bus to bring fans to the AC/DC concert at the Olympic stage of Barcelona on the 7th of June.  The bus will also stop in Figueres to pick up additional passengers.  The roundtrip cost will be 15 Euros.

In the cloister of Vilabertran the renovation of the rule hall and the lower floor began in the palace of the abbot. Once completed, probably in November, the rooms will serve public purposes.

On the 14th of June the Carrer major of La Jonquera will be the scene for a market of art and trade, from 9 to 20 o'clock.

Sant Climent Sescebes will organize on the 30th of May from 16 o'clock 30 a Paint ball session. The minimum age of the participant is 15 years.  The price for 150 balls is 20 Euros.

In Llançà beginning on the 28th of May will be the days of "Peix de Palangre," fish which was caught with the Palangre. The Palangre consists of a line and fishhook that is place on the seabed. In contrast to a towed net, the fish is not dragged along the seabed and the resultant fish are less stressed and of better quality and consistency. Most restaurants in the port will join in the campaign to offer special set fish menus.

Moped drivers can have their mopeds inspected on the 22nd of June by a mobile technical inspection (ITV) in the sector Sant Carles in Llançà. This inspection is required.  The check-up will cost 19 Euros.

The Diputació de Girona promises 400,000 Euros for the continuation of the renovation work on the emblematic building casino Menestral in the centre of Figueres. The work was interrupted in 2007 due to a lack of sufficient funding.

The Rambla of Figueres on the 21st of May will be the scene for "Festa del Joguet" where a group of about one hundred exhibitors and sellers will show their varied toy creations.

The show of swimming new boats in the harbour of L'Escala closed with a positive balance. The organizers expressed satisfaction with the quantity of visitors as well as the resultant sales.

The "Pla Especial de Cap de Creus" developed in 2006 is, according to a court order incorrect because he did not include the small village Vall de Santa Creu in Port de la Selva within the nature protection zone. The ministry of the environment is now considering how to remedy the situation.

In the harbour of Portbou they are still cleaning up after the destruction caused by the Christmastime storm. Two of the sunken boats were rescued as wrecks; a third one was declared lost because it had sunk in water too deep to justify recovery.

Figueres begins a new series of Catalan pop rock. The concerts will take place in the Molí de l'Anguila, on 15, 16, 23, 29 and 30 May. The entry costs will range from 5 to 10 Euros.

From the 16th to the 24th of May the hotel Xon in Empuriabrava (Castelló d'Empúries) will be the venue for a chess tournament (25è campionat de Catalunya). The organizers expect more than 100 participants.

Because of too much Spam in our mailbox, CapCreus online must periodically change our e-mail address. Now it is one of those times . . . our new address is shown in the left column, toward the top.

The  “Club Esportiu Europeen Loisirs et Pétanque” in Empuriabrava was given its own field by the municipality.   The new court is near the mouth of the Muga. The Pétanque game, also called "Boule", is not only the French national sport. Worldwide the Pétanque federations count more members than in the world’s football associations.

	The 17th of May is international museum day, and most museums in our region will offer free admission.
Ecocmuesu-Farinera, Castello d'Empuries

Roses installed in the traffic spinning top to Santa Margarida a diagram which appreciates the merits of the restaurant El Bulli around the promotion of Roses. The El Bulli has been chosen regularly during the last years by many publications and associations of the catering trade as the best restaurant of the world.

Roses offers student's groups discounts for cultural and sports activities.

Llançà organizes a full-day competition on the 31st of May, for amateur fishermen.

In the port of L'Escala the club Nàutic organizes until the 17th of May a new boats show. In the water are boats offered by five firms located in L’Escala. There are also five land-based tents to help describe the boats.

Soon the seafront of L'Escala will be back to its normal width.  While the needed work will not be completed, the construction activity will be stopped on the 15th of July and will recommence in September.

Cadaqués established a new general land-use plan (POUM).  The current POUM dates back to 1986.  The new plan’s goals for the municipality are to reduce urban growth, to maintain the picturesque character of the place and to promote it.

The exhibit "Porta del cap de Creus" with photographs of Yvonne Heinert in the citadel of Roses will continue until the 28th of June.

The specialist shop for amateur fishermen in Llançà, Casa de Pesca Eduard, will soon be offering its articles on a new on-line-shop.

“XII Megalithic May” will end on the 29th of May with food in the civic centre of Garriguella.

On Sunday, the 24th of May 2009 at 6 PM a Concert will take place in the church Santa Maria of Roses. Director Holger Stein presents the choir Miscel.lánia, along with choirs from Selva de Mar and Llers. The program will offer Catalan, Spanish as well as international songs. Everybody is welcome, and the admission is free.

Ventalló plans a joint project with the  "Federació Catalana d'Esquí Nàutic" to install a water-ski centre on its lake. The existing lake will be enlarged and a second lake will be developed. However, the project still needs administrative approvals. 

La Jonquera will organize on the 14th of June along its streets of the city centre the "Mostra d'Art i Comerç", a market with artistic and commercial products.

In Figueres the attractions of the "Fires i Festes de la Santa Creu" will remain on the fairgrounds one week longer than originally planned. The city hall decided on this time extension because the bad weather had attracted fewer visitors during the Fiesta.

Roses plans the construction of a congress centre in the sector Mas d'en Puig.  There will also be a commercial zone as well as a boarding school with a French high school.

On the 10th of May, beginning at ten o'clock, a rowing regatta of the Catalan league will take place on the bay of Empuriabrava.

In Llançà the friends of the Sardana will appear on the 10th of May in the Hermitage Sant Silvestre, for the XXX Aplec de Sant Silvestre. The event begins with a breakfast at 10 o'clock.

Castelló d'Empúries begins an informational campaign to remind dog owner of their responsibilities. An important goal is to have all owners remove their pet’s excrement from public streets and places.  After an introductory period there will be a penalty of 100 euro for those failing to comply.  Owners of dogs registered in the municipality will receive a free kit for the disposal of excrement.

L'Escala will be the Sardana Capital in 2010 (Ciutat Pubilla del in 2010).  The last time this honour was in the Alt Empordà was in 1991 when Llançà was the Capital.

The city hall of Roses plans to provide a transportation service to the airport Girona. At the moment it is negotiating with bus enterprises and with services interested in attracting air travellers, such as hoteliers etc.

The camping site Laguna in Empuriabrava received the top recognition -- 5 stars -- from the German camping club.

L'Escala celebrates the memory of his forefathers with a traditional Greek-Roman party from the 1st to the 10th of May.  The focus of the “XIV Fira Grecoromana triumvirate Mediterrani” will be the food of the Roman epoch. A part of the Fiesta will be a simulation of a Roman military camp. 

The V FIRA D'INDIANS of Cadaqués on 12 June will use the motto "un Americano a Cadaqués ".

	Roses and the Southern French town of Céret signed an arrangement for the two city halls to collaborate.  The first contact will be a program for youngsters of both places between the ages of 12 and 15 years.
Céret

In Llançà a 31-year-old inhabitant was arrested and charged with three break-ins of private houses. He had, in each case, broken a window with a stone, had entered the house and had stolen small electrical appliances.

The journalist Marga Figueras received, in Cadaqués, the Carles Rahola award for the article "L'última gent salada" published on the 28th of November in the newspaper Presència.

The harbour of Llançà will add a new protection dock to shield the harbour facilities and the fishing cooperative auction hall from storms. At Christmastime last year the protection proved useless against a strong "llevante" with meter-high waves. Various plans were considered, including maybe moving the hall to another location.  Finally the ministry of the environment has decided on the new dock.  There are additional approvals needed, from many agencies, before construction can commence.

The courts has levied a fine of 4,860 Euros and 3,5 years of prison for the real estate agent Thomas Höffken from Roses. In 2001 Höffken sold an apartment in Santa Margarida, but failed to deliver the proceeds to the sellers.   First he offered bad checks.  Then, the arrangement was arbitrated by the peace judge of Roses whereby the broker agreed to pay the money due, plus interest within ten months. Nevertheless, the seller was not paid.

The government has passed new regulations of the Llei de l'Habitatge (apartment law). This defines apartments, which are not constantly occupied, but are rented temporarily to tourists, as "habitatges d'ús turístic", apartments for tourist use.  These apartments must be registered by the municipalities. The municipalities must assure that the apartments meets the minimum requirements, and will then issue a "licencia municipal" which is required before renting. The municipalities are not pleased with these new tasks because they do not have the infrastructure for such a large administrative task.

The union of citizens and businessmen of L'Escala encouraged the city hall to renovate the streets Roca Maura, l'Església, Pintor Mascort, Eivissa, Víctor Concas and avinguda de Roma – but the projects are now on “hold.”  The association argues that because of the economic crisis the extra taxes due for this are not reasonable.

The Fiesta mayor of Figueres, "Fires i Festes de la Santa Creu" (until the 3rd of May) is a little simpler than in prior years.  Bad weather hampered the few attractive programs and the fair must get by with a budget 40% smaller than originally planned.

Llançà will organize on the 1st of May a full-day competition for sports fishermen.

Every 20th of April of the year the Restaurant Magazine published in Freemason's Hall of London presents the list of the best restaurants in the world (The World's 50 Best restaurants, see  http://www.theworlds50best.com/2009_1_50.html).  The top winner, for the fourth time in a row is the El Bulli in Roses.  In addition the Celler de Can Roca in Girona was the largest climber, moved up to fifth place.  Thus, two of the five best restaurants in the World are in the province of Girona  . . . right in our back yard.   There has been increasing media awareness of Spain, and Catalonia has been touted as the new gastronomic centre of the world

The comment period to voice objection to the new land-use plan of Roses (POUM) has ended.  The city hall received 206 comments.

Roses will invest 5.2 million Euros in the rebuilding its old city hall and the construction of a civil centre at the riera Ginjolers. Urban services will be relocated to the old city hall.  The new civil centre will house the tourism office.

The government administration has developed the "Mapa Eòlic Marí", a map of Spain, which describes where the installation of wind generators on the sea is possible and meaningful, and where it is not.  The Costa Brava is included in the favourable areas, but not the region around the Cap de Creus.

Long-distance calls from the landline, to and from countries of the EU have become cheaper, once again, for users of the Call-by-Call service.  During the day on weekdays the conversations will cost 5 cents per minute, between 18 and 20 o'clock 3.5 cents, and from 20 o’clock to 8 o'clock, as well as all day on Saturdays and Sundays the cost per minute will be only 2.9 cents.

Anyone with a Spanish e-mail address should not be surprised to receive messages, supposedly from banks, which asks the recipient to reveal accounts data. These spam messages should be moved to trash, or you will risk losing all your money in that account.

The fishing cooperatives of the province Girona are seeking a regulation change concerning the catching of anchovies. Up to now “anxoves" over 9 cms in length may be marketed. The fishermen want the minimum size increased to 11 cms, to allow the species to regenerate.

The artificial lake of Portbou will be administered in future by the "Agència Catalana de l'Aigua." Heretofore the administration has been by the municipality. The small reservoir is currently losing about 30 thousand litres of water per day and, so needs urgent repairs.

In L'Escala the seafront repair work of the Christmas storm damage is progressing quickly.  At the old "Passeig" only minor evidence of the damage still exists.

	The marathon run in L’Escala (3rd of May) starts and ends at the excavations of Empuries. The organizers expect at least 1000 participants.
Empuries

The American actor John Malkovich opens on the 18th of July at the  “festival Castell de Peralada, “ with a lyrical evening, accompanying musically works by Vivaldi, Mozart and Beethoven.

The foundation Fundació Mar in Begur estimates that between the Cap de Creus and Sant Feliu de Guíxols about 30 and 40 leisure boats sink each year.  However, a wreck is not always the cause. Many boat owners are scuttling their unwanted boats to save the cost, and then reporting the loss as an accident to collect the insurance proceeds.  The trend is increasing, but the ability to prove the reason for the “accidental loss” is unlikely because of the high cost of raising a boat that has sunk.

Cap de Creus

On the 24th of April at 20 o'clock the citadel opens the exhibit "Roses: Porta del Cap de Creus" with photographs by Yvonne Heinert.

Bad weather depressed the mood of the holidaymakers during the Easter holidays. Rain and blasts of wind, overcast sky and temperatures around 10 degrees saddened the many tourists who had hoped for sunny skies, and they tended to leave Costa Brava early -- again. So, the end-of-holiday traffic in the direction of Barcelona and France on Easter Monday was very quiet. However, there were beneficiaries of the weather; the ski areas in the Pyrenees were beckoning. They enjoyed snow, instead of rain, and many of the hotels were booked up.

	One Good Friday, in the small town of Garriguella (731 inhabitants in 2006) the rain was better, it was raining money!  At the blind person's lottery ONCE 10,830,000 Euros was won by many of the town’s inhabitants.  48 of them each won 35,000 Euros, one person won 150,000 Euros, and the lion's share, 9 million Euros, was won by the happiest inhabitant in town.
Garriguella

At the fair for used boats in Empuriabrava 78 boats were sold. The buyers were interested either in small boats or big yachts, but the mid-level boats, priced between 40 and 70 thousand Euros mostly failed to find a new owner.

The towns of Cadaqués, Puigcerdà, Sitges and Vielha-Mijaran founded a new tourist association "Viles amb Personalitat" (towns with personality). They want an affiliation with the association to be seen as a seal of a quality tourism destination.

	The gallery Marges-U in Cadaqués will show until the 24th of May an exhibit of works by the artist Rafael Bartolozzi (1943 - 2009). Bartolozzi had lived, from time to time, since the sixties, in Cadaqués where he met his wife Núria Aymamí.  He unexpectedly died in March of this year.
Rafael Bartolozzi

 The Can Laporta in La Jonquera will exhibit from 20 April until the 3rd of May the work of the painter and sculptor Jordi Gispert.

In Cadaqués work has began to remove many exotic plants from Portlligat.  These invasive non-native plants are a serious threat to the eco system of the Mediterranean coast.

The "Centre Cultural Sant Domènec" in Peralada is now presenting the exhibit "La costura a mà i a màquina", a collection of historical sewing machines, until the 3rd of May.

After four months of modernization work the watercolour museum has re-opened in Llançà. One change is the installation of a new lighting system with halogen lamps, which reduce the reflections on the protective glass in front of the watercolours.

The fountain at the park in front of the railway station in Figueres is again in operation.  The renovation includes a re-circulating water system.

In Cadaqués the damage from the 26th of December storm have been removed. Also, the boat washed onto the beach has been taken away.

The fishermen of the province Girona caught 12.058 metric tons of fish during 2008, 25% less than in the year before. The decline was partially compensated by higher prices.  The best selling harbour was Roses.

The city hall in L’Escala estimates that the cost to reorganize the seafront will be about 10 million Euros. According to the plans the new "Passeig" will be moved about three meters further from the sea and will be 500 meters long.

L'Escala offers a reduced parking rate during the summer months for his citizens at parking spaces (zona blava).  The special rate of one Euro per day is only available to persons with residence in L'Escala who also pay taxes for residential property or have registered a vehicle.

Last weekend about 20 dolphins romped around the Cap de Creus.

The committee for Urbanism in Girona approved the special land-use plan for the centre of Cadaqués. This plan specifies what will be permitted to be built in the future and what cannot be built, with a strong emphasis on the preservation of the historical feel of the town.

The Patronat de Turisme, together with Turespaña have developed an international advertising campaign for the Costa Brava, with pictures from Monells, Calella de Palafrugell ¸ illes Medes and the beach Aigua Xelida in the Baix Empordà as well as Tossa de Mar in la Selva. Our region, the Alt Empordà, is represented only by Portlligat in Cadaqués. The campaign is funded with a budget of 600,000 Euros.

L'Escala adjusts its city centre on Good Friday the cross way for Jesus scenically, with 90 participants, and 8 scenes. The event begins on Plaça de l'Església with the condemnation of Jesus.

After a number of break-ins, Colera has engaged a private security service, which should help assure safety.  However the "departament d'Interior" has informed the city hall of Colera that this is not permitted. Private security services may operate only on private land, but may not patrol on the streets. Now, Colera is considering their options, including a local police force.

One result of the real-estate crisis is an increased demand for rental apartments.  And, because the demand rises the prices have remained relatively stable. In Catalonia an apartment costs, on average 908 Euros per month, but this is skewed by the rates in Barcelona, which are very high. In Figueres the average rent is 608 Euros per month.  The most expensive apartments in the Alt Empordà are in La Jonquera, with rent exceeding 1,000 Euros per month.

A private investor intends to establish a leisure park in L’Escala near the camp dels Pilans on 8.337 square meters. The city hall has already given the green light for the project.

The small, direct street between Castelló d'Empúries and Empuriabrava is closed top traffic during the next months because of construction work on the bridge over the Mugueta.

The Sunday market of L'Escala returns at the middle of the next month, directly by the sea, between Plaça de l'Univers and the end of the Passeig de Mar.

From the Easter week until the summer the tourism information in the Port de Llançà parking lot is opened on the weekends, from 10 to 14 h and from 16 a 19h.

The music festivals of the Empordà have announced their programs. Despite the economic pressures the majority of the festivals have not made any significant modifications, at least not any diminishment that would be painful for the audience. Peralada, for example, will operate with the identical budget as last year.  Still the Peralada sponsors express some caution, and at the same time have increased the number of concerts what might generate some additional income. The successful program structure of the past few years will not be changed from its mixture of classical, opera, jazz and pop, but this year there will be added emphasis on Catalan songwriters of the Nova Cançó, with interpreters such as Xavier Baró, Dani Flaco, Ester Formosa, to Sílvia Comes and Miquel Gil.

Peralada

Similarly the Cadaqués will not make significant changes. The program will begin, as usual, on the 1st of August and will be comprised of 9 official concerts. Because the festival has made a few spatial and artistic changes last year, this year will be more of the same.

Roses has declared the olive grove Gran Vila as a new urban Green zone. The area between the streets Arquímedes and Almogàvers had been bought from the municipality some months ago. The first works to restore the area have already begun.

In Castelló d’Empúries more than 400 pets, mostly cats, were sterilized during a three-day free program by the Associació Comerç de Castelló and per Gat i Gos Ampuria.

The strong storms at Christmastime last year allowed scientists to learn more about the many galley hulls that are hidden under the sea.  So far more than 200 objects from the Phoenician time up to Roman epoch have been registered, in Roses, Sant Martí d'Empúries, L’Escala and illes Medes in L'Estartit. It is planned to digitize the "Bahía" as a three-dimensional map to mark the findings.

In the cloister Santa Maria de Vilabertran restoration has again begun.  This phase will deal with the rule hall with its special Gothic architectural elements.

After this summer the renovation of the building l'Alfolí de la Sal begins in L'Escala will be available for cultural purposes.

The prices of existing apartments fell in the first trimester of the year in Catalonia by about 1.8%.  On average, the price is about 3,017 Euros per square meter. In the province Girona only Empuriabrava (+1.8%) and Llançà (+0.1%) were able to counter this trend.

The local budget of Cadaqués will be 7.3 million Euros this year, 16.96% more than for the prior year.  This increase became necessary because Cadaqués needs urgent renovation work on the street along the sea, which had been partially destroyed during the Christmas storms. However, the 1, 3 million Euros necessary for this, is taken over to the majority from other administrations.

Colera has opened, after eight months of renovation work, its social centre El Trull. There older or handicapped persons can be better served and in the hot months there will be air-conditioning.   

The mayor of Figueres, Santi Vila, announced during the Fira Gust on the Rambla the new plans for the former slaughterhouse. Soon, the building will serve to introduce food products of the Empordà and to provide for their commercialization.

The sales of properties within the new industrial area of Roses in the street to Vilajuïga were delayed about three months until June because some modifications of the plans still had to be completed. Then, plots will be offered which are smaller than originally planned and correspondingly less expensive.

The "Culinary Institute of America", the most important American cooking school has elected Ferran Adriá (El Bulli, Roses) as the chef of the year. Adriá will receive, during a gala in New York, the "Augie", named in honour of the French master's cook Auguste Escoffier (* 28th October, 1846 in Villeneuve-Loubet; † 12th February, 1935 in Monte Carlo), once named  “the cook of the emperors and the emperor of the cooks.”  His book "Guide Culinaire" is regarded as the basis for all 20th century cooking.

Auguste Escoffier

The concert by the Catalan songwriter Joan Manel Serrat in the theatre of Figueres on the 1st of May is nearly sold out.

Now, after thirty years of dispute Torroella de Montgrí and L'Escala agreed on their duties and responsibilities concerning the beach Cala Montgó. The beach lies on the border between the Alt and the Baix Empordà and belongs geographically to both places. Therefore, Torroella de Montgrí will be responsible for the cleaning of the beach and its security. L'Escala will provide the cleaning of the parking lot and the seafront, and provide security and will organize a weekly market.

The temporary fish auction room, installed in portable buildings in the port of Llança, has begun operation. Now the 80 fishermen of Llançà no longer have to go to the auction room in Port de la Selva to sell their catches.

The foundation Gala Salvador Dalí ended 2008 with a profit of 4.2 million Euros. Its income came from royalties and visits (1.274.554) to the three museums of the Dalí triangle (Figueres, Púbol and Cadaqués).

The Ecomuseu-Farinera in Castelló d'Empúries is holding an exhibition entitled "Terra d'aigua, vent i cereals. Els molins fariners de l'Alt Empordà" (Land of water, wind and cereals: the corn mills of the Alt Empordà) until the 31st May.

L'Escala is calling on the environment ministry to reduce the area of the planned nature reserve "Montgrí, Illes Medes i Baix Ter" by about 290 hectares. Its concern, on this occasion, is an area to the east of L'Escala currently used for agriculture.

The marina at Roses has begun a campaign "Soc sostenible" (I respect the environment) directed at boat owners and other users of the marina not to dump waste in the sea.

Sant Pere Pescador has opened a new post office at c. del Carme, 10-12. Full disabled access has been incorporated.

In Colera eight robberies have taken place in only two weeks. The thieves have taken furniture, an inflatable boat, a boat engine and looted the money from a slot machine in a bar. As a result, the local council of Colera has decided to engage a private security firm.

The Pro Gat i Gos association from Castelló d'Empúries has provided a free cat sterilisation service for three days. Per Gat i Gos was founded in 1993 and since then has taken care of stray pets, especially cats and dogs. The association is financed from private donations.

L'Escala is now definitely going to build an underground multi-storey car-park under the Plaça de Catalunya; work on it will begin after the summer.

12 oarsmen and women from the club Xon's Rem Empuriabrava have been selected for the Catalan national rowing team.

Last year, 8,884 residential units were sold in Girona province. 28% of the buyers came from Barcelona, and 1,372 apartments changed hands with foreign owners. Coastal properties were particularly sought; Roses on this occasion was the front-runner with 565 units.

The week after Easter, work will start on demolishing the 443 bungalows still standing at  the former Club Med site at Cadaqués. The work will take at least a year, but will be suspended during the summer months.

Roses is undertaking a thorough renovation of the old part of the town. The work will last until 2013. Part of the cost of 8.6 million euros will be financed by a subsidy through the Llei de Barris to the tune of 4.31 million euros.

The Gala Salvador Dalí Foundation in Figueres has acquired a new building, which on completion will accomodate the management. This will free up space in Torre Galatea square for the enlargement of the Dalí museum.

Tuna may no longer be caught by amateur fishermen on the Catalan coast. The people affected, however, do not agree at all with this new order. They admit that the tuna is a threatened species; however, they point out that their catch, which amounts to 0.006% of the professional total is vanishingly small in comparison. Negative economic consequences of the order are also forecast, because many tourists visit our region for the tuna fishing.

To date, more than 2,000 residents of Empuriabrava have submitted their responses in protest to the establishment of a public zone along the canal sides. Now the committee for the Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries has added its voice to the proceedings. It is suggesting to the Spanish state that the plans be frozen because of the enormous social and economic consequences, with more than 5,000 people being affected. This means that there is still no clear solution; however, all those involved have been assured that no existing canalside structures will be demolished.

The council of Castelló d'Empúries has installed new public benches for relaxation at 20 noteworthy or useful points in Empuriabrava.

The government is inspecting food and drink establishments in the region regarding their use of the Catalan language within the scope of a campaign of information. The law intends that in every establishment at least one employee understands Catalan, although he or she need not be able to speak the language. Also the menus and the complaints book must exist in Catalan.

Roses town council has dissolved the Roses Historia i Natura to take over its work. The council has done this with the aim of more financial transparency and better management. The opposition does not agree with this decision. Among other criticisms, it points out that this change prevents the receipt of private donations and the previous exemption from value-added tax.

Castelló d'Empúries is working to improve the "zona de la Musclera". This area of the canal area of Empuriabrava was in a state of neglect.  It is now thoroughly cleaned.

On Plaça la Palmera in Figueres Max Rubert presents "Marsyas", ten big pictures related to Figueres as the Catalan cultural capital of 2009.

Cadaqués will recall its long history with Cuba on the 6th June with V FIRA D'INDIANS.

Cadaqués will build a new bus station on 3,000 square meters surface at the entrance to the village. It should be finished for the 2010 season. Then Cadaqués will be the smallest place of Catalonia with its own bus and railway station. The new railway station twist, however, is in someone’s imagination.

In L'Escala the seafront is being repaired from the huge storm damage that occurred on 26 December of last year. The work is expected to be completed by the summer season.  The project’s cost, as estimated by the city hall will be about 3.7 million Euros. By the beginning of May the weekly market will be able to return to the  "passeig".

Rabòs will move its old cemetery to a new location outside of the village.  Archaeologists expect to learn more about the medieval church Sant Julià de Rabòs that was on the land occupied by the cemetery.

The 17è festival de jazz de Figueres begins on the 28th of March with the New York standards quartet.  The final concert will be on the 1st of May on the Rambla.

Roses wishes to establish itself as a centre for smaller to mid-sized congresses.

Figueres has completed its electric bus’ trial period and has brought the vehicle into normal operation.  The bus is the first of its kind in Catalonia. The bus is not only environment-friendly; it also spares the city branch. It costs only 7.50 Euros, until the batteries are charged for one day.

In the small town of Palau saverdera (6 km from Roses) a different kind of storm is brewing: the city hall has written to 42 mostly foreign owners of apartments in the Sun Village and asked them to approve their buildings being torn down at their expense, within six months. The history: the ground of the Sun Village was only approved by the town’s architectural planning board for the construction of a hotel, but not approved for the construction of condominiums.  Nevertheless, 42 high-quality residential units were built.  They gained permission to build by the city hall. In this respect the buyers acted in good faith when they bought their apartments.  The transaction was completed by the notary and the deed was properly registered.  After the discovery of the discrepancy the affair was considered by several court authorities, until the uppermost court of Catalonia (TSJC) definitively declared that the Sun Village must be razed, because the urbanization conditions had not been met. Since then the city hall of Palau saverdera has attempted to prevent this -- in vain. Now, the owners are reacting to the destruction by demanding that the city hall pay them 12,6 million Euros in compensation, which is the value of the apartments at the time of the judgment by the TSJC, three years ago.

In France the 100th edition of the restaurant guide Guide Michelin has been published. For this occasion the publishing house published a jubilee edition in which all the three-star restaurants of the world are listed. In Catalonia the Michelin 3-star restaurants are El Bulli (Roses), Can Fabes (Sant Celoni) and Carme Ruscadella-Sant Pau (Sant Pol de Mar)

The town library of Roses ended the year 2008 with a very positive status. The library attracted 13% more readers than in the prior year, and nearly 40% of the citizens of Roses are members of the library.

The mayors of the region and the police are concerned about a significant increase of property crimes.  They assume that the increase is related to the economic crisis. The culprits are very often persons who were here-to-fore not involved in crime. Their motives are simply economic need.

In La Jonquera a park with seventeen wind generators will be developed between "coll del Portell" and "coll de Panissars". The firm Windmaster had begun this project ten years ago; in the intervening years the administrations have declared that the wind generator park was a public necessity. The owners of the affected property have been informed that their land will be expropriated.

A new regulation requires that mopeds in Catalonia must have periodic technical inspections (ITV). This applies to all mopeds over three years of age.  To facilitate the inspection process, since mopeds rarely venture as far as the ITV facility in Vilamala or Girona, the ITV will offer mobile control units that will come to a place nearer the moped’s home base.

The small street between Castelló d'Empúries and Sant Pere Pescador is the street on which more traffic accidents with animals occur than any other in Catalonia.  Collisions occur with horses, deer and wild boars, in that order.  Officials of the natural park Aiguamolls that borders the street as well as other administrative jurisdictions have tried in the past --  without appreciable success -- to prevent the accidents.  Now the Mossos D'Esquadra (police) will try to sensitize the road users of the dangers. Temporary radar checks will also be installed to control the speed of the traffic.

Aiguamolls

Roses advertises its cultural program on three square advertising pillars, which are located at Plaça Catalunya, Plaça del Teatre and Plaça Llevant

The centres for primary care medical assistance (CAP) in Peralada and Portbou reduce the visit times.  Anyone who needs help in Peralada during the night, on weekends or holidays must turn to the urban hospital of Figueres. In Portbou the CAP of Llançà is responsible after 15 o'clock for medical emergencies.

The American wine guru Robert Parker published his annual list of (113) best Spanish wines.  Within the ranking by the critic are wines from the DO Empordà, the Martí Fabra Selecció Vinyes Velles, 2005, by the wine producer's Martí Fabra in Sant Climent Sescebes. Martí Fabra's wines are rarely found in local retail establishments.  It is recommended that one should visit the winery.

Ryanair will probably close their airport counters for check in.  If a traveller has only hand baggage they must check in via the Internet.  The only Ryanair counter will be for checked baggage.  Ryanair will save some expense.  Currently only every fifth Ryanair passenger uses the airport check in.  The others bring only hand luggage and complete the registration process on Ryanair’s easy to use web page.

L'Escala will completely rearrange its tourism office in Riells.  During the summer the tiny 5 square meter office attracts throngs of visitors. Soon there will be a better facility with 60 square meters.

Roses will re-numbers some of its houses.  In the past the addition of a new building resulted in an inconsistent numbering pattern.  The first street to be subjected to the remedy will be the Gran via Pau Casals with its 96 buildings.

Roses has included in its new land-use plan (POUM) a leisure area to be established behind the citadel. There should, according to the interest of local enterprises, be various leisure offerings including some a fairground stands.

In Empuriabrava the first work has begun, and during the next few weeks the beach La Rubina will again be pushed back into a better condition.  However, for the time being the improvements will be limited and will not bring everything back to its former shape. For caravan and motor homes there will not be any space on La Rubina, as there had been, previously.

To mitigate the building trade crisis construction is planned, almost everywhere, for publicly financed apartments.  Even small towns such as Boadella and Les Escaules have joined the trend, as they build four apartments, which will be offered for a moderate rent.  The secondary benefit will be that these subsidized apartments may encourage young residents to remain in their small towns.

The state government granted Castelló d'Empúries 1.881.208 Euros to subsidize the fund for local investments. Thus 14 projects are to be promoted and it is expected that they will eventually employee 21 out of work citizens.

Good news for beer drinkers: a study of the university Granada proves that after strenuous sports activities three quarters of a litre of beer is needed to replenish the body.

The tourism office of Port de la Selva has been moved from the city hall to Carrer Illa, number 13, near the post office. Also the phone number has changed: 972 387 122.

The tourism trade of the Costa Brava is preparing itself for a meagre season.  The estimate is based upon the expectations of holidaymakers from Spain itself.  Last year the tourists from within Spain fell by 5%. According to a survey by the Internet travel portal Trivago the majority of the Spaniards (85%) want to be more economical in their holiday travel during 2009.  And the other 15% plans not to travel.

Even the airport in Girona is beginning to feel the economic pinch, in spite of the really low-cost Ryanair flights, which is the major carrier at the airport. For the first time in a very long time the airport has reported a decrease in passenger traffic; in January of this year the activity was about 14% less than last January.

	In Llançà  “club d'Amics de Sau” recalls the pop singer Carles Sabater who died ten years ago. The very popular singer had lived for a long time in Llançà.
Carles Sabater

In spite of the tense economic situation Roses has plans for 2009 to modernize its streets and walking track.  The areas affected are in the downtown as well as the urbanizations. The planned work should cost about 1.6 million Euros; 1.35 millions will be financed by subsidies of the state.

The city hall of L'Escala has forced the removal a large advertising board between the Carrer Empúries and the Ronda Pedró. This sign had been installed by an advertising firm on a private property without the necessary approvals from city hall. Because the advertising firm refused to remove the sign, the city hall arranged for the removal.  The city hall has sent the bill to the advertising firm.

The exile museum (MUME) in La Jonquera offers every last Sunday of the month at 11 o'clock a free guided tour. One should make a reservation at the phone number 972556533 or by e-mail (info@museuexili.cat).

The tax authorities plan to prosecute all owners of illegally built huts or residential units within the nature reserves Cap de Creus or Aiguamolls.  Penalties can be imprisonment for one year or more as well as fines between 2,700 and 4,800 Euros.

The club Nàutic of L'Escala will organize between 9 and 17 May an exhibition of new boats in the water. Space is planned for 25 boats up to 12 meters and place for 5 tents on land with 750 square meters of display space.

	The “Ports de la Generalitat” named Joan Pere Darbra to be responsible for the harbours of North Catalonia. Specifically he is responsible for the ports of Llançà, Port de la Selva, Roses, L’Escala, L’Estartit, Palamós, Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Blanes.

Since the high-speed train TAV connects Barcelona with Madrid, the night train “Estrella Costa Brava” from Portbou to Madrid is being used much less. However, the railroad company Renfe assures us that the Estrella Costa Brava will continue to operate, despite rumours to the contrary. The train from Portbou to Madrid takes eight hours and is much cheaper than the TAV.

The opposition party ERC presented to the city hall of Pont de Molins 200 signatures of citizens who do not agree with the new land-use plan. The plan will allow the number of inhabitants of Pont de Molins to grow to 1900 by 2017.

Roses wants to study its future vis-à-vis the tourism trade. The city hall has advertised for a firm to conduct the study.

Japan invited the best chefs of the world to participate in the culinary forum Tokyo Taste. The Spanish participants are Ferran Adriá (El Bulli, Roses), Juan Mari Arzak and Andoni Luis Aduriz.

Currently there are 44.735 persons on the jobless rolls in the province Girona. However the labour office (SOC) can only identify 139 job opportunities. Also, the transport trade is suffering from the economic crisis. Of the 3000 truckers in the province Girona about one quarter are idle because there is not enough work.

At the moment the government is debating plans on how to support the fishing trade. One of the suggestions is that the fish boats may only go out four days per week. This could apply to all of Catalonia. The plan is based on a reduction of the supply of fish to increase in the price. Most of the fishermen of the region have review the proposed plans and remain sceptical. They note that bad weather, especially when there is a Tramuntana, has often prevented their fishing and yet they cannot recall auctions resulting in higher prices because of the decreased supply.

Because the concert by the Australian group AC/DC in Barcelona on 31 March was promptly sold out, a second concert has been set for the 7th of June, in the Olympic stadium, with a capacity of 60,000 persons. The tickets are 65 Euros. Llançà and Port de la Selva are jointly offering a bus for this concert at a price of 15 Euros.

The track for the high-speed train between Perpignan and Figueres is complete. When trains will run along this track remains an uncertainty.  The earliest date, however, would be in 2010. On the route passenger trains and freight trains will be able to run at a maximum speed of 350 km/h.

 The country road C-31 between Ventalló, Torroella de Fluvià and Vilacolum is being widened along 16 kilometres of roadway.  The road construction activities are already in operation.

Figueres has begun using the first electrically powered bus in Catalonia. At the moment the vehicle is only in the test phase.

Sant Climent Sescebes plans the construction of a thermal bath.

The state funds dedicated for local investment are expected to create about 2600 new jobs in the province of Girona. Girona will gain 650 positions and Figueres will gain 117 positions.  Also, some of the smaller towns will feel the benefit, such as Roses (114) and L’Escala (75).

Ryanair announced that on its flights the hand luggage limitation of 10 kilos would be strictly enforced.  Overage will cost 30 Euros.

In Cadaqués the "Servei Maritims de Cadaqués" has been established. This agency will administer the renting of buoys and the resolution of questions pertaining to the underwater world. The service acts as an independent agency within the city hall government structure. Its membership is made up of council members.

The city hall of Castelló d’Empúries planned to equip the nightclub zone Els Arcs in Empuriabrava with surveillance cameras to provide better security.  It seems that all parties were in agreement, but the plan was rejected by the "Departament d'Interior", because, they felt that the cameras were intrusive of the public’s privacy.  The city hall fails to understand this reasoning since surveillance cameras have been installed at many other similar public places.

The French and the Spanish state jointly plan the creation of a maritime protection zone to extend from the south of France up to the Cap de Creus – an area of 10,000 square kilometres. Indeed the project still is its infancy and will only become a reality if the local stakeholders, such as the federations of fishing cooperatives and diving schools, can accept the scheme.

The committee for town planning in Girona has stopped, at least for the time being, plans to build a five-star hotel, with five floors, at the entrance to Empuriabrava.

Sant Pere Pescador and the neighbouring town l'Armentera are now connected to the sewage system from L’Escala. Up to now both places had treated their wastewater and dumped it into the riu Fluvià.

The night bars of Castelló d'Empúries, L’Escala, el Port de la Selva, Llançà, Roses and Cadaqués have applied to the government to be allowed to open their establishments with longer hours during Easter and the summer months.

In Roses the streets Mimosa, Els Grecs and Aristòtil will be renovated during the next ten months. They will be asphalted, new road lighting will be installed and cables will be placed underground.

The exile museum in La Jonquera plans to commemorate the seventy years of the exile from the Spanish civil war with seven exhibits and twenty festival acts.

The president of the fishing cooperative of Roses, Antoni Abad, was elected president of the umbrella organization of the fishing cooperatives in Girona. He succeeds Antoni Negre from Llançà who had had held this office for the past five years.

The repair or reorganization of the seafront of Cadaqués should cost 3.4 million Euros and last about six months. This project scope will include the streets along the sea; about 700-meter in length, as well as the seawall, which is 200-meter in length.

The government invests 5 million Euros for the improvement of the water supply of the Alt Empordà. The waterworks from Peralada to La Jonquera supply six municipalities from two wells, and another four wells will serve Garriguella, Vilajuïga and Pau with four wells. Colera will also get three new wells.

Figueres will improve its sports complex near the hospital to include an outdoor swimming pool and a covered basin.

The military bunkers within the limits of La Jonquera have been declared a cultural asset with local interest (BCIL). These fortifications had been built shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish civil war and are also known as the “Line P”.

The restaurant El Bulli in Roses is already full up for the 2009 season (from the 16th of June to the 20th of December).  However, the gourmet temple controlled by Ferran Adriá with three Michelin stars promises in their website that there is always a chance for a cancellation and you may still be able to dine at one of their exalted tables.

Because the demand exceeds the supply, the private senior's hostel Europalau in Palau saverdera will be enlarged, soon, to offer more places.   22 new residential unities are built, raising the capacity from 34 to 78 places.

The area of the former Club Med in Cadaqués, which has been closed for the past four years, and is now controlled by the Spanish state, should be soon returned to its natural condition.  One of the next steps is to raze the bungalows and remove the rubble.  Since there is no timetable it is unclear whether this work will occur before or after the summer. It is essential that the work not occur during the summer months, for this will adversely affect tourists.

Between Borassa and Figueres work on the 1,750-meter long tunnel for the high-speed train TAV has begun. The drilling has commenced on both sides of the tunnel

On the 8th and 9th of July, the tour de France 2009 comes to our region. On the 8th of July the stage will end in Perpignan, just over the border, after beginning in Cap d'Agde.  Perpignan, the gateway to the Pyrenees, has been a point on the tour 35 times.  However, this year, the route continues south, and on the 9th of July the race will run from Girona to Barcelona. For Girona, the town on the Onyar, this is the first time it has been included in the tour de France.  Even now, a search for a hotel room is going to be difficult. The hotels of Girona are already nearly booked up, and hotels in the area are also getting busy.

Cadaqués is rebuilding its rambla, officially  the Passeig Castelló. Technical aspects include renewal of the lighting and the sewage system. As far as urban aesthetics are concerned, the rambla character will be retained, to a great extent, with the planting of new trees and green areas. Also the bus station project is to begin immediately, at the site where buses already stop.

The protest group “Defensem el Tren” (protect the train) has declared itself very dissatisfied with the continuing negotiations over the transfer of Figueres railway station  from the city centre to the outskirts of town in Vilafant. The current position is that it seems inevitable that not only the station for conventional trains, but also the bus station will be shifted there. “Defensem el Tren” had collected nearly 6000 signatures protesting against the transfer of the station. The coastal municipalities also fear negative consequences for their infrastructure from the new station, since it is probable that in soon after the relocation the railway connection from Figueres to Portbou would lose importance and be finally shut down.

L'Escala is building a hut beside the tourist office at the roundabout of St. Martí d'Empúries to cater for bicycle tourism.

The world-famous restaurant El Bulli in Roses has announced a change in its opening times for the year 2009. It will begin the season somewhat later than up to now, around 16 June, but will also close its doors later, on 22 December.

The organisation for protection of interests of the owners of Empuriabrava (AP) has a new office, in Joan Carles I, sector Peni. Public opening is from 9.30 am until 2.00 pm.

“Escot l'Escala”, the oldest windsurfing equipment business in the Alt Empordà (since 1991), is celebrating its new web site, http://www.escot-lescala.com, which is in Catalan, French, English and Spanish. It has a very interesting photography gallery of l'Escala and its surroundings, likewise a webcam view of the “Port d'en Perris”, which is updated every five minutes and is kindly made available to CapCreus online.

On the plaça Llevant in Roses new embankments have been installed, as the conclusion of the current renovation work.

The circular path (camí de ronda) from Port de la Selva towards Llançà is largely finished. In good weather many people are already using it for strolls.

The town hall of Roses is reminding its citizens and visitors to place rubbish in the containers provided for this. Offences can be punished by fines of up to 100 euros.

Castelló d’Empúries is currently distributing a printed guide on the past and the future of the Marina Empuriabrava.  The document explains the use of the moorings and the rights and duties of their owners. The brochure is also available on the Internet, in Catalan, Spanish, French, English and German. At http://www.castello.cat/interior/ca/675-128/guia-de-la-marina.html one can download the version in any of the four languages as PDF-Format.

Roses terminated the bus line that operated between the centre and the urbanisations Mas Bosca, Mas Matas and Mas Fumats. The line had been established to satisfy the requests of the inhabitants of the urbanization.  Unfortunately, they failed to utilize it. During the seven months only 21 passengers availed themselves of the service.

The government is studying how the traffic flow can be improved between Llançà and Figueres. Probably the road (N-260) will be widened to four lanes.

Although bad weather had influenced the Festa de la Sal of L'Escala there was still favourable public approval. During the final concert the group cubà Maguey performed.

Anyone who would like to install a Spanish DSL connection (in Spanish ADSL) should pay attention to the small print. The providers play hardball, mostly at the expense of their customers. If one searches for a favourable ISP, a provider in the Internet, one easily finds ADSL for about 9,99 or 17,99 euro monthly. The price is only a teaser for a few months, and then the price goes up to around the forty euro per monthly. The contracts are mostly for a long duration and it is impossible to cancel earlier. If one should attempt to stop the service one must communicate by telephone, and this means that that one must prepare for a long wait, and often the wait is in vain. If you already have a connection and you are satisfied you should still regularly review your bill and your bank withdrawals.  Especially scrutinize if you received the proper free minutes for calls abroad. One of the bigger providers offers 1000 free minutes monthly for the price of about 40 euro including ADSL. Initially this functioned well, and then the company changed their rules, even for existing contracts and failed to inform their customers, neither by post, E-Mail or telephone. Complaints have been fruitless. What to do?  Look for a new ISP, is one solution. Controlling your existing contract and, if needed, order the bank to not to allow the payments. Without exception we continue to recommend for phone calls the call-by-call-service. Signing up does not cost anything and the calls are cheaper by around two-thirds. Since we had expressed our recommendation the first time, about 6 years ago, no one has complained.

The Marnató, a race for boats over 6 kilometres from the Cap de Creus to Cadaqués, won by Daniel Serra in the time of 1h31'17. In Second place, Francisco Pontana, reached the finish line seven seconds later

The crisis of the property market has resulted in a few changes in the Empordà. First a dramatic fall in prices, now a change in the behaviour of the owners. A short while ago there were few opportunities for long-term rentals, but now there are many offers at last year’s prices.

In July and August the Park+Bus carried 7,324 people into the city centre of Figueres. The city hall considers this service a success, but notes that most of users were tourists.  They will try to encourage residents and visitors from nearby towns to use the bus when they come to Figueres.

The former military fort Castell de Sant Ferran, which looms over Figueres, and is one of the largest facilities in the world, will not soon be turned over to Figueres. The city hall had announced last year that it had asked the Ministry of Defence to relinquish control. In the meantime the administration has decided that the complex would be too expensive for the municipality.

Since 1 September in Port de la Selva cardboard will be collected only once per week from the recycle containers, i.e., each Friday. In the summer the pick-ups were three times per week.  This change primarily affects shops that must discard a lot of cardboard.

The federal state government (Generalitat) reviews the statutes and terms of payment, which the manager of the channels of Empuriabrava established to charge the owners of anchorages.

The Catalan wine farmers estimate that the harvest will be about 5 to 10% smaller than last year.

In Palau saverdera the apartment complex Sun Village into the Urbanisation Can Isaac is again the hot topic. In the year 2001 the city hall had issued building permits for 38 dwellings on land that had been approved for only the construction of one hotel. After various court decisions the apartments are to be torn down. This would mean a great financial problem since the municipality would be required to compensate the owners, most of whom are foreigners. Palau saverdera is now trying to legalize the building permits, retroactively.

The medieval festival Terra de Trobadors in Castelló d'Empúries will expand its evening hours this year.

The tourism offices of Llançà answered over 23.000 inquiries this summer.

On large parts of Alt Empordà there still is a stage II drought. The party ICV, in the opposition at Figueres’ city hall, complains that on the one hand citizens are requested to save water, and yet on the other hand the decorative fountains of the city are running as usual.

1210 guests enjoyed a gigantic Suquet on the beach Riells in L’Escala.  The meal was prepared in a pan 2.5 meters of diameters. According to rumours this should be worthy an entry in the Guinness book of the records.

The Servicio de Control de Mosquitos (mosquito control) for the bay of Roses and the Baix Ter has caught in its traps in Roses and in L’Escala, for the first time in the Alt Empordà, the “mosquito tigre” (tiger mosquito?).

Figueres wants to initiate its program Un ciutadà, un arbre (one citizen, one tree) over the next four years to plant 4000 new trees. The action will begin as soon as the drought ends.

According to official statements there will not be any expropriations in Empuriabrava or in Santa Margarida.  Neither land, nor a portion of a property nor a mooring will be taken. The citizen associations, which had been formed to protect their rights, still ask for a clearer document on the process.

On the highway of Figueres, while travelling toward Llançà, close to Garriguella, a radar device for speed control will soon be put into service. The maximum speed allowed is 100 km/h.

The Alt Empordà got through the very dry high summer season quite well. There were not any real shortages, and even the quality of drinking water continued to be good.   In order to improve the situation, Port de la Selva opened two new wells, which were drilled last year. The new wells draw water from a depth of approximately 200 meters and produce between fifteen and twenty cubic meters of water per hour.

Madrid says the coastal law is the governing regulation for the Santa Margarida canals. At various meetings in Madrid it has been made clear that private property will not be taken at this time, but that expropriations are planned. Existing buildings will not be demolished. So, some ambiguity exists on what the next steps will be.

Roses has installed along the beach promenade 9 bike racks to receive bicycles.  The bike racks are to encourage the use of bicycles as a preferred means of local transport.

The Department of the Environment said that the beaches of the Costa Brava were in excellent condition, even now, in high season. The Ministry opined that even the medusa danger was irrelevant for 2008.

Particularly in damp weather were the stages of the cathedral of Castelló d'Empúries have been rather slippery, so that the danger of slipping existed, particularly for older people. The city hall has applied a special product on the marble which makes it less dangerous.

The city hall of Cadaqués forms a commission, made up of several councillors, who will be responsible for issues related to boats anchoring at the buoys. The past manager of the buoys, the club Nàutic of Cadaqués, will be involved but without the authority it had in the past.  The commission will also work with other organizations such as the fishermen and the Hotel trade.

The city hall of L’Escala requests federal state government assistance for repairs of the beach promenade. This area is so structurally compromised that the weekly market had to be relocated in May after a road cleaning vehicle had sunk into the ground.

Residents of Castelló d’Empúries, particularly foreign residents living in Empuriabrava, are forming a new political party.  The impetus for this action is the property-owners discontent to the administration’s position on the anchorage issue.

Castelló d'Empúries will again try control the ambulatory dealers on the roads of Empuriabrava. The city hall initiated an official evening market on the beach promenade which is opened from 18 to 24 o'clock daily. The 50 dealers who use the space must reserve the space and be insured. The police will assure that the sellers do not offer counterfeit products.

At the beach La Rubina of Empuriabrava barriers of 2.5 meters height have been installed to keep motor homes away. Eventually, the city hall wants to offer, in the same area, a parking lot suitable for motor home, caravan and boat trailers.

	The renovation of the fish auction halls of Llançà, Port de la Selva and Roses will make it possible for the public to attend the auctions without disturbing the process.
Roses

The New York Times on Sunday contained a wonderful article on Costa Brava (http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/travel/17costa.html?ref=travel).  The article is available on line for 7 days.  The theme is a declaration of love for Spain’s best Coast (“Spain's unchanging Costa Brava”).  The author highlighted the relatively few changes on our coast, unlike the other coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.  According to the NYT the fishing villages are still fishing villages and the authors thought that they ate their best tortilla at the Grifeu beach in Llançà. The authors used a lot of ink on Cadaqués and Begur, but their homework was excellent for the entire coast.  A great read.

Perpignan, capital of the Catalan culture of the year 2008, is celebrating on 8 and 9 November the beginning of the excavations of Empúries and Ruscino (Roussillon, France) one hundred years ago.

Within the citadel of Roses the restoration has begun of the Sant Jaume rampart. Work on renewing the XVI century brickwork will continue until March 2009 to complete the sightseeing route of the citadel.

The grape harvest in the Empordà has finished. Because of the continuous drought over the last three years, the harvest has dropped in this period around 15%. Nevertheless, the wine producers insist that a good vintage is expected again this year.

At the Popkomm international music fair in Berlin, the Catalan pop groups Gossos, El Tío Carlos and Plouen Catximbes enthralled the public. The hall was overcrowded, and queues formed at the entrance.

Flu jabs are now available at Catalan health centres. They are recommended particularly for persons over 60 years, the chronically ill and pregnant woman.

The Dalí museum in St. Petersburg (USA) possesses the most important collection of works of Salvador Dalí in the world and is one of the largest museums in the USA dedicated to a single artist. Now the museum is being extended with a new building. Its director Hank Hine has asked the mayor of Cadaqués to send  a stone from Cadaqués for the laying of the new foundation stone.

Australia’s most important online newspaper, “The Australian” has published a list of the best coastal restaurants of Spain. Surprisingly the El Bulli from Roses appears only at the fourth place. First place is taken by the Sa Copinya in Mallorca. In second place is the Can Majó in Barcelona’s Barceloneta quarter. This is at the Calle de Almirall Aixada 23; (tel. +34 93 221 5455) and its kitchen highlights suquet and fideuà. Main dishes in the Can Majó start from 20 euros.

The XVII gastronomy of the Empordà exhibition in Peralada went well. The 54 participants cooked 720 dishes. First prize for main dishes was won by Dolors Navarra with pork trotters with chestnuts, while among the desserts Roser Oliveras won with a white cake.

Parents of the pupils from Empuriabrava must pay fares for the school bus to Castelló d'Empúries, while from other places transport is free. The town council finds this situation unfair and is trying to change it.

Residents living beside the Miró sud  road in l'Escala have complained strongly to the local council about the condition of the area, which should be green belt. The area is actually filthy and full of rubbish, some of which even caught fire this summer. The residents are annoyed because they have not received any response so far from the town hall and also nothing has been done.

Anchovy fishing and salting-down has a long tradition in l'Escala. The label “Anchovies from l'Escala” is seen as a mark of quality. However, in recent years the catch has been  falling consistently, and this year only 1,250 tons were landed. This does not necessarily mean that anchovy stocks are decreasing, though. May and June are the classic months for anchovy fishing; this year it rained during these months more than usual, so many fishermen could not work. Also the high fuel prices played a part, since many fishermen preferred to catch sardines inshore instead of anchovies further out to sea.

Because of the economic crisis Roses has decided not to increase the local rates for the year 2009.

Over the course of this year over 5000 persons visited the watercolour art gallery and  museum in Llançà, of whom about 3000 came during the three summer months.

The Department of the Environment has issued 16 writs against owners of habitable houses within the Cap de Creus and Aiguamolls nature reserves. They relate mainly to former huts, that once served as shelters or for storing tools and equipment. Over the years these huts have been made habitable and extended by their owners without planning permission.

At the second-hand vehicles fair in Figueres this year 10% fewer sales were recorded.

During the Anchovy Festival in l'Escala 18,000 anchovy fillets were distributed to 1500 guests.

The police have arrested a 32 year old man from Sant Miquel de Fluvià, on suspicion of 19 break-ins in Roses and the neighbourhood, including breaking into the churches of Sant Pere Pescador and Sant Mori.

The mayor of Roses, Magda Casamitjana, has published an article in the Diari de Girona newspaper on the subject of the absence of French lessons in Catalonia's state schools. She expressed support in it for the French consul in Barcelona, Pascal Brice, who is trying to convince the public and the administrations that French instruction in schools is necessary and useful.

Until the end of the year the Dalí museum in Figueres is exhibiting one of the most important works of Salvador Dalí, “Metamorfosi de Narcís”, on loan from the Tate Modern museum in London. This work, dating from 1937, has been in the possession of the Tate Modern since 1979.

The local council of Roses rates the summer season 2008 and its bookings as the same overall as  previous years. According to its data, hotel occupation remained stable, the letting of holiday homes rose around 16.6%, while campsites registered a 10% drop.

The days of the railway station in the centre of Figueres are in all probability numbered. The Ministry for buildings has made it plain that there is no place for two stations in Figueres. Therefore both the TAV high-speed train and conventional trains will stop at the new station in Vilafant.

Figueres is still planning to install three new green zones this year . In order to save water, a mixture of artificial and natural turf is to be installed or planted. The irrigation of the surfaces will use recycled water.

The opposition parties on the Llançà town council (PSC and IVC) have sharply criticized  the financial policies of the CiU. A particular thorn in the flesh of the opposition is that the ruling party recently approved the borrowing of 1.3 million euro. The mayor defended the measure by stating that the town hall is getting much lower income because of the crisis in the construction industry and that therefore the loan is necessary.

The campsites of Sant Pere Pescador have recorded 253,068 overnight accommodation lets during the summer, 200,266 to foreigners.

The government has presented the Portbou town council with plans for the creation of the Walter Benjamin centre in memory of the German philosopher who died in 1940 in Portbou having escaped the Nazis. Within the old town hall an 800 square metre area has been allocated as an intellectual centre for refugees pursued because of their ideas. The centre will be a generously dimensioned area for cultural meetings on the subject. Lodging is included in the offer. The local council, the Catalan government and the European Union are jointly financing the plan.

The councils of Portbou and Colera are fighting against the promoters of the planned "Tramuntana" wind farm, who intend to install 17 wind generators in places which are highly visible in the two places and dominate the landscape. The councils refused the necessary building permits, as a result of which the “Tramuntana“ group had started legal action. The councils of the two places are negotiating at present to have the wind generators installed elsewhere, where they disturb the landscape less. If the negotiations fail, the court's decision must be awaited.

The fish market hall of Llançà will be modernized. The front, the roof and the inside will be reconditioned, likewise the sanitary plant and the cooling system.

The journalist Patrícia Soler (Figueres, 1961) has won one of the most important Catalan literary awards, the “41º Premio Prudenci Bertrana”, and with it 42.100 euros, for her novel “Petons de diumenge”. Its protagonist is Valeria from L'Escala who, through conversation with her mother, brings the Franco era alive, when love was considered to be a sin.

Cadaqués has not yet given building permits for the definite demolition of the former Club Med at the Cap de Creus. The council is still examining the technical conditions of the action, although the permits should be given soon.

The regional government of Girona has granted 400.000 euros to renovate the Casino Menestral in Figueres. Since the Catalan government already assured financial assistance of 600.000 euros last week, nothing else stands in the way of the project's continuation. The Casino Menestral, one of the emblematic buildings of the city, is to become a cultural centre for Figueres and the surrounding area.

The pupils of Port de la Selva were allowed to participate one day in the grape harvest. They picked grapes in the municipality's own vineyard under expert supervision. The teaching part of the trip showed the children how the important characteristics of grapes were measured.

In Empuriabrava an association has been formed to represent the interests of the owners of anchorages. The association’s goal is to clarify the legal status and the rights of both the owner and the manager of the channels, Port d'Empuriabrava, S.A. Port d'Empuriabrava has required that owners register with the company, and thus may be required to pay for the maintenance of the canals. Most owners are already registered through the “Registre de la Propietat.”  Many of the owners contest the procedure of Port d'Empuriabrava, S.A., a private company, as being inconsistent with their rights.

For a three euro fee one may visit the medieval prison, the Ecomuseu Farinera, the park Natural dels Aiguamolls and the Parrish museum in Castelló d'Empúries.

La Jonquera opened its new city hall in the former building “Hostal de la Plaça.” The renovation project cost was 1.235.859 euro.

Llançà established a new Wi-Fi zone on the beach promenade in the port. In addition to this site, the town has offered Wi-Fi on the Plaça major in the village, nearest the library.  The latter service is in operation 24/7 but the range is limited to the parking lot behind the library.

The American military base Loran C in L’Estartit and the military installations at the Punta Milà will be transformed to its natural state and integrated with the nature parks.

The Catalan Dependence of Greenpeace strongly criticizes the province of Girona for planning to add 433 new anchorages, even though 23,340 are presently available. A special thorn in the sides of the environmentalists is Roses where the harbour facilities are to be increased to accommodate cruise ships.

In Roses town hall a council employee is now available to look after the interests of new residents of all nationalities.

In all probability there will be no fresh water showers for bathers in l'Escala because of the water shortage.

The Frenchman Antoine Albeau, the reigning windsurfing world champion at slalom, could win the men's title at the recent “Gran Premi Catalunya - Costa Brava de windsurf” in Sant Pere de Pescador. The Swiss Karin Jaggi won the women's title. The competition was cut short to one day because of strong winds.

Heavy goods vehicles are no longer permitted to run through Cadaqués along the sea front; the local council regards this measure as necessary, because the road surface is in extremely bad condition. The Department of the Environment has already given the green light for its repair, but it is still uncertain when this work will be carried out.

The Belgian author Stan Lauryssens, once Salvador Dali’s neighbour in Cadaqués, presents his book “Dalí y yo” to the public. It has been published in 32 languages, but, so far not in Catalan. The book contains explosive material: Lauryssens calls himself a counterfeiter of Dali’s work, but says that he was merely a member of a world-wide chain of counterfeiters and salesmen, who operated with Salvador Dalí’s knowledge. After he estimated that 75% of the Dali’s works owned by museums are not originals the Fundació Gala - Salvador Dalí threatened legal action against the author and his book. The Foundation’s position is that his scandalous claims are only to sell his book.

In L’Escala the weekly market was held last Sunday for the first time at the “Camí de Ample.” It was shifted there, because at its prior location “passeig Marítim” the underground is in dangerously bad condition. Some neighbours near the new market site are not pleased with the decision of the city hall -- they have already begun to collect signatures of citizens who would like the market relocated to another location.

After the second phase of its restoration the Ecomuseu Farinera of Castelló d'Empúries presents an exhibition about the flour mills of the Alt Empordà.

A new law offers clarity for parking motor homes. Motor homes, in Spain, are legally considered the same as cars and therefore can park wherever cars may park, and their owners need not fear any more problems with local authorities. The law differentiates between parking and camping, but the parking rule is a welcome clarification for the owners of motor homes.  For the localities along the coast there will be new logistical problems. Roses, for example, is preparing for the new situation. The city hall plans to install on the area of the former camping site “Bahia” a large parking lot for motor homes;  similar plans are being considered by Castelló d'Empúries.

The swimming pool of Roses tries is trying a new method for the disinfecting the water in the small pool. Instead of using chlorine the water is cleaned by ultraviolet light. Thus, the rather unpleasant chlorine taste of the water is avoided. If this method works satisfactorily it will also be used in the large pool.

55.4% of the young people of Castelló d'Empúries are foreigners -- the majority live in Empuriabrava. The city hall’s reaction to this circumstance is the “Pla local de joventut” which will help facilitate social integration of the foreign young people.

On the Rambla of Figueres a new bus shelter has been installed. 

With the campaign “Un ciutadà, un arbre” (a citizen, a tree) Figueres plans to plant 4000 trees in the city over the next few years. Usually, the trees should be planted in the spring; Figueres shifted the date this year because of the dryness the past autumn.

From 15 June to 15 September Cadaqués generally forbids major construction work in the old part of town. Smaller projects may be completed but, if they are noisy can only begin after 11 o'clock.

Roses puts a new system into operation to present tourist information available to mobile phones with camera.  The first installation is around the citadel. By means of the camera a code can be called up, which provides information in five languages to the screen. The system comes from Japan.

Port de la Selva has had a successful dress collection initiative with three clothing containers. In the first three months of the year 844 Kilos of used clothes was deposited.

“Temps de conquesta” is the topic of the “festival Terra de Trobadors” in Castelló d'Empúries on 12, 13 and 14 September.

The beach of Empuriabrava, as well as the sports port, again received the “bandera blava” (blue flag) as acknowledgment of excellent water quality. Also the port of Roses and the main beaches of Llançà, Port de la Selva and L’Escala received the bandera blava.

The nature parks Cap de Creus and Montgrí receive from to the federal state government and the Obra Social de la Caixa subsidies of 250.000 euro for preservation and restoration of their areas.

The association “Defensem el Tren” (we defend the train) requests that the city hall of Figueres retain the station in the centre of Figueres for conventional trains. The association had collected 6327 citizens’ signatures, so far.

Port de la Selva installed a new wood barricade to control the migration of the brook Arola.

Philip D. Rasico, professor for Catalan and Spanish at the Vanderbilt University in Nashville visited Port de la Selva.  Among other things he spoke to the mayor Genís Pinart about a possible sister-city relationship. The professor, one of the most renowned Catalan experts outside of Catalonia, also visited the vineyards of Port de la Selva regarding a possible export of the wines to the USA.

The city hall of Sant Pere Pescador announced that the potable water supply to the camping sites is guaranteed by the town’s own wells.

The local police of La Jonquera destroyed counterfeit branded articles which they had seized, mostly from street vendors, during the past two years.  Among the items to be destroyed are 2000 pairs of sun glasses and 800 watches.

Sant Pere Pescador gets a new coat of arms. The prior image could not be used due to legal restrictions. The new coat of arms is rather similar to the old one.

Roses adjusts 5 new policemen for the summer season.

In the nightclub zone Els Arcs of Empuriabrava a private security service firm will be utilized.  Possibly monitoring cameras will be installed, also.

At the airport of Girona construction work has begun for a new multi-storey car park. Six floors with a capacity for 3500 vehicles are planned.

The experts are unanimous in their fear of the extremely high risk for forest fires because of the continuing drought of the summer of 2008.

In the port of Roses boats can be cleaned now with treated water from the purification plant.

Only two companies responded to L’Escala’s request for firms to provide security at the beaches. Both companies were unable to meet all of the requirements set by the city hall. Thus, there will be a special meeting, to resolve the situation.

As much Tuna fish as ever is being caught in the nets of the fishing boats at the Costa Brava. Unfortunately this is not always a cause for joy. Tuna fish is a protected species and there are radical catch quotas. Thus, most of the fish do not reach the auction hall. The reason for the phenomenon is not yet unknown.

The taxi drivers in Figueres will make sure that this summer a taxi is always available for handicapped passengers.

The businessmen of Figueres have opted to keep the existing railway station in Figueres with the rails shifted underground. Only the high-speed train TAV use the planned station at Vilafant on the edge of Figueres. This solution is probably more economical. Furthermore, the shopkeepers would not have to fear business losses because of fewer buyers coming into the city centre by train.

The La Caixa building in l'Escala is being refurbished and will provide more space for the town library on the first floor. The work is costing around 500,000 euros.

The façades of the local establishments in the "Els Arcs" night club zone of Empuriabrava have been redecorated with a new, uniform colour scheme.

In Figueres, parking in the city centre can now also be paid for by credit card.

	The luxury yacht Atlantis II, owned by the Greek ship owner family Niarchos, is now anchored involuntarily in the bay of Roses because of an engine problem.
Atlantis II

The museum of the exile (MUME) in La Jonquera will show from 19 July to 14 September the exhibition “Israel/Lebanon 2006” with photos by war correspondents Heidi Levine, Stephanie Sinclair, Ziv Koren and Michael Robinson Chavez.

Castelló d'Empúries and Empúriabrava have updated their city maps. The new maps, with an edition of 30.000 copies, are available in the tourist offices.

Figueres has begun an information campaign to persuade the citizens of Castelló and Roses to park their cars at the fair grounds during their visits of Figueres. From there they can reach the city gratis with the bus service Park&Bus. This option is, of course, available to everyone.

The Alt Empordà remains the only region of Catalonia that still has the state of emergency II because of water scarcity. Swimming pools may not be filled with municipal water. Most municipalities allow, however, the topping off of the water level for already filled swimming pools.

The police of Castelló d'Empúries have updated their vehicle fleet. Five new Skoda brand police cars were acquired via lease.

The sport harbour of Llançà was awarded the blue flag. This certifies excellent water quality and environmental compatibility.

Insolvency threatens one of the best-known building contractors of Spain, Francisco Hernando. When the construction business was booming during the past years Hernando ordered a 60 million euro yacht "Clarena II" from the Italian shipyard CRN. Now he cannot pay and the shipyard must search for a new buyer for the luxury ship.

The cultural centre of the citadel of Roses shows the exhibition “La Costa Brava abans de la Costa Brava" (The Costa Brava before the Costa Brava), photos from the years between 1915 and 1936.

With the beginning of the summer season Llançà has initiated a new program LlançÀctivitat `08 that includes a series of events for people of all ages, and most of the activities will be free. Also the Llançà Bus will begin operating again. This bus makes a circuit from the train station to various stops in the old part of town, and in the Port, and to many of Llançà’s beaches.

The travelling exhibition “Dalí, Paintings & Films” arrived at the end of its journey at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.  The exhibition shows the fruits of the cooperation of Dalí with heroes of the film business, such as Hitchcock, Disney and Lluís Bunuel. The MOMA show will run until 15 September.

 “Roses Escena Musical” (REM) is the title of a new project of the town hall of Roses. It bundles together 30 summer concerts as one unit. The blues festival and the guitar festival are among the big events of the summer.

At the beaches in Llançà and Port de la Selva the first medusas were observed, but there were not many. It is a question of which type of medusa -- some cause red skin wbut do not endanger the victim’s health. There has been little publicity about any medusa trouble this year. The experts believe that this year there would be not be a massive appearance of medusas at the beaches of the Costa Brava – though there will be a spectacular increase of these nettle animals in the open sea, where miles long banks were sighted. This is not a specific phenomenon of the Mediterranean Sea.  Because of the change of climate all seas worldwide are affected.  It is not for nothing the medusa is called the queen of the ocean. Next to the climate changes the other reason for the rapid spreading of the medusas is the worldwide over-fishing which has eliminated many natural enemies.

Meanwhile, Kite surfing is prohibited in most of Catalonia. Only in Sant Pere Pescador can one still Kite Surf because the municipality was granted a licence. The sportsmen are subjected to some restrictions, however. They must be able to show that they have assurance and must pay a flat rate. Many do not comply, so that the future of the Kite in Sant Pere Pescador is also at risk.

	The museum of Cadaquésl opened its new summer exhibition with the title “Salvador Dalí/Enrique Sabater,” which documents the close relationship between Dalí and Sabater, who served Dalí from 1968 to 1980 as his right hand man.  The exhibition includes unpublished photos and souvenirs of their time together.
Cadaqués, Casa Dalí

A study of the impact of the building of the planned high voltage transmission line (MAT) over the Pyrenees says that the construction will destroy about one million trees.

	70% of the households of the town centre of Palau-saverdera can be attached to the town gas service. So far 3,505 meters of gas lines are available.
Palau-saverdera, town hall

The city hall of Roses announced that the archaeological excavations in the citadel would continue until the year 2016.

In the historical centre of Castelló d'Empúries there are several roads that are closed due to repair projects. The police have provided detours around the construction.

The planed wind generator park “Tramuntana” in Portbou and Colera may be built, even if the municipalities do not want them. The federal state government characterizes the projects as for the public benefit (utilitat pública), which means that the interests or desires of the municipalities are of less importance. The citizen association “Cívica antimolins” is seeking new ways to stop the building of the wind generators.

The hotel L'Arola at the beach of Port de la Selva is again under discussion. Since the planned new beach promenade of Port de la Selva will reach the “cami de ronda” which continues to Llançà, the site of the hotel, which dates back to the year 1886, is problematic. The project may remain stymied for many years due to legal procedures.

In Empuriabrava an owner of swimming pool was fined 700 euro because he had filled his swimming pool from the water pipeline.

The city hall of Figueres unveiled a poster, which shows Figueres as Catalan culture capital for next year.

The Catalan Nudist club visited the ruins of Empúries, naked naturally. Even the guide adapted to the custom.

The fire brigades of the province Girona strengthened its personnel during the summer by around 25%, to be better prepared for the season’s forest fires.

The two owners of the Catamaran L'Oca from Banyoles began voluntarily a three-year term of imprisonment.  The Oca had sunk on the lake of Banyoles under tragic circumstances, and the misfortune claimed the lives of 22 French tourists.

The gallery Taller Fort in Cadaqués opens on 28 June the 28th annual “mini print” exhibition. The exhibition presents a wide range of miniature engravings.  This year’s art will be by 657 artists from 54 countries and 5 continents.

The men’s crew of the rowing club Xon's rem Empuriabrava won the third race of the Catalan league in Lloret de Mar.

The gallery Horizon in Colera began the summer season on 21 June with an exhibition of works by Lluís Peñaranda -- 15 works, including partial collages and other mixed techniques.

The mountaineer Jordi Pau Caballero began a long journey from Sant Martí d'Empúries (L’Escala).  He will travel by foot across 1389 kilometres to Galicia. His purposes are to physically challenge himself but also to bring attention to the “manifest de l'aigua” (manifesto of the water) to encourage the reasonable handling of the area’s and world’s scarce supply of water.

Figueres organizes up to the middle of September a large number of cultural meetings under the title Gresca a la Fresca  . . .  under free sky.

The building of the largest Wind tunnel in the world for the parachutists in Empuriabrava seems to be in trouble. New power lines have been added to the site.  The work is scheduled to begin this September but the project still lacks the necessary financing.

According to estimates about 30% of Figueres’ real estate agencies have closed up shop. Mostly they were small agencies, which had been in business only during the real estate boom of the past few years. In the meantime, the prices for residential property are down, by about 12%, and the number of properties for sale far exceeds the demand.

The management company of the Empuriabrava canals, Port d'Empuriabrava S.A., has announced publicly that all owners of unregistered anchorages are in an illegal situation. In such cases the manager can refuse to supply services, which are under his authority.

L'Escala has an emergency service which will operate until 30 September on the beaches of Empúries as far as Montgó.

All the beaches of Castelló d'Empúries have been rated as Excellent for water cleanliness by the responsible water authority, ACA.

By the entrance to the tourist office in Llançà, bicycles are available for hire from now until the end of the summer; if this enterprise proves a success, it will continue through the winter.

The fireworks that formed the concluding act of the “Fires de la Santa Creu” in Figueres caused a fire close to the walls of the "Castell de Sant Ferran". Several fire appliances were needed until the fire was extinguished after 90 minutes.

In Port de la Selva a 41-year-old man fell so heavily down from a rock that he had to be transported by helicopter to Girona hospital.

The renowned magazine “Restaurant” has elected “El Bulli” in Roses as the best restaurant in the world for the third year in succession. The runners-up are “The Fat Duck”,  in Berkshire (near London) and “Pierre Gagnaire”, in Paris.

The butcher's shop Valls in Llançà has received an acknowledgment from the Catalan government to mark the centenary of its business. This is awarded annually by the government, this year to 24 enterprises in Catalonia.

Cadaqués is planning to create subsidised low-rent housing in the former barracks of the Guardia Civil. At present only the ground floor of the building is used by the local police. However,  the  "Guardia Civil" is opposed to these plans

Plans for what to do with the Castell de Sant Ferran in Figueres are taking shape. At present the former military fort is still owned by the Ministry of Defence in Madrid. However, the city council is aiming to take over administration of the Castell and use it for the city archives and an art centre, and to make it available to interested companies from the hotel trade.

Castelló d'Empúries has signed an agreement with the Red Cross, which includes among other things that the Red Cross take over lifeguard duties on the beaches.

The small market, which is held each Sunday on the green area "Trabuc" in Empuriabrava, is moving to a new location in Castelló Nou.

Lodgings for up to 15 persons will be installed in the old vestry building of the Sant Pere de Rodes (Port de la Selva) monastery after the summer, for the use of walkers on the St James Pilgrim Route, signposts for which will soon be installed.

The "Teatre Art i Joia" in Cadaqués, once the Dalí museum and town theatre, is to get a full renovation. In the first phase the electrical system will brought up to date, along with  audiovisual mechanisms and air conditioning will be installed.

Roses is planning to  repair the picturesque quarter "dels Pescadors". The town council is therefore conducting a survey of the inhabitants, to find out their wishes and get their suggestions.

The mayor of Castelló d'Empúries, Salvi Güell, and other city councillors visited the German city Ettenheim, which has been a partnership city since 2001. During the absence of the mayor, the deputy Pere Iglesias assumes the mayor’s responsibilities.

The city hall of Roses entered into an agreement with the “Prefectura central de Trànsit” which permits it to issue some vehicle traffic papers. Among the tasks assumed are logging out vehicles, the renewal of driving licenses for persons over 70 years, as well as duplicate operating permit for vehicles if the driver changes address. For new applications however the responsibility remains with Girona.

The city hall of Figueres plans a pilot project for the summer 2009 to encourage the use of bicycles in the city centre. Bicycles will be available to be rented at multiple points. The city hall assumes that this offer might be particularly attractive to tourists.

In Santa Margarida the crew on a boat is adding markings to private property. The president of the citizen association, Federico Macau, calls this an illegal act, since the boat’s passengers must enter private property without announcement and without the permission of the owners. They are primarily marking real estate properties with absent owners, who are often foreigners. The citizen association has tried to complain about this trespass to the police, but the police will only respond to complaints by the property owner, directly.

The city hall of La Jonquera assigned four new policemen, who are to guard excluding the roads of Le Perthus and to prevent illegal street vending.

A worker found a garnet in Port de la Selva; it probably originates from the Spanish civil war.

The police arrested two Russians who are suspected of the murder of a building contractor in a restaurant in Portbou.

Figueres is now officially the Catalan culture capital for the year 2009. The appropriate agreements were signed during the Fires i Festes de la Santa Creu.

In L’Escala the first action within the province of Girona was taken against a citizen because of abuse of drinking water. According the police he had continuously, day and night, watered his garden with a sprinkler.

In Castelló d'Empúries the regulations for saving drinking water have had their first results. In the first quarter of the year about10,5% less water was used.

The city hall of Roses bought a 3369 square meter former olive orchard, close to the Gran via Pau Casals. The area will remains a green area and is to be prepared for walkers.

On 15 February in Port de la Selva the nets of a fishing boat brought up a puzzling substance. The first assumptions, that it was military material turned out to be not correct.  It is white phosphorus, which had been used for a Bengali maritime signal. White phosphorus is a high-poisonous substance.

Figueres starts a campaign to encourage citizens to use bicycle on the roads of the city under the slogan “we provide 100 bicycles.”  The 100 bicycles will be distributed by means of a lottery.

The city hall of Roses is reviewing the house numbers in the city centre, in order to correct any numbering mistakes.

The 25 members of the restaurant police of L’Escala will be temporarily using the police station of the Mossos d'Esquadra, until its own building is ready for use.

	The port authority “Ports de la Generalitat” has contracted for the construction work to completely renovate the three fish auction halls of Roses, Llançà and Blanes.
Llançà

The cause of the mysterious boat misfortune between Roses and L'Escala, which cost the life of its two crewmembers, seems to be understood. The likelihood of any use of force has been excluded; it is assumed that the two sailors were thrown overboard by rough seas.

Santa Margarida is the hot topic.
The city hall of Roses has written an explanatory document describing the intention of the Department of the Environment to define the channels of Santa Margarida as public area. The city hall holds the point of view that the channels are analogous to a sports port and that they therefore fall under the authority of the Catalan federal state government’s department for port and coasts. 
The Department of the Environment of Madrid intends on 8 May to have technicians of the Ministry survey the area and to delineate the line between private property and the water area, so that the central administration can administer the latter. This would mean that owners would have their moorings expropriated, even though the anchorages are documented as being their property in the “Escritura publica”. The intention of this action is to treat the channels similar to roads so that these can be controlled and maintained because of their bad condition.
The city hall of Roses believes that the channels are not a part of the public area, but that they are considered by the “Ley de Puertos de Cataluña” of 1998 as a sports port and are subject to the regulation of inland ports of 1995.  This is the main argument of the briefing presented to dispute the existing plans, which the city hall of Roses sent this week to the Department of the Environment in Madrid. The briefing also calls for the transition of the ports from the authority from the Department of the Environment of Madrid to the Catalan federal state government.
The Spanish state is, they say, therefore not the responsible administrative agent for the maritime areas of the Urbanisation of Santa Margarida, which is an area administered by the Catalan federal state government and the city hall of Roses. In the same sense the briefing states that the Catalan federal state government, and not the department for coasts in Madrid, is responsible for determining which areas at the channels should be reserved for service points. In each case the city hall insists on the fact that these may only be installed where there is a distance of at least 6 meters from private property.
The city administration of Roses believes that the Department of the Environment will approve the transition of the authority to the Catalan federal state government, so that the two administrations concerned – the federal state government and the city administration - can begin together to restore the Marina.
The mayoress of Roses, Magda Casamitjana, promises the owners that the city hall will work to protect their interests at all time, so that the restoration of the Marina can take place with the smallest possible damage to all the involved parties.

The music festival Doctor Loft in Castelló d'Empúries will take place on 6 July. The gates will be open beginning at 5 o'clock in the morning.

Castelló d'Empúries wants to recondition the quarter of Delta Muga in Empuriabrava, at a cost of 7 million euro. One-half of the cost will come as subsidy by the program “Pla de barris”.

In the entrance of the city hall of Roses a sculpture by the young artist Laia Segura symbolizes the fight of Sant Jordi with the dragon.

The city hall of L’Escala will spend 18.000 euro in renovation work of the church Sant Pere.

If the water scarceness continues, L’Escala wants to install the fresh water showers at the beaches, but to limit their use to only foot washing.

Colera tackles the improvement of the infrastructure of the Urbanisation “Eixemple Sant Miquel.” So far the potable water supply has been installed, the next phase will concern wastewater and the last phase will involve the roads.

In the court of Girona a father and his daughter are accused of real estate fraud in Llançà. They had taken pre-payments for two dwellings, without ever beginning to build. The court demands in each case six years imprisonment and 6490 euro fine.

In Catalonia a new association was created, “Micropobles de Catalunya.”  This group will seek to protect the interests of very small localities, specifically villages of about 500 inhabitants. One of the association founders is the mayor of Boadella, Emili Santos.

The sea-rescue corps terminated their search for the second crewmember of the yacht accident near Roses. The yacht started from Port Leucate (France) with the goal being L’Escala, but failed to arrive on time and the boat was later found near Menorca without the two crewmembers. The circumstances of the misfortune are still unclear. It may have been an accident, or maybe a hold-up.

Cadaqués must limit the use of drinking water. Under the new order no one is allowed to sprinkle the gardens, to clean streets, to fill swimming pools or to wash cars with city water.

Also Portbou must save water, urgently.

The town hall of Castelló d' Empúries acquired a XVIII century document through the Internet. It is about the confirmation of the refunding of a debt between a citizen and a citizen of Castelló.  The document, from 1753, is written in Latin, with only one small portion in Catalan.

The mayors of Llançà, Colera and Portbou agreed to collaborate for “Diary 21.”  This joint project will help to plan and realise the individual needs of the towns.

The theatre of Roses is now also a concert hall with good acoustics. A new acoustic construction has been installed.  The feature can be easily dismantled if it is not needed.

The architects Alfredo Peñafiel, Katrin Baumgarden and Eduard Miralles won the competition, established by Llançà, for new ideas for the construction of an arts centre at the end of the av Europe (between the village and the port). The new facility must include a library, the archives of city and a general-purpose room.

In the street Pare Claret in Roses one can park only in one direction, towards the mountains. Until now the direction of parking alternated every 15 days.

The original statue of Aesculapius can be visited, again, in the museum of the excavations of Empúries (MAC). A video presents detailed information.

The street between Port de la Selva and Selva de Mar is often used by cyclists. To facilitate a safe route the two towns will add a lane, during the general repair of the street to provide a separate parallel bicycle track. If all goes as planned, the bicycle lane will be ready for use this summer.

Cadaqués distributed to his citizens 1500 copies of a news bulletin, which explains the important decisions made by the town hall.

The foundation Gala- Salvador Dalí acquired from a private collection in Figueres two works by Salvador Dalí from his early period, indeed, from his childhood: the copy of a Dutch painting and a portrait of his grandmother Anna which was created in Cadaqués.

Friday, a yacht of 16 metres left Port Leucate (France), was expected to arrive at the port of L’Escala. When it had not arrived late that evening, the families of the two members of the crew contacted the rescue authorities.  Initially, they found no trace of the yacht. Then on Sunday, it was discovered by a helicopter approximately 40 marine miles north of Menorca (Balearic Islands). The yacht was un-manned. On Sunday evening, 11 marine miles from Roses, the body of owner of the yacht, a 60-year-old Belgian, was found.  A search for the second member of the crew was unsuccessful, so far.

On the Manor house of Sant Ferran in Figueres the repair work on all 16 maisonettes of signs started, at an expenditure of about 876 thousand euros. If work progresses as planned they can be open to visitors in August of this year.

The festival of music “Doctor Loft” in Castelló d' Empúries expects between 20 and 30 thousand visitors at the beginning of July. The town hall negotiated certain conditions with the organizers to prevent problem. Among other stipulations, informal campsites around the festival grounds are prohibited. Advance tickets for the festival are already available for 55 euros.

On the C-260 between Roses and Figueres, a vehicle caught fire. The road was blocked in both directions for approximately one half hour.

So far, the old Club Med near Cadaqués has been relieved of 40 tons of mobile material. According to each piece’s quality, it was either transferred to the dump at Pedret I Marzà or was brought to a recycling facility for re-use. The buildings themselves will be dismantled after the summer.

Figueres would like to bore three new wells to guaranty the water supply this summer. Thus, the town hall has submitted requests to the ACA (Agència Catalana d'Aigua) and awaits authorisation.

American Airlines begins daily service between Barcelona and New York on April 25. The airline expects approximately 40.000 passengers per year.

The supplier of electrical power, Fesca Endesa moved a line underground in the Urbanization Mora in Port de la Selva. The project was not necessarily for aesthetic reasons, but was needed to improve the electricity supply to the households of Port de la Selva.

The bilingual school (Catalan and French) in Le Perthus, at the Spanish-French border was threatened with closing. However, after massive protests by parents and pupils, the closing was cancelled for the moment.

The town hall of Roses wants to request that inhabitants of the urbanizations pay a special tax. With the receipts firebreak corridors will be developed, without flammable ground cover, to decrease the summer fire threat.

The public may not collect red coral in our waters. The red coral is off-limits for all private individuals and there are considerable restrictions for professional fishermen. From L’Escala to Begur, no coral can be captured and around Cap de Creus, only ten licences were given to fishermen. These restrictions are to help conserve the coral.

Burglars broke into the town hall of Vilajuïga and took approximately 300 euro in currency.

Portbou reforms the beach promenade. The pavement, 6 metres wide, will run the entire length of the “Passeig” and stores must accommodate to the new format.  Corresponding work must be completed by summer 2009.

Portbou begins the partial renovation of the old city hall, which will be seat of the Walter Benjamin foundation.

Llançà wants to relieve the shortage of parking spaces, during the summer, with a new parking lot for 400 vehicles at the port, at the left end of the port beach at the river mouth. The opposition parties represented in the city hall, PSC and IVC, oppose this plan.

In the former club Med in Cadaqués the mobile elements are being removed. The actual dismantling of the buildings will not occur before autumn.

Palau-saverdera plans to build a generously dimensioned centre for sports activities. First estimates of the costs are around 2 million euro.

The Ecomuseu Farinera in Castelló d'Empúries was added to the official list of Catalan museums. As a consequence the museum will be more likely to receive institutional assistance.

In Roses the lawns at the sidewalks of the roads Joan Carles I and Marinada are being replaced with sandstone. Since this does not have to be maintained, as a lawn must, there will be a savings of water.

Colera re-activates a poetry competition which was last held 12 years ago: the Concurs de Poesia Miquel Martí i Pol. The namesake of the competition, Miquel Martí i Pol (1929-2004) was one of the most important authors of Catalonia.  A whole generation of songwriters were inspired by his texts, among them Lluís Llach, with whom he wrote the album “Un pont de mar blava” (a bridge of blue sea). The competition wishes to attract both inhabitants of Colera and to others who feel a connection to the place. The winners of the four categories will be announced during a Fiesta of poetry in September.

Miquel Martí i Pol

Figueres has closed the fairground to prevent trucks from parking there.

Llançà intensifies their emphasis on traffic controls. Their focus will be to prevent noisy vehicles, particularly two-wheel vehicles.

On a routine vehicle control the police in Figueres found 20 kilograms of heroin. The passengers of the vehicle, two Moroccans, were handed over to the law.

The Italian circus Il Circo di Venezia accepted an invitation to perform in Figueres. During the Festes de Santa Creu the circus troupe will entertain a tent filled with an audience of up to 1300 persons. After Figueres performances will be held in Vic, Olot, Terrassa, Badalona and Tàrrega. Tickets are already available for advance booking available at prices from 8 to 30 euro.

The plans to build a covered swimming pool in La Jonquera have been stopped, since the federal state government will not provide subsidies to municipalities with fewer than 10.000 inhabitants.

An urban cleaning machine of L’Escala broke through on the “Passeig del Mar” in such a manner that it had to be removed with a crane.  The Passeig del Mar, between the Port Perris and Riells has experienced similar damage during the last few years, probably because of unstable ground. Therefore, the weekly Sunday market will be shifted to another location.

“Defensem el Tren” submitted a petition with 5,822 signatures to the city hall of Figueres, which urged a plebiscite on the transfer of the railway station from the centre of town to the outskirts.

Over 100 children from Llançà participated in the fiesta of the tree, which was organised for the first time. The children planted his or her own tree, either oak or cork oak, on 30 March at the hermitage of Sant Silvestre. The children accepted their responsibility to provide for the long-term well being of the trees.

PORT DE ROSES, SA, manager of the port of Roses, received European and international authentication (ISO 14001) for their environmentally friendly harbour facilities.

Castelló d'Empúries and Sant Pere Pescador committed themselves to jointly pursue the goals of the “agenda 21.” This plan sets initiatives for the ecological well being of the municipalities.

The association Comerç Figueres sees an optimistic future for the shops of Figueres, despite the current weak economic environment. There is a long tradition of serving French tourists, mostly from areas close to the border, who benefit from the price differential between Spain and France. Comerç Figueres does acknowledge that this year’s winter sale had not met expectations.

Sant Pere Pescador still finds itself missing the legal authority to administer the area of the former Fluvià Marina. The area was changed from “cultivating bar” to “agricultural,” but so far the owners have not yet been compensated.  Without a decision on the proper remunerations the hands of the city hall are tied.

Concerning the high voltage transmission line between France and Spain, there are new suggestions on how to resolve the issue. The line over the Pyrenees, sharply criticised by the organisation “NO a la Mat” could be realised via a sea route, so says the French Department of the Environment. Another option is to put the line underground over the Pyrenees. The latter would raise the price by about three times. Last weekend 18,000 demonstrators met in Girona to voice their opposition to The MAT. They came from both from the Spanish and the French part of Catalonia.

The city hall of Port de la Selva will have, because of reduced building activity, a smaller budget. As the first economy measure the local police force was reduced.

Also the city hall of L’Escala believes that it will earn smaller income from building permits.

The rainfalls of the last weekend failed to do much to improve the water level of the reservoirs; Boadella, for example is only filled to 24% of its capacity.

Roses population is now 19960 inhabitants. With the rapid population growth of Roses is it only a short time before it passes the 20000 inhabitants mark and thus become officially a city (ciutat).  After Figueres, Roses will be second city of the Alt Empordà. This change of status carries consequences. Among other things Roses receives more rights to national subsidies, but also gains more obligations on social services.

In Figueres the construction work on the avinguda Salvador Dalí will cause delays for approximately 10 days. The goal is to place electrical cables underground.

The hopes of the Hoteliers on the Costa Brava for a good occupancy level over the Easter holidays were not fulfilled. Authorities had courageously prognosticated, despite the unusually early holiday date, a high occupancy rate of 85%.  But these expectations did not pan out, and the preliminary numbers were around 60%. Very bad weather, i.e. rain and wind caused many holidays guests to head for home early on Monday morning to avoid the expected traffic congestion.  In the Pyrenees, however, snow provided for the appropriate tourist lift; hotel beds were a scarce commodity and the homebound wave of traffic on Monday evening was horrendous. Because of the snow four mountain routes had to be completely closed to traffic, twelve other roads were only passable with tire chains. South of the mountains the Hoteliers of the region declared Easter 2008 a catastrophe.

Plans to make the Sport port of Roses accessible for large ships are going to become a reality. At present the maximum depth of water is 6 metres and this permits the anchoring of ships that are no longer than 60 metres. In the near future it will be possible to attract cruise ships of over 100 metres which need at least 10 metres depth of water to anchor.  This will require a partial transformation of the port.

Over the 9 days of the used boat fair in Empuriabrava 75 boats changed ownership.   In all, 500 boats priced up to 650,000 euro were offered for sale. The organizers call the sales revenue satisfying, although they conceded that the sales results were lower than last year by approximately 15%.

Because of extreme wind between six and eight Easter holiday events had to be called off for safety reasons. In Sant Climent Sescebes the show of the passion plays were cancelled on Saturday evening and on the Easter Sunday only few dealers braved the weather to install their stands for the Jewish market.

The businessmen of the sector Sant Mori in Empuriabrava are trying to negotiate with the city hall for structural improvements of their area. They insist however on being able to offer their goods in the space in front of their shops.

The bad weather experienced during the Easter holidays will continue. The Meteorologists predict next weekend will again experience moderate temperatures.

In the zone Trabuc of Empuriabrava a luxury hotel with 75 rooms will be built, with an extensive Wellness centre as well as a conference centre for 300 persons. The hotel is expected to open in 2010. The necessary construction work will cost 8 million euro.

Empuriabrava is now only able to rent anchorages for boats up to 15 m. This will soon change and by summer there will be ten anchorages available for boats up to 20 metres.

Of the 4500 anchorages in Empuriabrava, only 700 owners, so far, have registered with the manager of the channels (Port Empuriabrava S.A.). The company will begin an in formation campaign to start at the beginning of the tourism season, top encourage the owners to register.

Cadaqués sees itself confronted with a new phenomenon, called wedding tourism. More and more non-resident couples are choosing Cadaqués as the “in” place to exchange wedding vows at a civilian wedding. The city hall has reacted, so that two Fridays per month will be available for weddings.  Last year 150 marriages were performed in Cadaqués, mostly linking non-residents.

Despite a tourist disappointing Holy Week Sant Pere Pescador attracted a crowd at the re-opening of the tourism office. 212 persons took advantage of its services, mostly Catalans.

Llançà opened a new information office for tourists in the Roman tower at the Plaça major, in the local centre. The tower had been made accessible to the public in August, last year.

Empuriabrava will build a new purification plant. For the citizens the project expense will be covered through a special tax. The city hall invited its French-speaking citizens to an information meeting on the topic, which attracted more than 80 citizens.

It remains unclear what will happen with the new (or old) railway stations in Figueres. The city hall opts, at present, to build both the new station for the high-speed train TAV and to retain the existing station for traditional trains, but the latter will have underground rails.

At the Aiguamolls nature reserve, the track south from the El Cortalet information office to the old rice silos has been closed indefinitely to bicycles but will remain open for walkers. However, the track north-east from El Cortalet towards Empuriabrava, the one from Pau to Palau-Saverdera and the one alongside the river Fluvià at Sant Pere Pescador can all still be explored by cycle.

In Roses over 1000 new dwellings will be built behind the Citadel beside the Mas Oliva urbanisation. Half of the properties will be advertised nationally and reserved for sale or rent to young people and older citizens, while the rest will be offered for sale on the open market.

After three years’ delay, Cadaqués Council has published its its draft special plan for the redevelopment of the old part of town. The plan covers new and existing buildings together with their use or conversion. The delay happened because a considerable number of inputs had to be taken into account following the public announcement of the plan.

For Easter, Castelló d’Empúries has installed a statue of Christ by the artist Natalie Stamford at the Castelló Nou roundabout. Castelló will play host to a number of gatherings during the holidays, amongst them the Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) procession with live participants.

Cadaqués will decide definitely only after the summer what is going to happen to the buildings of the former Club Med at Cap de Creus.

Cadaqués has agreed with the coastal administration on the installation of a point for fuelling boats and disposing of their waste water. Although the associated work will begin soon, it is unlikely that these services will be ready this summer.

Roses has taken over two wells between the Mas Mates and Mas Boscà urbanisations. They previously supplied water to the Pení military base until June 2007, at which time the base was connected to the water supply of Cadaqués. The two wells produce 800 cubic metres of water per day and can satisfy 17%  of the water demand out of season and 6% in the summer.

During its first weekend, 25 items were sold at the fair for used boats in Empuriabrava: 23 boats and two jet skis. The boats mostly belonged to the very popular 8-9m class.

Near Sant Miquel de Fluvià, the police captured four men who were running large scale tobacco smuggling from Spain to France. The smugglers, although well organised and equipped, were caught with 50,000 packets of cigarettes. The origin of the merchandise is not yet known.

On Easter Saturday Garriguella is holding its very popular “Fira de la garnatxa”. Not only will lovers of this sweet wine be pleased, but there will also be a plentiful supply of baking to sample all day long.

	Darnius is offering a rich program to its guests and residents for the Easter holidays. It begins on Friday with sardanas, garnatxa and cakes. High points will surely be the ball starting at 11.30 in the evening and the cavalcade from the town hall to the church starting at 12.15 on Sunday afternoon.
Darnius

100 actors and 60 technicians are organising this year’s passion play in the “horta d'en Cusí” of Sant Climent Sescebes. The widely-renowned  passion play will have five performances. The program ends with the Jewish market on Sunday in San Climent.

Llançà opened its new youth hostel in the Carrer Setcases, No. 9, beside the train station.  The hostel offers 10 dormitories for 49 young people and a well-equipped kitchen. The youth hostel will remain open throughout the year..

In Roses the new roundabout at the intersection of the Avinguda de Rhode with the Ronda Miquel Oliva Prat was recently inaugurated.

Colera opened a new children's playground.

The government approved work for the improvement of the round way along the coast in Cadaqués. The new road will pass between the Cala Nens and the beach Sa Conca.

In Portbou the private and public water consumption was limited because of the drought.

Defensem el Tren de L’Empordà (we defend the trains of the Empordà) collected 3600 signatures at 12 stands in Figueres during Election Day. This petition asks the city hall to seek citizen input as to whether the train station should remain where it is now,with the rails underground, or shifted, as planned to Vilafant. The city hall has not yet reacted to the petition.

The city hall of Castelló d'Empúries plans the renovation of the zone Sant Mori in Empuriabrava.

Llançà await extensive road repairs. The N-260 will get two metres of sidewalks, which will facilitate the way from the station to the beach. Likewise on the program is a new roundabout to facilitate traffic to Port de la Selva. The resulting costs will be a bit less than 4 million euro.

	The round way along the sea between the Cala Fornells and the Cala Tamariu in Port de la Selva has been repaired at an expenditure of 288 thousand euro.
Cala Tamariu

La Jonquera is concerned about the traffic volume along the N II. During the weekends innumerable trucks are parked at roadside and obstruct the flow of traffic.  The police have been unsuccessful in encouraging the truck drivers to use the many truck parking lots in the area.

The winery Espelt in Vilajuïga now also sells olive oil that comes from their own 30,000 olive trees growing on 30 hectares.

A boundary stone between Castelló d'Empúries and Fortia, dating from 1771 is now owned by the municipality of Castelló. The stone had been found by Vicens Llovet in the year 2001 while he worked with a tractor on his field.

In the Avinguda the Salvador Dalí in Figueres work will begin this week on the electrical system. Therefore expect serious traffic delays.

The nightclub zone of Empuriabrava will have monitoring cameras.

The Sommelier Rafael Sabadí from the restaurant Roser 2 in L’Escala won 12000 Euro in the “Premi Vila Viniteca de Cata” along with David Martínez (El Velero, Sitges) in the Casa Llotja Mar v in Barcelona. 168 Sommeliers from Spain’s leading restaurants participated in the competition.

The CiU, in the city hall of Roses in the opposition, shows up few enthusiastically of the plans to establish around the citadel a nightclub zone. This, so the CiU, is an inadmissible mixture of culture and spare time.

200 wines and cavas from Catalonia were presented for tasting at the “Girovi '08” as candidates for the coveted best product awards. In the particularly prestigious “negres reserva” category,  the red “Moll de Alba 2001” wine from the Castillo de Capmany winery won the Gold Medal of Catalonia.

Empuriabrava council took part in the recent “Navartur" tourist trade fair  in Pamplona (Navarra).

In Empuriabrava, the municipal gardening workforce is now pruning about 700 oleanders in the Muga, Noguera, Llobregat, Platja Petita, Falconera and Marinada roads. These oleanders are of the kind that need to be cut before they bloom in April.

Catalan ice-cream is on its way to China. The “Gelats Dino” company, founded in 1979 as small ice-cream parlour in Empuriabrava, received a delegation from China, which is interested in its products, as a first step towards the internationalisation of the brand.

The last medium tension electricity supply line for the city centre of Roses will soon be installed underground. It will run parallel to the Gran Via Pau Casals. The work will begin on 25 March and will take about three weeks. During this period, however, no significant power cuts are to be feared.

According to the organisers, 15,000 people demonstrated last weekend in Perpignan (Southern France) against the planned building of the high voltage transmission line over the Pyrenees. The demonstrators came from both sides of the border.

In Empuriabrava the cesspits, installed in the sixties, are to be replaced by main drainage. The work has started already, and by the year 2011 all households will be connected to the drains system. During the summer months work will be suspended, to avoid disturbance during the tourist season.

Llançà municipal council has a new website: www.llanca.cat. So far, it is only in Catalan and Spanish.

Roses wants to locate new night clubs in a zone around the fortress. This initiative should prevent disturbance to nearby residents in the city centre. The former Disco Picasso in the old part of town is to be re-designed as a commercial centre.

The shops and restaurants along the N II in La Jonquera have been suffering a large fall-off in trade in the last few months. French customers in particular are not coming any longer but do their shopping in Le Perthus instead. Some shops and restaurants that have been in business for a long time have announced their closure.

Vicente Ortiz from Cadaqués has just celebrated his hundredth birthday. The local council marked the occasion by giving him a medal.

	Over 800 guests attended a concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Catalonia in Figueres in the El Jardí theatre. The proceeds went to non-profit associations of the Alt Empordà.
El Jardí

The police have seized three men who attacked the “La Closa” bar in l'Escala. They are 23-year-old Spaniards. One of them had already committed a similar crime.

Catalonia is mourning the loss of one of its greatest sons, Josep Palau i Fabre (Barcelona 1917 – 2008), who is considered one of its most important writers of the 20th century. A particular expert on the work of Pablo Picasso, he had acquired an international reputation. He did most of his work in Llançà, where he settled at the beginning of the sixties in the Grifeu quarter. He lived there very privately and only went away on business, mostly to Barcelona or to France. However, he spent his last years in Barcelona, primarily for health reasons. The beach promenade at Grifeu carries a reminder of him in the form of a commemorative plaque put up two years ago.

The local council in Roses is taking a number of measures to handle the water shortage caused by the drought. Among other things, it is forbidden for private individuals to use tap water for filling swimming pools, watering gardens, or washing down terraces and garages. More to the point, there is now a hosepipe ban  in Roses. Businesses are also affected by water restrictions; for example, cleaning leisure boats with tap water is no longer permitted. The supply of water for drinking is, however, secure for the summer, so that there should be little effect on the tourist season. The quality of the water still remains perfect. Nevertheless, there are swindlers taking advantage of the present situation, and we therefore give warning: these people first telephone to arrange a visit in order to examine the quality of the tap water. Once in the house, they fake low water quality readings using manipulated instruments and then sell useless equipment for water purification to the victim for about 1,000 euros.

The new hotel management school in Figueres will begin its training activities in the academic  year 2009/2010. It will offer instruction in several disciplines, and all exams are officially recognised.

The beach between Empuriabrava and St.Martí d'Empúries was contaminated during the last “Llevante” by fuel spillage of uncertain origin. However, the remains have now been completely cleared away. A helicopter of the Catalan government flew over the coast and was able to ascertain that there were no more fuel slicks out to sea. The same problem also occurred at the beach at Sant Pere Pescador, but the mess was also completely cleaned up. Nevertheless, it required the removal and disposal of  4 tons of sand.

Sant Pere Pescador

Roses has been included by the Catalan government in the ARE program. This promotes new building development such that 50% of the new dwellings are subsidised low-rent housing (“de protecció oficial”).

	The police have arrested three men from Sant Miquel de Fluvià, who are suspected of stealing and then reselling building materials. They are two Romanians and one Spaniard.
Sant Miquel de Fluvià

The local council in l'Escala has plans to promote cycling for sport and as leisure activity.

Two masked robbers attacked the “La Closa” bar in l'Escala. At the time of the hold-up, at approximately 11.30 pm, only one customer and two employees were in the bar. The thieves stole 11,000 euros from the cashbox, the slot machines and the cigarette machine.

“Salvem l'Empordà” has reminded the Catalan government of its promise to restore the area around the mouth of the river Fluvià and integrate it into the Aiguamolls nature park. This promise was originally made when the ruined “Fluvià Marina” was cleared away, three years ago now.

Palau-Savadera is having abandoned vehicles removed from the locality. Some have already been removed by their owners, while others will need the use of a tow-truck.

The singer Antonio Orozco gave a concert in the Disco Pacha in Empuriabrava. As expected, his performance was a great success.

The village of Torroella de Fluvià, with its 550 inhabitants, has not had any shop in which to buy daily necessities since last December. This is particularly annoying for older residents who have no car to go shopping in neighbouring Sant Pere Pescador. Unfortunately, no improvement in this situation is foreseen.

The Cadaqués music festival is getting a new director this year; the style of the festival is also taking new paths. A first material sign of the changes is the installation of an amphitheatre for the concerts at the “Olivar de Sa Conca” beach.

L'Escala is also taking measures to save water. Because of the continuing drought, swimming pools may not be filled with tap water, private car washing is forbidden as is garden watering. Consumption by the fresh water showers on the beach is to be lowered likewise, using a card system that will make only 2 litres of water available within 25 seconds for users.

Roses still needs 30 more new citizens to reach the threshold of 20,000 inhabitants. If this is achieved, Roses will get a new status under the Catalan government. This affects subsidies, which then become bigger, but means too that Roses will have new obligations towards its citizens.

La Vajol is planning to build a youth hostel, particularly with walkers in mind.

The new school building of Cadaqués will be ready for the academic year 2008/2009, when the first pupils can be taught there.

Figueres has already received 75 requests for scholarships for artistic work, nearly twice as many as last year.

For some weeks there have been no daily papers to buy in Port de la Selva. The only book store of the place stopped this service a while ago, so that the readers of the daily papers have to go into the next place, Llançà. The city hall wanted to defuse the situation, by offering the newspapers in the tourism office, however would have needed for it a licence, to that extent that was also not possible.

The new museum of the exile Museu Memorial de l'Exili (MUME) in La Jonquera organised days of the open door on last weekend. Over 150 visitors followed the call. The museum, the only one of its kind in Europe, is opened from Monday until Saturday from 10 to 19 o'clock and  Sunday and holidays from 10 to 16 o'clock.

The library Jaume Vicens Vives in Roses offers recently over 200 daily papers from over 60 countries for double-sided printing in the format DIN A3.

The archaeological museum of Empúries plans to arrange its mechanisms in such a way that also deaf visitors can understand its programs.

If the dryness continues not to stop, Figueres wants to reduce in August the water consumption of the private households, with a water barrier of 22 to 6 o'clock.

A strange phenomenon employs the natural protection of the Guardia civil (Seprona): In Port de la Selva the nets of a fishing boat came up in flames, when they were brought back. Cause was apparently a red substance, whose condition is so far still unknown. None of the involved persons can remember a similar incident.

At the local entrance of Castello d'Empuries two large panels refer to the tourism highlights cathedral and the nature park Aiguamolls. Also some signposts on the access roads around Castello were improved, by referring more clearly to the city. Those non-residents who want to go to Empuriabrava, should know however still that “the largest Marina of the world” belongs to Castello d'Empúries.

Palau-saverdera officially opened the “Slot club Verdera“. This concerns a club with so far 16 members and a course for model cars. The course is 38 metres long, with six lanes. This is accessible not only for members, but for everyone.

Approximately one hundred young people from Roses protested before the city hall because of its policy against the night life. The trip for this action happened at the Friday’s night carnival, when the police wanted to close the bar “Sperpentic” at three o'clock, although the mayoress had verbally assured that it could remain opened longer.

Sant Pere Pescador publishes a book with old photos of the place from the time before 1950. The book is to appear before the summer. The city hall looks to that extent for photos from this epoch and asks everyone for assistance.

L'Escala bought a building in the Carrer Nantré. This has over 300 square metres and is to serve public purposes. Which kind these will be, is so far not yet decided.

Llançà plans at the local entrance, from Figueres coming into the zone “Mas d'en Gifre” a new industrial area. In front of the industrial zone green areas are to adorn the view toward the road.

The road Doctor Josep Vidal Geli in Sant Pere Pescador is renamed, as Carrer Major. The deserving doctor will give however the name of a new road.

Figueres extends the Park&Ride service between the fairground and the city centre starting from 21 February. So far one could park Saturday afternoon the vehicle there and arrive by bus free of charge into the city. Although the offer had been accepted so far by only very few, it is expanded on Thursday morning. Thursday is market day in Figueres and there are always particularly scarce parking spaces.

The businessmen of Llançà give a new purchase card in circulation, the “Comerç de Llançà”. Thus discounts and other advantages can be granted purchasing in the attached shops.  

Associations and citizen movements, which vote against the building of new high voltage transmission lines in all Spain, met in Madrid, in order to discuss and coordinate their actions, under them also representatives of “NO a la MAT” which fight against the planned line with 400 Kv over the Pyrenees to France.

Anna Marés Godo from Roses (~ June 2007) left three buildings at the plaça Sant Pere by means of a donation to the city of Roses, with the condition that these are never again to be sold and are to serve in the future for social and cultural purposes.

Castelló d'Empúries requested the “Agència Catalana de l'Aigua” assistance, in order to be able to temporarily forbid the use of drinking water for filling private swimming pools because of the water scarceness in Castelló d'Empúries, Llançà, Roses and Cadaqués. For the swimming pools at the channels of Empuriabrava is to be created the possibility of filling these with sea water

The Spanish state takes over the financing of the renovation of the birth house of Salvador Dalí in Figueres.

The port of Llançà will be better protected from the wind Llevante. The work is still this year to begin, the federal state government pays for this 4.7 million euro.

The city hall of Sant Pere Pescador offers a course for Windows and Internet. It takes 16 hours and begins on 19 February. The courses take place Tuesday from 20 to 22 o'clock, the participation costs 75 euro.

An ultra light aircraft had to make an emergency landing on the flight to Dole (north France) from Empuriabrava because of engine problems beside the new cemetery of Llançà, close by the road to Figueres.

The level of the artificial lakes moves towards the 20%  mark: Boadella 22.46%.

The church Santa Maria in Portbou will be repaired, specifically the roof, the front and two towers.

Llançà's municipal budget for the year 2008 amounts to 11.215.800 euro, 6% more than in the previous year. 2,9 million euros are intended for investments for the improvement of the townscape. The opposition parties PSC and ICV refused their agreement to the budget.

Port de la Selva requires an improvement of its public means of transport. At present only two motorbuses stop there on weekdays, both in the morning.

Castello d'Empúries, Empuriabrava and the nature park Aiguamolls presented their advantages on the tourism fair “Fitur” in Madrid.

8 municipalities in Catalonia with more than 2500 inhabitants have a foreign-born component of more than 30%. At the Top of the list is Castelló d'Empúries with a foreign contingent of almost 50% which mainly consists of citizens residing in Empuriabrava from other EU countries.

Palau-saverdera officially inaugurated the plaça Mirador-Balcó de l´Empordà. The place at the local entry is equipped with banks, a pergola, wells and a monument that reminds of the 21 victims of Palau-saverdera during the Spanish civil war.

Castelló d'Empúries officially opened the newly-restored chapel of the cloister Convent de Santa Clara. The building from the century XVII will henceforth serve as a place for cultural meetings, concerts, exhibitions and conferences.

The works for the final disassembly of the buildings of the former club Med in Cadaqués will begin after the summer season.

In Cadaqués a new Hostal was opened. The Hostalet de Cadaqués offers rooms with very modern equipment as well as a bar.

The street of Figueres to Llançà will be extended four lanes.

The work on the Passeig de Montgó in L'Escala will be completed before summer. There a zone arises directly behind the beach for pedestrians.

	If you are interested in the Agenda 21, a plan for the environment of Cadaqués, Port de la Selva and Selva de Mar, you can find information at http://www.agenda21local.org/index.php?a21_port_selva_mar_cadaques.  The site is only in Catalan.
Selva de Mar

Within the framework of the “Festa de la Candelera 2008" the town hall of Castelló d'Empúries exhibits "castellocs," pictures by Pilar Farrés Coll.

A 92-year old Barcelonese, who was visiting the carnivals of Roses as part of a bus group, lost orientation and spent the night in the open air. When he had not appeared at the bus meeting place the travel management alerted the police. This found the tourist in relatively good health. In spite of that, he spent the next night in the hospital for observation.

The caroches Fórmula 1, Mickey i Minnie and “N'hi ha que neixen estrellats" won the first prizes at the carnival of L'Escala.

The town halls of Roses and Castelló d'Empúries will split an employee that cares for the interests of the new citizens.

The urban library of Castelló d'Empúries drew a positive balance during 2007; attracting about 40% more visitors than in the previous year.  Also the (Gratis) Internet access was well accepted. More than 8000 users took advantage of this access. Even though most books are in Catalan or Spanish, there are newspapers in several languages that are of interest to foreign visitors.

The old bridge over the Muga in Castelló d'Empúries is restored as a historical monument. Since 2004, when the new bridge was put into operation, it served only for strollers and cyclists.

The environmental protection organization “Iaeden” organized a bicycle route from the Rambla of Figueres to the city hall, in order to request the city to do more for traffic by bicycle. Twenty cyclists followed the call, among them also active politicians, who identify themselves with the goals of the action.

The city hall of Castelló d'Empúries decided at its last plenary assembly to take over some co-workers of the public company “Castelló 2000”, concretely the cleaning service, one carpenter and two painters. The city hall obtains thus substantial savings without reducing the quality of the services.

The containers for the old clothing collection in Port de la Selva were shifted to other places: On the parking “dels horts” and at the road crossing to Selva de Mar. The container at the “Moll de la Timba” remains existing.

The entrepreneurs of the industrial area “Mas Ferrer” in Figueres worry because of threatening thefts to their businesses. There much material and cash were stolen, in the course of one year happened there 15 break-ins. Since the police could not get the thieves so far, the entrepreneurs now organize a guard service at night for the factory buildings.

The city hall of l'Escala created an agency for the economic development of the city. Very soon different conferences will take place, to explain the goals of the agency to the entrepreneurs.

After the last rainfalls the wells of Port de la Selva are again filled, that no restriction of the water consumption is necessary

	The German automobile club ADAC awarded the prizes for the best camping sites of Europe in the context of a Gala. The “camping Laguna” in Castelló d'Empúries (Empuriabrava) received thereby the highest honour: Superplace.

Figueres had not participated for twelve years in any tourism fair. Now Figueres decided to participate this year in the fairs in Toulouse, at the international Catalan tourism fair, the “Navartur” in Pamplona, in San Sebastian and Lleida.

The hospitals as well as the centres for first medical attention (CAP) of the region made it well-known that the flu infection is rising strongly. Of a real flu wave cannot be spoken however yet.

The city hall of Figueres decided to close the “Carrer Nou”  between the Rambla and the plaça de Ernest Vila for traffic in order to accomplish some improvements and to arrange the road as a pedestrian precinct. This is considered as pilot project for the Rambla, which shall likewise become one day a pedestrian precinct. The businessmen of Figueres face these plans however critically, since they fear thereby income losses.

Not only France, also the Empordà has its (small) bank scandal.  Employees as well as helpers facilitated taking from the Caixa Girona 5 million euros by mortgage swindles. Of the 12 accused, 3 fled abroad. The Caixa Girona believes to be able to get back 2 million again.

The court in Barcelona condemned the company ArtsMode network, with seat in Figueres, to no more sell a line of products, which are inspired of the work of Salvador Dalí, and to compensate the foundation Gala Dalí for the past “illegal use” of the work of Salvador Dalí. The commercialization of some “dalian”  products by ArtsMode network is however further permitted. The company had acquired relevant rights before the time of Dali’s ex secretary John Peter Moore and goes with the court decision to all appearances by no means conformal.

In the year 2007 11,667 new leisure boats became certified, about 4.9% less than in the year before in Spain. In the province Girona were put about 500 new boats to water.

In the nature park Cap de Creus the water birds wintering there were counted again. 22 kinds were registered, among them some which are threatened by becoming extinct.

In Reus (Barcelona) a very strange theft occupies the police. 53,000 litres of mass wine, a speciality of the family business, were stolen in the winery De Muller. The thieves had opened the entrance gate by force, how they could remove however such a quantity wine, remain a mystery. For the quantity two tankers are necessary. Nevertheless the neighbours did not notice anything at the night of the theft.

The city hall of Roses invested 15,000 euro into an advertising campaign, which promotes the carnival of its city in the south of France, in Andorra and in the remainder of Catalonia in the right light. In the carnival participate over 6000 persons actively, about 50,000 spectators are expected.

Llançà owes his place name to the concept of the "lance." Three lances adorn the local coat of arms and on the occasion of the Fiesta Mayor (St. Vicenç) the town hall awards lances as an honour for deserving citizens. Pere Pacreu i Turró received the golden lance for his good work with the Club Esportiu to which he sacrificed a part of his leisure time for over 40 years. Two silver lances were awarded: Onto Gerard Marín (CN Llançà) for his exceptional results in sailing and to Sandra Juanola for her brilliant academic merit in biology. The youth team of the football club Llançà received the copper lance.

The Dalí-museum in Figueres is pleased with the loan from a private collector who would like to remain anonymous. The picture “Autoretrat desplegant-se en tres", created by Salvador Dalí in 1926, will be shown until end of summer.

Port de la Selva expands the street to Selva de Mar.  Also, cyclists have a new gift: they get their own cycle track.

The Pagaia Club from Llançà will participate this year in the competition of the Spanish kayak-league. Its goalobjective is the rise of the club into the second league.

More than 150.000 visitors found their way to Espolla last week. Their objective, the twelfth Fira de l'Oli i l'Olivera.

The free parking lot on the fair grounds of Figueres had been more or less deserted on first Saturday of his operation.  Few visitors took the city up on their offer for free parking and a free bus transfer into the city – initially, only available on Saturday.

About 5000 citizens of Figueres belong to the Islamic faith. The Centre Cultural Islàmic made some demands on the town hall so that his members can practise their faith. Among other requests was for 10.000 square metre’s ground as well as the possibility for burials according to their rite.

Llançà wants to build behind the already existing gym a covered swimming pool. The project is still in the planning stage . . . but the eventual approval and construction is likely.

Cèlia Caula and Eduardo Márquez were elected as “pubilla" and “hereu" of Llançà. They will represent Llançà during official occasions in 2008.

Llançà opened, during its Fiesta Mayor, the new tourism office at the local entrance (Direction Figueres).

The “oficina de català" of Roses (C/ Sant Josep, 10; Tel. 972 25 39 47, roses@cpnl.cat) offers, beginning on 12 February until 13 May Catalan language courses for adults.

Because of the continued dryness since the summer of 2007 the olive harvest of the Empordà turned out to be quantitatively considerably smaller than in prior years.  The high quality of the harvest tends to balance some of the loss as the fruits gave up between 15 and 20 % more olive oil. In spite of that the olive oil production of the Empordà (138 cooperatives, represented by Empordàlia in Pau) ended with 600.000 litres less than in previous years.

The Ministry of Education gave Roses a subsidy of 300.000 euros to continue, for another year, the restoration works at the citadel.

Portbou made application to build a by-pass street from the end of the tunnel of the C-260 to the railway station. This would avoid lorries having to pass through town to get to the railway station.

Good thing take time. The central government formed a commission for the second phase of the return of the former ground of the club Med in Cadaqués into a natural state. The cost will be about 7 million euros.

A fair with the choir “Vergelitana” is the final ceremony for the 500 year anniversary of the church Sant Martí d'Empúries. Since November more than 3000 persons have participated in the events. At the same time the exhibition about the origins of the Christianity in Empúries will close.

	In spite of some semi-violent rainstorms the water scarcity remains a serious problem for our region. The artificial lakes are filled to less than 30 % of their capacity; Boadella only has 26,17 %.
Boadella

The civil union “Antimolins” from Portbou presented to the Supreme Court of Justice of Catalonia their objection to the planned wind mill park “Tramuntana” between Portbou and Colera. According to Antimolins the affected zone is a protected area of high regional value and not appropriate since the wind generators are in the path of migrating birds. Furthermore, the project does not respect the European norms with regard to the carrying out of Border-Comprehensive Measures.

The new mayoress of Roses, Magda Casamitjana, made first contacts with the civil union Roses Cara al Mar. One of their objectives is to assure that around the fishing port no big industrial companies are developed.

The municipality Llançà opened a new swimming pool in the quarter „La Farella”. It is opened Monday until Thursday from 17 hrs 30 to 19 h 45 and on Friday from 17 hrs 30 until 20 hrs 45. In the near future swimming lessons for children and adults will be offered there.

Roses will put a third school into operation for the next school year, at first in temporary classrooms on the ground of the former equestrian sport place. The actual school building will be built in the quarter “Puigmal”.

Roses are installing new road signs.  Old, unattractive signs are to be replaced and places without signs will get new signs, such as in the quarters Santa Margarida, Canyelles and Puig Rom.

Perpignan (Southern France) is the Catalan culture capital for the year 2008. As the first ceremony the exhibition “Gala, Musa de Dalí” was opened, until the end of August at the Couvent des Minimes.

In the context of the 500-year anniversary of the church of Sant Martí d'Empúries in L’Escala there will be an exhibition of Christianity in Empúries.

The fishermen of Roses continue to be victims of thefts and damage of their equipment. To mitigate the risk a part of the dock and auction arena will be locked off so that visitors will be unable to enter the area.

The population of Cadaqués decreased in the year 2007 by 116 inhabitants.

The parachute jump centre Skydive in Empuriabrava, the largest of its kind in Europe, will again organize the Christmas Boogie. 400 sportsmen participated in it, accumulating over 10.000 jumps.

The shops of the region began the winter sale. They offer their goods at greatly reduced prices for two months. They can even be open on certain Sundays if they wish. Expectations of the businessmen are not very high.

Miquel Ferrer i Vilanova was re-elected for a four-year term as president of the club Nàutic Llançà. The choice was only a formality, since there was no rival candidate.

Thieves in Castelló d’Empúries began an unsuccessful break-in attempt into the sports palace. After they had broken a windowpane, they were deterred by the alarm.

	The former barracks of the Guardia civil in Port de la Selva, at present unused, will be prepared to serve as the local police offices. Also the old part of town of Port de la Selva is to get a new face. The city hall plans to invest a million euro into the improvement of the streets.

The Consell Comarcal (advice) of the Empordà submitted eight projects to the federal state government, which, if approved, are to be completed between 2009 and 2012. Among them is also an animal home, which will cost 2.1 million euro

Figueres will become the Catalan cultural capital for the year 2009. In this year Figueres will also celebrate the 150th birthday of Narcís Monturiol (considered the inventor of the submarine and as one of the greatest sons of the city).  The year will be filled with many ceremonies and other events.

The past boss of the Mossos D' Esquadra in Roses, inspector Eduard Campà, is now the director of the local police.

In the last few months the rental prices increased in Figueres by around 22%. An average dwelling costs 520 Euro per month, still more favourably than in Girona, where rents average 709 euro per month.

The exhibition “Gent de Mar” in L'Escala shows photos from the sixties to 1978, in the town’s exhibition hall.

	Ports de la Generalitat will invest during the year 2008 28 million euro for the improvement of Catalan ports. The building of a protective wall for the harbour facilities of Llançà will cost 3,1 million euro.
Port de Llançà

Roses has begun to install new street lighting in the quarter Puig Rom.  Initially in the streets Cant dels Ocells, Tordera, Francesc Alegre, Llobregat, Foix, and on a part of the ascent to Puig Rom. The overall plan is to provide the whole quarter with new lighting; altogether 700 lamps will be installed.

Archaeological excavations in Santa Creu de Rodes (Port de la Selva) has found that a necropolis existed from the VIII and IX century and that between the XI and XVI century the area was inhabited. The archaeologists assume that there were about 250 inhabitants in the XIV century.

The exhibition areas at the lighthouse at the Cap de Creus can be used by Cadaqués for the next five years.  The port authority extended the necessary agreement.

The road of the local entrance to Cadaqués up to the sea is the property of the Direcció general de Carreteres. Therefore the city hall must request permission for any change in the road, even for the installation of a sign. These variances were always granted, but the task resulted in additional work for the city hall. In order to streamline the process the city hall has requested that the road becomes municipality-owned. The Direcció general de Carreteres has agreed, verbally.

Palau saverdera opened, in the Carrer Nou 49, a building to serve the local associations. There are 400 m2 available.

	Although the transfer of the station of Figueres to the outskirts of town to Vilafant seems to be decided thing, citizens continue to resist it. The group “Defensem el tren de L’Empordà” (we defend the train of the Empordà) demands that the station remain where it is and that the rails are put underground.

The Internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia is offering a new search engine http://alpha.search.wikia.com -- as an alternative to Google. At this time it does not seem to be very useful. A search of “CapCreus online” garnered only 60 results and they were often nonsense.

The Christmas Children park of Llançà closed with positive balance. During one week over 700 children visited the park.

Since the renovation work on the fortress is almost final, the construction crane was removed from the Castell de la Trinitat in Roses. Now the work will be to recondition the environment of the Castell.

La Jonquera is the only municipality of Catalonia with 3000 inhabitants and a 14-person police force. Nevertheless this number is far too small, since the shopping strip of Le Perthus is constantly visited by thousands of tourists and creates urban problems similar to a city with 20,000 inhabitants. Money is not available to recruit more personnel for the local police since the tax receipts correspond only to a municipality with 3000 inhabitants.

La Jonquera now expects the national police Mossos d'Esquadra will be stationed there to augment the police.

Close to Bàscara, in the course of the construction work for the route of the TAV, archaeological remainders were found. The ministry for education and cultural estimates their value is not sufficient to interrupt the construction work.

The Galeria d'art in Cadaqués opened the exhibition < Orgànic >, a mixture of painting, sculpture, photos and audiovisuals. The Cap de Creus is the hero of the show.

	In Empuriabrava a car landed in a private swimming pool in the morning hours of Sunday, after it had torn through the wall of the property. Fortunately the swimming pool was in the way; otherwise the last stop would have been in the canal.
photo: Bahia-Blick

Because we still have a very dry climate, along with violent gusts of wind, the Alt Empordà remains a high fire risk.

Figueres exceeded the magic number of 40.000 inhabitants. At present 41.115 inhabitants are registered. Figueres expects further strong demographic growth. Within the next 20 years the number of the inhabitants is expected to double.

Despite some rain, recently, the water level of the reservoir lake of Boadella remains in the critical range, filled to only 25% of its capacity.

The town hall of Portbou organises measures to prevent a water shortage.

10 municipalities of the Alt Empordà want to forbid prostitution on the roads within its municipalities. They have applied to the government representatives in Girona to be able to enforce this new regulation.

The school of Darnius receives a donation of 240 thousand euro from an industrialist from Venezuela. Josep Soler Batlle (88) was born in Darnius, spent his childhood here and immigrated during the Spanish civil war to Venezuela, where he founded one of the most important companies in Venezuela. The donation is divided into ten annual instalments of 24 thousand euro.

The police confiscated at the border in La Jonquera three tons of fish, which had been transported in a truck from Italy. A portion of the load did not meet international regulations, since they were too small to be sold.

The bus (Buhobus) to the nightclubs in Empuriabrava stops at the bus station of Figueres, at the hotel Emporium in Castelló d'Empúries, at the tourism offices of Roses and Santa Margarida and in the nightclub zone of Empuriabrava. Riding on the bus is free. The organizers, satisfied with their success, do not exclude the possibility of expanding the scope to include La Jonquera and L’Escala.

Intensive rainfalls determined the climate of the days before Christmas. The rain was nit so bad that it caused flooding.

To marry in the church has become quite rare.  In the year 2006 the number of church weddings fell to under one thousand. In contrast, there were1822 civilian weddings.

The Plaça de les Escoles in L’Escala, including the tourism office, will be reconditioned in the year 2008.

Sant Pere Pescador announced the budget 2008 at 4,77 million euro. A majority of the planned investments (2.755 million euro) is allocated to the completion of the general-purpose gymnasium.

The Bible of the monastery Sant Pere de Rodes has returned to Port de la Selva, but this time as a facsimile version. The original, dating from the XI century is considered one of the most important documents of Catalonia.  In the XVIII century the Bible was taken as war booty and moved to France. The original is in the national library of Paris and can be viewed only very rarely. The original Bible was originally only one manuscript of 566 pages, but it was divided in XVIII the century, in France, into four volumes. New, complex techniques now permit a faithful reproduction of the Bible, which can be visited in the library of Port de la Selva. 

The ski stations in the Pyrenees expect a snowy Christmas. Also the peaks of the Albera Mountains are now white.  Even at the coast we saw a few snowflakes. At higher elevations traffic problems were noted. The road between Port de la Selva and Vilajuïga, the road to the monastery Sant Pere de Rodes, was temporarily closed as a precaution.

Ferran Adrià, world-famous kitchen boss of the El Bulli in Roses, received from the university Barcelona the honour doctor honoris causa.  This is the first time a cook in Spain received such recognition.   Adrià self-learned mechanics as they relate to cooking, and on the occasion of the award suggested that we introduce cooking as a university discipline.

In Castelló d'Empúries a working group in the city hall worries about the use of bicycles in the context of urban traffic. A new association with the name “Amics de la bicicleta” is in the establishment phase, and their goal will be to improve the existing, and add more, cyclist lanes.

The company Pescagirona with headquarters in L'Escala now sells 20% of its fish via the Internet. During the holidays it is expected that their sales over the Internet will grow to 50%.

If everything goes as planned, Cadaqués will have its own bus station in the summer 2008, located beside the parking lot at the local entrance. Whether the number of bus connections to Cadaqués will increase is still not known. If this should happen however, a trip by bus for daily visitors would be a viable alternative because of the chronic shortage of parking space in Cadaqués.

Roses plans to install a day-care centre for handicapped children. This will be opened only during the summer months, for the time being.

Llançà intends to use renewable energies in public buildings.

The city hall of Figueres has reached an agreement with the tenants of the shop Can Tamarís, located in the birthplace of Salvador Dalí, for an early termination of their lease. Something similar is planned with the two remaining rentals in the house.

The new industrial area of Roses, at the road toward Vilajuïga, begins in February with the sales of properties. So far only the company Zodiac is located there. The area will be adaptable to the needs of small and mid-sized enterprises.

The federal state government initiates the program Banda Ampla Rural, which is to also make possible for all municipalities with over 100 inhabitants to have (A)DSL service. The Alt Empordà is of particularly concern since it ranks among the regions with the worst ADSL internet access in Catalonia.

Portbou plans a new by-pass road for trucks, which leads directly to the station.

The Catalan government plans to build 7 new sport airports. The facilities for light airplanes in Viladamat and Ordis, already existing will be further developed to fit the new plans at an expenditure of 2.3 million euro. The airport in Empuriabrava cannot be revised however, since an extension of the runway is not possible due to its location.

For the first time in 15 years the prices for real estates has fallen on the Costa Brava.  In some regions the prices have decreased by up to 9% in the past six months. Because of the large number of homes for sale, the buyer has the upper hand.

At the passeig Nou of Figueres the branches of the trees have been radically pruned and there is no place for the starlings to roost  . . .  much to the joy of the auto owners, who heretofore had spent time each morning cleaning their automobiles.

In Bàscara, during the construction work for the TAV route, 20 ancient silos were discovered.  Their origin is still unknown. Further archaeological excavations will continue along the route, with the possibility of further finds.

The planned windmill park in Biure received the necessary permission. Eventually there will be 11 wind generators.

The ERC of Figueres is working to permit young people less than 18 years to use the public transportation free of charge.

The Parking lot in the port of Roses is becoming a meeting place of truck drivers, who during the weekend, on which they may not drive, park their trucks.  For businessman this is not a problem because these drivers may spend some of their money. Neighbours however are being disturbed by the noise, especially from the refrigerators of the fresh goods transporting trucks. Also the fishermen feel handicapped in their work. In response, the city hall is considering measures to forbid truck parking there.

The association of businessmen of Roses is seeking to encourage business premises to be rented for longer term. At present, many shops open only during the summer months, which reduce the attractiveness of the city centre in the winter.

Llançà had opened the Roman tower on the Plaça Major during the past summer as a pilot project. The offer was so well accepted -- over 1000 visitors -- which the city hall now plans to recondition the tower.

The ice skating rink on the Rambla in Figueres, planned for the Christmas holidays, will be 30 x 15 meters.

At the delta of the Rio Muga 800 dead fish were found, victims of poisoning from ammonium. This was caused, in all probability, by a purification plant located outside of the city.

Gerard Marín (CN Llançà) plans for his next project after his successful participation on the MiniTransat 2007.  He plans to participate again in the year 2009, this time with a prototype. At present Marín is seeking about 135 thousand euro for the project.

In the centre for young art in Madrid there is an exhibition of works by twenty artists from the Empordà, in the context of the Transart 6. The exhibit was organized by the museum of the Empordà and the city hall of Girona.

The centre civic of Colera organizes a painting competition for children on 1 December starting at 17 o'clock.

Magdalena Álvarez, minister for the building industry, announced that the train connection by TGV between Barcelona and the French border would be operational in the year 2010.  But, initially with provisional trains which will not achieve the maximum speed.  The high-speed trains will begin in 2012.

Roses will enlarge its tourism office during the next four months at an expenditure of 196 thousand euro.

Castelló d'Empúries will try to improve the traffic facility between the historical town centre and Empuriabrava by utilizing electrical mini busses.

L'Escala inaugurates its Christmas lighting on 30 November at 18 o'clock at the place before the city hall.

The artist Dolors Caballero presents from 2 until 16 December in CanLaporta of La Jonquera her exhibition CARÀCTERS.

Palau saverdera is installing a Wi-Fi system, available to all citizens. The system will also be used to control public road lighting as well as monitoring cameras in public buildings.

Roses is considering building a plant for the demineralization of the seawater in order to guarantee the supply of industrial water.

Castelló d'Empúries is trying to save water.  Because of the continuous drought the city hall requires that the urban cleaning companies stop using drinking water, but instead use water from the purification plant.

On 9 September Castelló d'Empúries will organize, in the old part of town, its classical market with Christmas products. On the same day the artist Anna Mª Constanseu opens an exhibition with her painting in the LLotja Comunal.

Impressum: Ernst Witzel, Paul A. Hoffstein, Manuel Fernández Vila, Christel Arnold, Geraldine Steffler, . Article contributions, even when being seriously serious please to cconline@cbrava.com     CapCreus online, every day a little more