News

Local Bars are the chief source of drugs for students


The sale of drugs to young students in the Balearics takes place mainly at weekends.

This is starting to give cause for concern, in the bars close to the schools and, in general, in the local areas around the schools.

This was revealed January 2006 by Alberto Sastre, the secretary general of the Guardia Civil Association in the Balearics.

He said that “the ministry of the interior should step up vigilance around the schools in the Balearics”, even though he claims that the number of small dealers were not “alarming” and was much lower than in cities such as Madrid and Barcelona.

Sastre welcomed the central government's decision to put 3'000 national police and Guardia Civil officers on duty around schools all over Spain, in a nationwide campaign which starts this month. But, he claimed, there was a shortage of officers to carry out the plan in an effective manner and warned that the Ministry of the Interior is acting without co-ordination.

Sastre said that drug trafficking among students usually occurs at weekends.. “Normally, it is not at the school gates, the students leave school and go around the bars,” he claimed.#

The new campaign is to fight against drug trafficking on a small scale, particularly the sale of drugs to students.
The scheme will run for at least two years, and the officers will make quarterly reports.

The ministry is drawing up a map showing the danger areas, which it will update, and use for special operations.
Ramon Socias, the central government representative in the Balearics, is in Madrid this month, together with counterparts from the rest of Spain, for a meeting to finalise details. This included the number of officers which each region will assign to the fight against drug trafficking in schools.

It is believed that also lively tourist resorts such as Magaluf and Palma nova and many other resorts will in fact have there policeing expanded and at the airport to counter cut the drug problems.

Calf injury sidelines Ronaldo for three more weeks

Ronaldo's injury woes show no signs of abating. A calf injury, originally sustained during a training session on the 29th December, forced him to pull out of Real's disappointing goalees draw with Villarreal and will sideline him for at least three weeks.

The layoff means that the Brazilian striker will miss at least the next three League games -against Sevilla, Cádiz and Celta-, the second leg of Real's Copa del Rey clash with Athletic Bilbao and the quarter final, should they reach that stage.

It has been a miserable season for Ronaldo, for whom this is the fifth major injury of the season. It all started on the 15th October, when he tore ankle ligaments during the Madrid derby against Atletico, sidelining him for a month. He suffered a recurrence of the problem, this time with arthritis in the same ankle, when he was rushed back into action for the Barcelona clash on the 19th November. A pulled muscle on the 7th December was followed by the calf injury sustained on his return to training after the Christmas break.

In spite of his problems, Ronaldo, who has already missed nine Liga and all six Champions League games so far this season, remains philosophical, ""These things happen in football," he said. "If I was a lawyer this sort of think wouldn't occur. What I need now is a change of luck."

PALMA MARINA INVESTIGATED FOR POLLUTION

Following an expose, by the daily newspaper, El Mundo, with photos of large streaks of paint and chemicals on the surface of the water around a varadero, the local police, Palma council and the Mallorcan department of the environment have visited the Club Nautico Sant Antoni de la Playa in Can Pastilla.

A spokesperson from the office of the director general of coasts said, “Up to the revelations of the newspaper’s story we have not known of the existence of contaminating substances in the leisure ports of the Balerics.”

The same source issued the statement that, “Marinas, like any other organisation that uses products which can contaminate the environment they are obliged to be registered and should use them only sporadically and also should have a method of safely collecting these residues. We are not sure if the Club Nautico de Can Pastilla satisfies these requirements which was established in the law of residues of 1998.”
The maximum fine for breaking this law is 1803 Euros.


Major changes in the way bar and club PR's can operate

Local Council officials have agreed new operating terms with the bar and club owners of Magaluf & Palma Nova ensuring a control on the number of PR's a club or Bar has is proportional to the size of that establishment. It is also intended that these PR's will have to wear some form of clear identification which might include some form of yellow vest as used in other parts of the world for promotion staff.

There is also an intention to limit the drinks promotions made available to passing punters and closing times have now been set as 4AM for Bars and 6AM for Clubs.

These recent rule changes may be subject to further changes depending on the outcome of local elections which are due soon. It has been reasoned that these changes will improve not only the appearance of Magaluf but also improve the experience for holiday makers.

TOURIST TAX

You may have read a lot about the tourist tax being imposed on all tourists by the Balearic Government from 1st May 2002. It is also being described as an "Eco Tax" because the money is supposedly being used to maintain the environment and natural beauty of the island. Fair comment, but the majority of tourists never go beyond the limits of their resort and are only interested in sun, sangria and whatever else begins with "S" and will never see the benefits of the money they plough into the Balearic Government.

Whilst the central Government in Madrid originally outlawed the Balearics plan they have now given it the go ahead but the local hoteliers have appealed against the decision and it could well be overturned at a later date, in which case you will get your money back so keep a receipt of the money you pay on arrival in Mallorca. We have heard that some hotels are giving you vouchers up to the value of the Tax paid to spend in the hotel. But we haven't seen any yet!

How much will you pay? Roughly 1 Euro per person per night if you are staying in an apartment or three star hotel. The rates vary depending upon other types of accommodation.