News

Randa dedicates magazine's 79th issue to Formentera

Thursday, 01 February 2018 12:38

Randa2 Randa, a magazine published by Abadia de Montserrat and supported by the Formentera Council, has dedicated its 79th issue to the island of Formentera.

The issue, for which the twice-yearly magazine dedicated its 200 pages of content to Formentera, includes articles by Artur Parron about the communist party's conference on Formentera in 1976 —the third of its kind in the islands— and Ángel Navarro's text about Formentera's hard-fought autonomy as both a geographical area and a public authority.

In the current issue there is also an article by Esperança Marí Mayans on recent arrivals to the island and what it means to incorporate in a new society. Isidor Torres Cardona writes about the gestation of “La COP de Formentera”; Jaume Escandell Guasch looks at the intangible heritage of the Formentera and Eivissa Christmas choirs known as caramelles; Maria del Mar Joan i Marí teams up with Bernat Joan i Marí for an essay on generational transmission and attitudes towards language among Formentera's young people; and Marina Mayans Marí contributes understanding about the medicinal uses of plants and the ethnobotany of Formentera.

Formentera Council's €140,000 in funding for local sports clubs

Thursday, 01 February 2018 10:17

basquet3 Funding from the Formentera Council's Office of Sport to the tune of €140,000 means the eight clubs that applied to receive help for fitness initiatives will have 90% of their costs covered.

Promoting fitness
Of the total amount, €74,000 will subsidise fitness promotion efforts that took place in 2017 at the hands of Club Dojo, SD Formentera, Club Pàdel Illa de Formentera, Club Tennis Illa de Formentera, Racing de Formentera, Grup Esportiu Espalmador, Club Bàsquet Formentera and Club de Natació Formentera.

Sports councillor Jordi Vidal called the funding “extremely important” for the clubs, and noted the administration had advanced half of the promised money to spare the clubs from shouldering the burden of fronting it themselves.

Travel costs
Approval was also given for €66,000 in handouts to cover clubs' travel costs when participating in competitions.

The financing comes in addition to the €20,000 the Council has allotted for sports federations and €10,000 it gave to three under-18 athletes in collaboration with the federation for sport in the Balearics, or FEB. Separately, the Council has also offered €18,000 in sponsorship deals to various high-level sports players.

Bringing fibre optic connections to ses Bardetes to mean partial closure of avinguda Isidor Macabich

Tuesday, 30 January 2018 17:35

Avinguda isidor macabich amb avda 8 dagost redux In a bid to bring fibre optic service to the neighbourhood of ses Bardetes, the Formentera Council's Office of Mobility reports that from Thursday, February 8, upgrades will be undertaken at the crossing of avenues Isidor Macabich and Vuit d'Agost. The work means vehicle traffic along avinguda Isidor Macabich will be interrupted, if only partially, over the weekend from Friday afternoon when school lets out.

Mobility secretary Rafael González warned of noise pollution during construction and apologised to area residents for the inconvenience, though he explained it was a necessary part of the effort to equip ses Bardetes for fibre optic connections.

Traffic control
With one of avinguda Isidor Macabich's two lanes blocked, special signage will be used to ensure continued traffic flow in both directions and minimise inconveniences to drivers.

Council officials meet with blood and tissue bank representatives

Wednesday, 31 January 2018 15:20

Trobada banc de sang i teixits amb consell redux Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer, together with Vanessa Parellada and Sònia Cardona, the island's secretaries of social welfare and citizen participation, sat down this morning with two representatives from a regional blood and tissue bank. Ismael Gutiérrez and Estela Bellorini are, respectively, the Fundació Banc de Sanc i Teixits's director general and coordinator for Eivissa and Formentera.

In addition to serving as a progress report on the Fundació's efforts on the island, the gathering confirmed a 10% uptick in local donors last year, when 45 new registrations were recorded.

Despite frequently modest donations (only 21 in 1000 Formenterencs give blood or tissues), officials on both sides expressed high hopes the figure would continue to increase in 2018. The goal, they said, is to maximise collaborative efforts with groups on the island to educate the public and turn out potential donors.

Donating drives
Five blood and tissue drives are scheduled this year. The first, today, will go from 3.00pm to 7.30pm in the Formentera hospital. The next will take place on Monday, April 23.

The Formentera Council takes an active role in wellness and disease-prevention campaigns on the island.

New by-law on outdoor patios

Tuesday, 30 January 2018 17:05

Ocupacio via publica redux The Formentera Council's land and tourism offices report that today, Tuesday, January 30, marks the start of a new ordinance, adopted by Formentera's plenary assembly December 22 of last year, to regulate terraces and other installations that occupy the public right of way.

With definitive approval for the change already secured, occupancy permits issued under the previous ordinance will no longer be valid. Hence, interested businesses must once again request authorisation by providing the supporting documentation persuant to article 10.

Permits should be requested at least one month before the plans to occupy public land and start business activity. More information is available on the Council's website (https://goo.gl/A4yjyt).

To ensure quality service and create incentives for businesses which open more than six months a year, permits will not be granted to establishments that fail to guarantee business activity between May 15 and October 15.