The Online newspaper for the Costa Brava, News fromL'Estartit, Pals, Begur, Palafrugell, Palamós, Platja d'Aro, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar

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Blanes becomes the first Spanish city declared friend of the gays. The full City Council decided yesterday, a day after the gay pride march, declaring Blanes as "Gay friendly".

Lloret de Mar is looking for women over 75 years to make a documentary on tourism. The documentary, funded by the City Council, will discuss the early years of tourism seen from the viewpoint of women.

In Palafrugell premieres Friday July 3 at the theater TMP the play by Molière "The Wise Women" (Les Femmes Savant) a farce by Molière (1622-1673) written in verse that deals with academic pretensions of wealthy people of his time, becoming one of his most popular comedies. Admission is just € 6 and can be purchased at the theater box office.

The deaths from traffic accidents on Catalan roads have declined by 9% so far this year. All Catalan provinces have experienced a decline in accidents except the province of Girona where it has gone from 25 dead to 34.

Kodjo Senyo will be responsible for opening this Sunday, July 5th, the series of Music concerts in the Gardens of Santa Clotilide of Lloret de Mar.

Lloret de Mar finances the improvement of the Xiringuitos on the main town beach due to bad state in which they are found after many years of use. To improve their image, they will be painted with images typical of the town and people.

The XVII Show of Home Cooking of Santa Cristina de Aro was held with participation of around 500 guests in the pavilion, who enjoyed more than 5 dishes prepared by 50 chefs and cooks of the town and surrounding area. Among the dishes available for tasting were some as varied as beans and peas of the Aro Valley, squid stuffed with shrimp, monkfish suquet, chicken couscous, Lionesas and chocolate brownies.

Festival de la Porta Ferrada de Sant Feliu de Guixols started strongly with The Pretenderos (July 5), the legendary rock band, of undisputed fame in the eighties. Led by its founder Chrissie Hynde, the band has been an undenialable point of reference for the 'new wave'. Born of punk, their influences have been drunk by the rock, beat and pop-rock of the UK and U.S..

The city council of Pals held its XII edition of the traditional planting of rice in a field of Molí de Pals. Afterwards, refreshments were offered to participants.

Llofriu hosts the party of “the peeling of cork”, with the aim of showing visitors how to extract cork, what the forests of cork trees are like and just to discover Llofriu and its landscapes.

The Autonomous Police arrested a trucker yesterday at noon on N-II near Bàscara who was driving with an alcohol level nine times higher than permitted.

In Blanes is celebrated the exhibition "Els Paradisos" by the painter Rafael Bataller until August 2.

In Pals, specifically in Ca La Pruna, is an exhibition named "Tajadura”.

Palamós celebrates its festival June 23 to June 28.

The Department of Environment reported that all Catalan beaches are suitable for swimming. In Begur, jellyfish were detected between the 3rd and 9th of June.

This week in Palamós has begun work to restore and paint the road signs in different streets, beginning with the September Eleven Ave.

The Municipality of Sant Feliu de Guixols held a cooking course for 20 hours in the gastronomic classroom of Empordà for fifteen women from the municipality who are unemployed.

The Area econòmic services and the Cadastre of the Municipality of Palamós again becomes operational.

Gerona is the Catalan province that notes less direct aid in the purchase of cars. Despite the entry into force of Plan 2000e and AutoCat by which government and manufacturers provide up to 2000 euros for the purchase of a new vehicle, the sale of private cars fell by 20.6% in the first fifteen days. In Gerona were sold a total of 292 vehicles compared to 368 a year ago.

XVII edition of the Blues festival in Rosas. July 16, 17 and 18 at the Teatro Municipal on the main stage will be offered 16 free concerts and performances like that of Sherman Robertson & Blues Move, Emma Lamadji Healing Gospel and African music.

The Ministry of Environment has begun a campaign for detection of jellyfish this summer. The Ministry makes a free phone 900,102,326 and email planmedusas@mma.es available to people, so they can raise the alarm if they see a bank of jellyfish near the shore.

The Municipal Sustainability Gerona reported loss of quality in the aquifers of Gerona, but they are still at acceptable levels.

Lloret. The father of the youth who disappeared in Lloret, offers 10,000 euros to anybody who provides clues to find him. Heile Georg, 20, never returned to his hotel Wednesday morning and was last seen near Sa Caleta.

Calonge. The Town Hall of Calonge and the Guild of Antique and Brocante comarcas Gerona organized the second edition of the Fira d'Antic , this weekend.

Platja D'Aro. Organized the 29th Festival d'Homenatge to Vellesa. It is free to all those over 65 years of age, who are registered in the municipality.

Up until May, car registrations have fallen by 42% in the Girona region. Sellers are confident that the Plan 2000E will begin the start of recovery.

Gerona. Course at the Civic Center Ter to build a solar cooker.

Pals. Exhibition "Tajadura in the Ca Pruna.

Peratallada. Exhibition of oil paintings "Twinsis. Until June 15 at the Art of Coffee Peratallada.

Torroella de Montgrí. Cooking classes. 2 and June 9 with Pep Salsetes.

Palamós. Photography courses. Every Thursday from 8 to 10 pm at the Bay Club Palamós film.

More information at: 677890990 or palamos.ageffoto.org.

Lloret de Mar. "Lloret Descobrim" Tour from the Sea Museum, the historical center and gardens of Santa Clotilde. "Arrels rating" Tour of the Sea Museum, the historical center and the castle of San Juan. "The legacy of the Indians" guided tour from today by the Sea Museum, the historical and the modern cemetery.

A new green route follows the course of the Ter river from the Pyrenees to the Costa Brava. The route includes more than 200 kilometers and crosses five regions of Catalonia with an altitude change of 2,200 meters between the highest peaks of the Pyrenees and the mouth of the river.

Blanes decided to approve the reconversion of a parking of l´illa Isozaki. A blue zone with 569 spaces will be created that will be free for the residents of the town.

Lloret de Mar. More than a hundred children do not have a place in any municipal day-care center in Lloret. At the moment Lloret has only two day-care centers, has thought about the location of the new one, but it still has not determined when they will construct it.

After twenty years, the city council of Torroella de Montgrí, begins to restore the castle of Montgrí.

In the old nucleus of Peratallada the work of remodeling of the public illumination has begun. Subsidized by the state Plan of Local Investment they hope to renew a total of 170 light fixtures.

This Sunday Basketball Bisbal organizes the 9th Celebration of the Basquet in the Pavilion of Deportes.

Gerona. The opera Madame Butterfly can be seen tomorrow in direct transmission in Gerona thanks to a satellite link from the Venecian theater La Fenice. This transmission, in high quality image and sound, will be projected in room 13 of the Albeniz cinemas. On the next 16th of July has been announced the broadcasting of Le Noce di Figaro.

Gerona. The social work of the Caixa presents the Exhibition of Art in the street, in this case are shown the monumental sculptures of Manolo Valdés. Until the 28 of June.

In the premises of the CCOO of Gerona is presented the exposition, Responsible Consumption for a Sustainable Society.

L'Estartit and Torroella de Montgrí are prepared to offer the best of their gastronomy in the Gastronomical Days until the 24 of June.

Torroella de Montgrí offers a Course of cooking given by Pep Salsetes on the days 26 of May, 2 and 9 of June.

Palamós proposes a Course of photography. Anyone interested can request more information at telephone 677 890 990.

Sant Miquel de Cruilles proposes guided visits to the works of restoration of the church, archaeological excavations, paintings and others.

Guided visits continue in the Foundation Josep Pla in Palafrugell.

The city hall of Palamós called on its citizens to collect food for needy inhabitants. The campaign was a huge success and collected more than 3 metric tons of food.

The local police of Palafrugell are again stopping drivers to check for drug consumption and alcohol impairment.  They will also investigate whether the driver is using legal medicines which impair driving ability.

Also the airport of Girona is feeling the economic crisis. After years of habitually raising passenger volume, the months of January through April saw a 12.9% decline.

The "Antic Sindicat" in Lloret de Mar will show until the 18th of June the exhibition “homage to Rodolf Tur”.   In additions to works by the artist, there will be work by his children on exhibit.

203 runners took part in the XII Cursa Popular de Tossa de Mar, a record turnout.

Five diving centres of Tossa de Mar have expressed their dissatisfaction with a new order that was developed without their knowledge or input. They suggest that as one of the most important tourist attractions of Tossa it would be proper for new order development to include consultation with all affected parties.

In the harbour of L'Estartit a meeting of Cava label collectors will take place on the 24th of May, from 10 to 14 o'clock.

The 24th of May is the deadline for signing up participants for the competition for marine photograph in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. The competition is divided in two categories, underwater photograph and photos from the surface of the sea.

The Plan2000E intends that new automobile buyers will receive state financial support if they scrap their old vehicle. The basic reward is 1,500 Euros, while some regions offer 2,000 Euros. While it is not decided yet, there will probably be a similar arrangement for buyers of 2-wheeled vehicles.  However, the traders complain that they had not been properly informed about the details.

Whales were sighted off the coast between s'Agaró and Sant Feliu de Guíxols.  The animals are on the way to Italy in the Liguria Sea. They use the waters of the Cap de Creus and the Cap de Begur to find food.

Palafrugell opened, within the building Can Genís, a public test space for young musicians, the first of its kind in the Baix Empordà. On 25 m2 amplifiers and drums are available, and the room is air-conditioned.

14 restaurants from Palamós, Calonge and Sant Antoni will participate in the gastronomic campaign "Menú de la Gamba" (until the 12th of July).

Lloret de Mar organizes on the 17th of May a competition of the flower arrangements and plants, from 9 o'clock in "Ermita de les Alegries"

More than 400 runners took part in half a marathon in Tossa de Mar.

The building La Nau in Tossa de Mar will show until the 26th of August an exhibition of photos and documents about the development of tourism in Tossa and in the Costa Brava over the past one hundred years.

L'Estartit stands from the 2nd to the 7th June as the canter of underwater photography. The MIMA (Medes, Imatge i Medi Ambient; Medes. Picture and environment) will organize a competition for underwater photographers.  Eventually they will shows photos and videos and coordinate a market for some of the better works.

Sant Feliu de Guíxols will organize on the 17th of May a full day of Sardana, the 50è Aplec de Pedralta. The event will begin at 12 o'clock.

Now the exhibits in Begur will take place in the casino cultural on c/casino, 2.

Platja d'Aro will offer guided tours until the 15th of June.  The tours will highlight the areas places of interest.  Additional information is available at the tourism office.

Calonge has finally decided to move the urbanization Mas Pere.  It is expected that work will begin in August. The costs of 12,1 million Euros will be paid 85% by the inhabitants and 15% by the municipality. The city hall offers financing to the residents of Mas Pere as either an interest-free loan for six months or a five-year loan at money market rates.

Palafrugell, Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols are jointly working, until the end of May, on the campaign "Festa del Comerç Just". This action is to promote fair prices for goods made in Emerging Countries.

The festival Jardins de Cap Roig in Palafrugell, despite a diminished budget, has continued to showcase the big names in show business. Along with Leonard Cohen, the roster includes Julio Iglesias, James Taylor and Josep Carreras.

The Centre Cultural La Gorga in Palamós will show until the 14th of June a collective exhibit of paintings on textile and silk.

The city hall of Castell-Platja d'Aro finalized its local budget for 2009 at 39 million Euros, 11 millions less than last year. 40% of the budget is allocated for capital investments.

The construction works on the gambling casino "Gran Casino Costa Brava" in Lloret de Mar is progressing quickly.   If everything continues to runs according to plan the casino will open its doors at Christmas. The casino is already looking for staff.

Platja d'Aro bought a historical railroad engine, which formerly had been used for travel between Girona and Palamós.  It will be placed by the former railway station of Castell d'Aro.

The city hall of Lloret de Mar had intended to declare its town as "gay friendly" which is a place that welcomes homosexual and lesbian visitors. Now, however, the government team has delayed the announcement for the time being. Girona Province therefore must wait for its first "gay friendly" destination.

Palafrugell announced its Fiesta "Carroussel Costa Brava" on the 31st of May.

 In Llagostera a motorist travelling at 199 km/h on the country road C-65 was stopped by the police.

 Platja d'Aro expects that " III Olimpíada del ball ” on the weekend of 9/10 May will attract 3,500 dancers from 40 countries to the congress centre.

The "Saló Internacional del Turisme" in Barcelona underlined a trend, which seems to offer a glimmer of hope for the summer season. Spaniards are not expected to renounce their vacation, but will likely limit their budget.  So far the travel agencies report that there are fewer reservations for international travel and increased interest in closer places -- maybe Costa Brava?   So, the expectation is that national tourism will save the "season “ as they have in prior years.  But, in these parlous times nothing is certain.

The restaurants of Begur began their gastronomic campaign "peix de roca" (rock fish) which will run until the 7th of June.  The inauguration was led by Joan Roca whose restaurant el Celler de Can Roca in Girona was described by an English restaurant magazine as the fifth best restaurant in the world.

In the urban museums of Barcelona entry on Sunday afternoon will be free.

Tossa de Mar will organize on the 1st May a competition of flower crosses.  The winners will be recognized at 17 o'clock in the city hall.

In Spain the ghost of the deflation may appear.  While deflation seems good at first sight, because everything will be cheaper, it is actually far more dangerous in the longer run than inflation. Sinking prices will mean that many producers and suppliers will find themselves losing money; they will become insolvent and paralyzes the economy.  In the short term, however, it may encourage foreign holidaymakers to visit Costa Brava.  In the past few years many habitués have avoided the Costa Brava because of the higher costs, and have opted for less expensive destinations.

In Calonge, beginning on the 30th of April at 21 o'clock the gardens of the Castell will be the venue for the Fiesta "Feria de Abril" (until 3 May).  Every day a varied program will run from 10 o'clock till the evening hours.

During a large alcohol control by 22 policemen of the Mossos d'Esquadra and 7 members of the local police of Begur, on the C-31 by Mont-ras between 04 and 09 o'clock the police stopped 120 motorists. 19 of the motorists tested positively to the alcohol analysis, with the highest measured at 0.94 percent. Two motorists were charged with being under the influence of drugs.

Fernando Cano from Palafrugell became the Pitch and Putt world champion in the category stroke play. He excelled on the field in La Grande Motte near Montpellier.  The Irishman Ray Murphy was in second place.

During the widening of the street C-31 between Castell-Platja d'Aro and Palamós the permissible maximum speed has been reduced to 80 km/h.

When the first floor of the building of the fishing cooperative of Palamós the "Espai del Peix" comes into being there will be an exhibit for the public on the process from catching a fresh fish to its marketing. The city hall has budgeted 700 thousand Euros for this project, which should be open in 2010,

Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson will perform together at the 47è festival Internacional de la Porta Ferrada in Sant Feliu de Guíxols. On the 10th of July their show will feature the yellow pony and other songs and stories.

Santa Cristina d'Aro began its chamber music series with a concert by Guillem Calvo (violin) and Mercè Roca-Ritook (piano) in the parish church.  Eleven concerts will follow until the 12th of September.  The next concert will be on the 2nd of May.

The speed limit on the road from Palafrugell to Palamós has been increased to 100 km/h, vs. the prior limit of 80 km/h.

Also in Palamós the damage from the storm at Christmas has been mostly repaired, especially at both sports harbours.

The English Rock band The Pretenders will present their new CD Break up the Concrete during the festival of "Porta Ferrada" in Sant Feliu de Guíxols on the 5th of July. The Pretenders stormed the hit parade in the eighties.  Of the original cast, two will be performing: Chrissie Hynde (singer and guitar) and Martin Chambers on the drums.

Sant Feliu de Guíxols is building two new water tanks, each with a capacity of 4000-m3. Both should be operational by the summer.

The circular path along the coast between Calonge and Platja d'Aro is being renovated.  If the work continues as planned, the path which has been closed for five years will be available again this summer.

The 4 stars hotel Castell d'Empordà in La Bisbal organize a jazz festival, which will run until the 3rd of July. Every Friday there will be jazz groups, which come from Holland, the country of the owners of the hotel.  The admission ticket for a concert will cost 12 Euros

The Riu Ridaura in Platja d'Aro has flooded over and over again, sometimes with serious results.  To mitigate future flooding the riverbed is being canalized, and the work should be completed by the end of May.

65 restaurants of the Costa Brava offer special menus, to commemorate the “hundred years Costa Brava”, until the 12th of September.

Despite the bad weather 300 intrepid souls in Platja d'Aro took part in the traditional first dip of the year into the Mediterranean Sea. The thermometer showed 10 ° air temperature and 12.5 ° water temperature.

Lluís Artús and Pau López, pupils of the music school of Palafrugell, won the four-handed piano competition "Musique de France" in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés.

The work on the planned urbanisation Son Rich in Begur was temporarily halted because of financial difficulties.

The antique fair Antic Empordà in La Bisbal ended favourably, despite the bad weather during the Easter holidays.  It recorded 12,000 visitors, similar to last year, and the exhibitors were pleased with the very good sales.

The cork museum in Palafrugell will show until the 30th of May an exhibition of 30 works in oil and acrylic by the French artist Eric Marsiam (Toulouse, 1938).

Elena Moreno, Maria Valverde and Paula Valverde will show their works in oil, acrylic and pastel at an exhibition in the city hall of Sant Feliu de Guíxols until 16 May.

The city hall of Girona prepares new animal protection laws.  Anyone found to violate the new laws could expect some serious fines of up to 2,000 Euros. Among the requirements is that dog owners must allow the dog to be outside for at least 20 minutes per day.

The police have intensified their weekend traffic checks. Their special attention is now directed toward motorcyclist groups who drive on the coast road in large numbers. Last weekend the Mossos d'Esquadra stopped 120 motorcyclists on GI-682 between Tossa de Mar and Lloret de Mar. Fifteen of the motorcyclists receive citations.

Víctor Sanmarini from Sant Feliu de Guíxols stopped after 84 hours in his record attempt to play the drum continuously for more than 120 hours.  The event had attracted significant media interest, particularly because Sanmarini dedicated the income earned by the event to be donated to a foundation that cares for persons stricken by the west syndrome.

For the Easter week about half of the camping sites in the province Girona will be open.  Easter is the beginning of the camping season.  Already, some sites are fully booked up for Easter.

	The tour de France announced officially the 9th of July route for the stage from Girona to Barcelona. The stage runs through the Costa Brava and passes by Llagostera, Santa Cristina d'Aro, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Tossa de Mar, Lloret de Mar and Blanes.
Santa Cristina d'Aro

In L'Estartit the streets Roca Maura, Església, Pintor Mascort, Eivissa, Víctor Concas as well as avinguda de Roma will be renovated. The work, expected to cost 1,46 million Euros, will begin after the summer season.

During the Easter week no rescue service will be available on the beaches of Lloret de Mar because the town has not yet signed a contract for the service.

The Canadian songwriter Leonard Cohen’s Spain tour will include a concert on the 15th of August at the festival Jardins de Cap Roig in Palafrugell.

The Baix Empordà has begun the removal and repair of the damage from the 26th of December storm.  In Sant Antoni de Calonge the harbour mole and the circular path along the sea are being repaired; in Platja d'Aro the seafront and in Sant Feliu de Guíxols the circular path and the harbour arrangements are being restored.

Juan de la Rubia, organ, will offer a concert on Good Friday at 18 o'clock in the church Sant Martí of Palafrugell.

The parliament of Catalonia approved a law, which guarantees blind persons with guide dogs must have access to all public institutions and public transportation. The law also applies to other handicapped persons who depended on the assistance of an animal.

The music festival of Torroella de Montgrí has reduced its budget of 1 million Euros last year to 854.121 Euros this year. Nevertheless, the organizers "Joventuts Musicals de Torroella de Montgrí" assures us that the artistic level of the festival will remain high. The program is not known at this time, but it is certain that Núria Rial will give three concerts. The Catalan soprano, now living in Germany, is hailed as one of the finest voices and is celebrated internationally as one of the top interpreters of baroque music.

Núria Rial

The private Russian airline Transaero Airlines will offer for the first time summer flights between Girona and Moscow.

In the botanical garden Cap Roig in Palafrugell a Joseph Beuys (1921-1986) memorial garden part was officially opened with the planting of an oak.

The police arrested four persons in Lloret de Mar accused of distributing counterfeit articles.  A warehouse contained 2780 articles of clothing. The wares were sold at the warehouse as well as in four official shops.

	The gallery Michael Dunev Art Projects in Torroella de Montgrí will open its gates with a collective exhibit of the gallery’s artists during the Easter week. Its regular season will begin on the 6th of June at 19 o'clock 30 with an opening for Gary Komarin, a prestigious artist from New York.
Gary Komarin

The local budget of Pals will be 6.5 million Euros this year, 2 millions of which are allocated for capital investments. These projects include the construction of a new kindergarten, the improvement of the waterworks and the urbanization Mas Tomasí.

The businessmen of the quarters del Molí and el Rieral in Lloret de Mar will use they last Wednesday of each month as a day for especially low prices. Already the first “last Wednesday” was a great success, since they attracted both regular customers and new customers, some from out of the area, seeking particularly low-cost products. Who can resist a haircut for 4 Euros (gentleman) and 10 euros for ladies or a menu with a drink for 5 Euros?

Lloret de Mar began with the restoration of its church Sant Romà. So far a scaffold has been installed around the church tower.

Platja d'Aro plans to finish its church Santa Maria de Fenals d'Aro -- finally.  The construction was begun two centuries ago, but was never finished. The project has technically matured, however, but the last step is to secure the needed funding.

Castell d'Aro has decided on Plaça Indústria as the new location for their weekly market.  Beginning on 25th of April the market will be at the new location.

Caldes de Malavella prepares for a very special event. From the 30th of April to the 3rd of May on the golf PGA de Catalunya the golf tournament Open Espanya will take place and will attract many of the elite European golfers.  The last time this tournament was in Caldes in 2000 the event attracted more than 50000 visitors. The organizers expect this year at least a similar number of visitors and estimate the need in hotel beds for these days at about 6000.  Anyone needing a hotel room at this time should immediately seek a reservation.

13,000 young Portuguese celebrate their graduation in Lloret de Mar.  This is an annual event which pleases the bars and disco owners who enjoy the additional business.  There is an equal amount of trepidation that the revellers seem to go a little bit too far.

The service Call by Call, which offers discount services for call from Spain, has a promotion to gain new subscribers.  Anyone who is a satisfied customer will get a 6-euro credit on his or her bill if a friend signs up.  All the new user must do is to complete the registration form and add the current users phone number in the space marked “Recommended by.”

Ryanair has announced that it will also offer flights from El Prat airport in Barcelona. The operators of Girona airport await this possibly with concern, because half of the incoming passengers continue their travels directly to Barcelona.

The port of Palamós strengthened its contacts with cruise companies during the Seatrade Cruise Shipping fair in Miami (USA).

Palafrugell and Begur are together starting on the “Empordà digital” project. 462,000 Euros are being made available to supply both places with new information technology.

From 1st-3rd May L'Estartit will be running a used sailing equipment market in its port.

The tourist office of Santa Cristina d'Aro is joining the "PASSAPORT VIES VERDES" activity. Participants must complete the 19 "vies verdes" (green ways) in Spain within two years, either on foot or by bicycle. The nearest one leads from Sant Feliu de Guíxols for a distance of 39 kilometres to Girona.

Platja d'Aro presented its offerings at the MITT tourist fair in Moscow. The fair, with 3000 exhibitors, was visited by 92,000 interested people.

From 29th April, Ryanair will be offering five flights per week between Girona and the Bavarian town of Memmingen. Memmingen is 75 kms away from Munich. From 1st April Ryanair will also include the Girona-Seville route in its schedule, with one return flight daily.

The Castell de Púbol museum in the castle of Salvador and Gala Dalí has opened its gates again, and will remain open until the end of the year. As a novelty the museum is publishing 15 sketches from Dali's late creative period.

The archaeological remains of the Iberian village Puig Rodó in Lloret de Mar will soon be accessible by the general public. The settlement was founded at the end of the 3rd century BC. The excavations took place between 2000 and 2003.

The maritime study society Bufalvent, with headquarters in L'Escala, is planning this year to count and classify the dolphins and whales that play around Cap Begur.

In Platja d'Aro, a big stone fell out of the façade of the sports pavilion; nobody was hurt. The police secured the area until the fire department had inspected the state of the façade. The investigation revealed another loose stone, which was removed.

 The local council of Platja d'Aro is discounting 20% of the rubbish disposal charges to  local inhabitants if they themselves bring their rubbish to the dump between 5 and 9 times a year. For 10 do-it-yourself disposals at the dump, the reduction increases to 30%.

From 15th March until 15th October, no more outdoor fires may be lit, for reasons of forest protection from fires. This applies to all areas, forested or not.

In Tossa de Mar, the Lighthouse Centre will open its doors again at Easter. The Can Ganga ethnological museum is open only during the summer.

Platja d'Aro presented its tourism offering at the ITB in Berlin, as one of 11,000 exhibitors. The trade fair had 163,000 attendees, 95,000 of whom were from the tourist trade.

In the centre of Girona, near the railway station, a construction machine was completely destroyed by fire. The machine, valued at 3 million Euros, had been used to dig the subterranean tunnel for the high-speed train TAV. The fire attracted numerous onlookers.  The fire was extinguished within 20 minutes; the cause is still unknown.

Torroella de Montgrí is distributing again at its weekly market free re-usable bags. The purpose is to encourage buyers at the market to not use plastic bags.

The area around the airport in Girona currently has 40 surveillance cameras. The police believe that the number is insufficient and intends to install an additional twenty cameras.

The police are stopping motorists who are driving while using a mobile phone. Anyone stopped can expect a sizeable fine. This also applies to any device that is operated by hand.

The diving schools of L'Estartit see their livelihood threatened by administrative restrictions.  The risks seem particularly high for the nine of eleven centres that operate around the nature reserve of the Iles Medes. Numerous new restrictive regulations have been introduced, without seeking their input, which affects their diving schools’ operations.  To protest, the diving schools announced they would refuse to pay any fees after the 1st of May.

Palafrugell will use about half of its subsidies (3.8 million Euros) from the fund for local investments for the construction of a multi-storey car-park in the centre of Calella. On three floors there will be spaces for 226 vehicles.  The costs of construction will be about 2 million Euros.

The art fair SWAB, a forum for contemporary art in Barcelona, moved its planned schedule from 14 - 17th of May 2009 to May 2010.  Last year 34 galleries participated and garnered sales of about 1.2 million Euros. Nevertheless, nowadays even the most prestigious gallery is suffering from economic difficulties, and the crisis has made the postponement a prudent step.

The market people who normally come to Lloret de Mar will continue to shun the town as a protest against the transfer of the market to the Turó d'en Buc.

The "Department de Medi Ambient i Habitatge" examines the damage caused by the storm of 26 December, inflicted on the underwater world around the maritime protection zone "Iles Medes" (L'Estartit). So far the damage has been less than they had initially assumed.

In Girona, at the end of 2008, there were 1.949 fewer firms than one year ago. Especially hard hit were companies in the building trade and the real-estate agencies where 1.531 firms had to terminate their activities.

In La Bisbal more than 1000 citizens vehemently denounced, via a petition, the pay parking spaces marked “zona blava” in the city centre. They feel that La Bisbal does not need the fee parking spaces, because, they say there is not any traffic problems.

More than 100,000 spectators enjoyed the big carnival cavalcade in Platja d'Aro with 69 state coaches and 5000 extras. The "Colla Santjoanenca" from Saint Joan Les Fonts received the main prize for big state coaches for Santjoanenca city.

This may not be exceptionally news from the Costa Brava, but is a valuable tip for laptop users.  We, accidentally, of course, spilled a little coffee on our keyboard.  And the results were that the Enter and the backspace keys refused to work and our text writing was over. To buy another keyboard would be expensive and time consuming. Then, however, we learned of a fast and free solution, a small program called KeyTweak with which keys can be re-mapped.  Thus, we converted the right Strg key to work as the "Enter" key.  Likewise we made another un-needed key the backspace key. And the world was good again.

In Sant Antoni de Calonge the foundation stone was laid in Carrer Gavina 18 for 16 social apartments.

The market people are dissatisfied with Lloret de Mar’s occasional transfer of the weekly market location to Carrer Josep Pla, avinguda El Rieral and passeig de Cúllar. Most of them decided to protest by not erecting their stands at the new location’s first market day.

La Bisbal raises the number the parking rates (zones blaves) on the city streets, certainly not to the delight of his citizens. However, La Bisbal will offer a Parking card for citizens who pay the La Bisbal auto tax.  With the city pass one can park for free for one hour per day in the "zones blaves".

Lloret de Mar wants to summarize its whole cultural heritage into a kind of open museum. The city hall has published a guide, which describes a detailed walking tour to the places of interest.

Calonge-Sant Antoni will build a new kindergarten with 75 places.

Palafrugell offers an Internet course for adults; prospective customers can sign up in the city hall.

Platja d'Aro was present with its own stand at the tourism fair "Vacances" in Brussels.  Over 700 exhibitors showed off their tourist potential.  98,000 visitors came from private as well as the professional sector.

The fishermen of Palamós caught in 2008 32.5% more Gambas than in the year before.  Specifically 191.7 metric tons of the very popular crustaceans were offered for sale.  However the catch did not bring in much more money then in 2007 because the Gambas were smaller and garnered lower prices.

The "Direcció general de Costes" of the ministry of the environment have assumed responsibility for the cost to repair the seafront of Platja d'Aro and the circular path along the coast to s´Agaró, a total of 2.9 million Euros.

The centennial celebration of the Costa Brava may be extended another a year, because it is, according to the Spanish state, an unusual event.  We can expect celebrations to occur until September 2010.

The Spanish state accepted seven projects, which had been submitted by Tossa de Mar for grants to fund local investments. For about one million Euros 34 new jobs will be created for persons who are now unemployed.

Calonge applied for 1.7 million Euros from the fund for local investments. With full funding Calonge will mount 15 projects.

Palamós has applied for state support for local investments of 3 million Euros. The money from the fund must be spent during 2009 and must create new jobs. All 221 municipalities of the province of Girona have applied this year for support of 6498 projects.  Pals, for example, has asked for 450,000 Euros -- for road lightings (170,000), enlargement of the cemetery (114,000), renovation of rooms in the local police station (68,000) and the renovation of the first floor of the city hall. (97,000). The receipt of these funds is very welcome by the municipalities. However there are critical voices, too, who complain about the support structure, which they say only creates temporary jobs, and not permanent employment.

Llagostera honours its citizen Victòria Gispert Roig on the occasion of her one-hundredth birthday.

The city hall of Palamós’ pact with the association of restaurant owners of Palamós and Calonge-Sant Antoni call for the collaboration and the promotion of the guest trade. Financially, the city hall provided 4,000 Euros.

The city hall of Platja d'Aro raises no fees for construction works, which stand in connection with the storm on the 26th December 2008. It announced that the seafront would be in a good state by Easter.

Tossa de Mar will invest in 2009 more than 200 thousand Euros in advertisement. A majority of the funds will be spent on national and international tourism fairs. Tossa will be represented this year for the first time at fairs in Finland and Sweden.

The construction work on the future cultural centre "Can Roig" has been stopped in Llagostera for the past two months. The reason for this delay is due to discrepancies between the city hall and the construction firm.  The city hall wants to cancel the existing contract.  Of course the construction firm wishes to continue.

	Santa Cristina d'Aro has greatly reduced this year’s local budget. For investments 2,762 million euro was allocated, compared to last year’s 6.5 million.
Santa Cristina d'Aro

The CiU, the opposition party in the city hall of Palamós questions cruise ships of the shipping company Transmediterranea spending the winter in the harbour of Palamós. They ask the government party PSC to learn to what extent the big ships dirty the water and whether the constantly running engines of the ships adhere the noise prevention regulations.

In Palafrugell the asphalt cover of 13 streets is being repaired. The work should take about 3 months.

The kindergarten Els Belluguets in Palafrugell has installed solar cells on its roof. The generated electricity is fed into the net. This is the first public building in Palafrugell with such an installation.

During construction work in the cultural centre Escoles Velles of Begur the town archive and the library will remain closed.

The uppermost court of law of Catalonia has resolved a long-term quarrel, dating back to 1983, between Sant Feliu de Guíxols and Santa Cristina d'Aro, on the borders in the Cala dels Canyerets.

Lloret the Mar modernizes its water supply between the urbanisation Lloret Verd up to the water tank Pinars. The supply is improved to the urbanisations Lloret Verd, Lloret Blau, els Pinars and la Creu de Lloret.The first baby of 2009 in the province of Girona was born in the hospital of Girona at 0 o'clock 35. The baby weighed 2,270 kilos at the birth and his name is Angely García Velásquez. His parents, two young Colombians now living in Girona, were very amazed that their baby is the first Gironese of the year, because they had expected the birth to be later.

Since the beginning of the year the shops in Lloret de Mar may not offer or exhibit their products on the pavement.

In Sant Feliu de Guíxols a new diving centre has opened, on 370 square meters of land, called the "bwater diver".

The call by call telephone service has again lowered its tariffs for local calls and calls within Spain: Local calls will now cost within the fixed net (1074) 2.8 cent and (1053) 3.6 cent per minute. Also telephoning from the fixed net to the cell phone became cheaper at 28 cent (1074) and 25 cent (1053). Calls within the European Union and to the USA are even more competitive at less than 6.5 cent per minute. For calls to other countries please consult the appropriate tariffs.

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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.