You´re having a laugh! Inauguration of the 2nd Orihuela Costa Christmas Market 2010

"Well, what do you think it so far?" "****!"  

                                                

                                SADLY ABSENT FROM THE INAUGURATION

Monica Lorente (Mayor)

 (headlined but a last minute engagement took priority .........or not wanting to be associated with a flop?)

Christmas lights

Christmas music

a Belén

a wide variety of stalls & goods

a large number of Residents & Customers

Atmosphere & Razzamatazz

PRESENT AT THE INAUGURATION

Señor Aniorte (Councillor for Orihuela Costa, European Residents & Beaches)

Señor Cutillas (Councillor for Youth, Agriculture, Water & Markets) 

A School Choir

Orihuela Costa´s Municipal Christmas tree

A few stall holders putting on a smile & making the best of the event

Press & Media to record the event 

A small number of residents & observers

Several asesores

VERDICT

YET ANOTHER  "NOT GOOD ENOUGH, WE DESERVE BETTER"!

This event just about sums up how this PP Council treats residents here in Orihuela Costa.

It is a cheap, tacky disgrace and an insult to Oriolanos living on the Coast & to those traders who are taking part & trying hard to inject a bit of Christmas Spirit..

As for "Integration"....where are the free buses from Orihuela City & the Pedanias bringing Oriolanos from all parts of the municipality to share & enjoy this international event?

It´s not that Orihuela doesn´t know about arranging specialist markets, it boasts that it now hosts the largest annual Medieval Market in Spain.  

It´s not that Orihuela knows nothing about splashing the cash & arranging magnificent celebrations.......Semana Santa, Arrival of the Three Kings, Moors and Christians. 

It´s not that the PP Council knows nothing about spending money to influence voters with free transport, paella, sausages & other goodies.

Or are the number of votes in Orihuela Costa so few that the PP no longer needs to impress us?

  

There is still time to register to vote, you have till the 30th December and for those of us already registered there is still time to check that we haven´t been removed from the list.  

The Season of Goodwill! CABALGATA DE REYES IN ORIHUELA COSTA........sssssshhhhhhh there is a rumour!

In the November Pleno PSOE Councillor Rosa Martínez, armed with a petition from residents, asked for a Three Kings Procession to be arranged for Orihuela Costa. Sadly, Rosa was rebuffed with a comment about it being a bit late to ask in November!

Really! It should not have been necessary to ask!
A council that cared about ALL its citizens would be providing a seasonal celebration in the area where approximetaly one third of the municipality´s inhabitants live. (A caring council would also have provided a bit of Christmas cheer such as a Christmas tree and some festive street lighting?)

Did you know that the magnificent Cabalgata de Reyes in 2009 in Orihuela City cost the taxpayers 120,000€?
I don´t know if the costs will be pruned a little this year on account of the crisis or if the costs will rise in line with inflation, whatever, it will cost a lot!
This year in Orihuela City, in La Glorieta, there is a beautiful Christmas tree, a Belén and there are lights to delight in all the main streets, there will be a New Year´s Eve event with chimes and grapes and a Cabalgata de Reyes on January 5th.

But wait! ........Rumour has it that there may well be a Cabalgata de Reyes (of sorts) in Orihuela Costa this year. There are whispers that someone from the Ayuntamiento has been witnessed approaching businesses in the Costa, seeking donations of sweets and treats for this event! But it is only a rumour!

C´mon! We in the Costa pay taxes too (and some of us may still have a vote) and we all deserve better! 

It is estimated that about 27,000 live in the Orihuela Costa. There are about 1500 children and young people living in Orihuela Costa, we´d love to see a bit of municipal Christmas cheer for these young Oriolanos and a bit of genuine municipal goodwill shown towards all of us!

ARE YOU ABOUT TO BE STRIPPED OF YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE IN ORIHUELA COSTA?

A number of residents in Orihuela Costa could be set to loose the right to vote in the May 22nd Municipal Elections!
                  
So if you receive a registered letter with the following on the top right hand side:

                COMPROBACIÓN CONTINUIDAD RESIDENCIA

you need to act immediately!.........remind anyone of the "missing" 12,000  letters in 2006???????
You will have just 15 days to do something or it´s:
                                                           
                                   NO PADRON NO VOTE NO VOICE 

                           
LEGAL VOTE RIGGING?
According to the Ayuntamiento many of the people in Orihuela Costa are registered on the Padron from past years, they may no longer qualify to be on the Padron. They may not live in Orihuela Costa for more than a 182 days a calendar year, they may have moved house or their personal details may have changed. The Ayuntamiento is sending registered letters, signed by Monica Lorente, to residents asking them to prove they still qualify.
"Proof " seems to involve going personally to the Ayuntamiento within 15 days, with residency and passport.
At the Ayuntamiento you are likely to be handed 2 copies of a form that you must sign stating that you do indeed qualify for residency! One signed copy is for you, the other is for retention by the Ayuntamiento.
                       At least this was the procedure I witnessed yeterday.

Well now, forgive me for suspecting that more European residents have registered to vote than the Partido Popular expected, particularly as it wasn´t made easy for us. Having gone to all that trouble there may be concern that WE ARE FED UP, WE´VE HAD ENOUGH, WE MEAN BUSINESS, WE INTEND TO VOTE, WE WANT CHANGE, WE WANT A VOICE, WE WANT RIGHTS, WE WANT A HELPFUL COUNCIL, WE WANT SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS, WE WANT HONESTY, WE WANT TRANSPARENCY, WE WANT A COUNCIL WITH VISION, WE WANT TO BE TREATED AS VALUED CITIZENS!

What an opportune time "tidy up" the Padron! The latest brainchild of the dirty tricks department to rob us of our votes as the electoral register deadline draws near and the holiday season is upon us? Every undelivered and uncollected registered letter arriving back at the Ayuntamiento presumably will be one voter stripped of the right to vote. What can we expect next?

Remember, if you receive a letter you need to act speedily! If you qualify to vote but haven´t yet registered, it´s not too late, you have until the 30th December!

THERE ARE NO FREE SAUSAGES - beware the PP pre-election campaign has started!

On Sunday 5th December several busloads of folk left Orihuela Costa and Entre Naranjos for a free lunch in Orihuela.
Don´t be fooled, these people, along with residents from Orihuela city and the pedanias were actually being fed to swell the ranks of the PP at their pre-election campaign launch  (how many would have been there without free transport and a free lunch?)

                  On the Menu: sausages for votes, paella for votes! 
  

Who paid for the buses? the sausages? the paella? the party furniture? the bouncy castle and the soft play environment for the children?

I would love someone to tell us who paid. Until I hear different I am left wondering: DID WE THE  TAX PAYING RESIDENTES OF THE MUNICIPALITY OF ORIHUELA FUND THIS PP GIVE-AWAY?

So depending on the numbers present let´s do a few rough estimates:
                                                    
      1,000 people at 3€ per head = 3,000€,
                2,000 people at 5€ per head = 10,000€,
                       3,000 people at 8€ per head = 24,000€

In the monthly council meeting last week Councillor Rosa Martínez, PSOE opposition councillor for Orihuela Costa, presented a petition signed by residents of Orihuela Costa, asking the Ayuntamiento to arrange an "Arrival of the Three Kings Procession" on January 5th in Orihuela Costa, ......a procession like one the children of Orihuela City will enjoy (and children in every neighbouring municipality where the residents are valued).
The request was refused!
(The PP added that it was a bit late to ask at the November pleno!)

Well escuse me! The residents and Rosa Martínez should NOT HAVE HAD TO ASK! The municipal council should have planned a procession for the kids in the Costa at the same time it was planning the procession in Orihuela city. A non-political procession for the children with a few sweets given away would have pleased residents more and would have cost less money!
           What do you say? You can give your opinion on May 22nd 2011 in the municipal elections.
           If you want change, register to vote! 

       The final date for registering to vote is 30th December. It´s still not too late!   

Centro Deportivo Municipal Orihuela Costa - a municipal or a private facility?

On Saturday 27th November 2010 Orihuela Costa was the scene of yet another inauguration by the Mayor Monica Lorente. The occasion was the opening of the Centro Deportivo Municipal Orihuela Costa (in case anyone was in any doubt the Mayor & Team PP turned out wearing tracksuits & trainers & if anyone wonders who the two smart casually dressed people are front left (i.e. the 2 not wearing sports gear) ...that´s 2 uninvited guests who gate-crashed the photo-shoot, Rosa Martínez, PSOE Councillor for Orihuela Costa & Luis Galiano Moreno, PSOE Councillor for Sport).
Both Councillor Aniorte & Mayor Lorente made speeches (in Spanish only, no translations.....tut,tut!) We were told that this marvellous facility is "ours" and it´s been provided for us by our PP Municipal Council).

Well, according to my sources that´s not exactly true!
The residents of Orihuela were promised a sports centre but for so long nothing happened. Then to help with the crisis & unemployment in the building sector came Plan E money from Central Government, some of this money was used to fund the building of this facility NOT your Municipal Council´s money.

Another thing that´s not exactly true is that it´s "ours". No, according to the sports centre staff,  this is a PRIVATE SPORTS CENTRE. Certainly prices appear support this claim!

I undertook the research for the table below on behalf of Rosa Martínez after a resident had complained to Rosa about the price of renting a municipal tennis court for an hour in relation to renting elsewhere and also asked if this is actually a municipal sports centre having been told by the centre staff that it´s private.
  
The table below is based on information given to me by the Municipal Sports Centres in Orihuela Costa (OC CDM), Torrevieja (T CDM), Pilar de la Horadada (PH CDM), San Miguel CDM, Campoamor Golf Complex and Orihuela Costa Resort. I looked at the by hour or session price for members of the public for both tennis & swimming.

Per hour price:     
                              Tennis                           Swimming
                            (per hour)                     Adult       Child     Pensioner

O/C CDM               10€                          3.50€       3.50€       3.50€ (per hour)

T CDM                    4€                            2€           1€             1€ (per session)

PH CDM                 4€                            2.30€       1.50€        2.30€ (per session)

SM CDM                 free

CAMP/GOLF          12€

OC RESORT           6€

I was informed at our municipal facility that I can swim for "free" if I become a member; adult membership 420€ per year, child membership 350€, no discount for pensioners. (Did they really say "free"?)

So.... is this a Municipal Sports Centre or not?

                       

Loosing the right to vote in Orihuela Costa?

Given all the recent publicity to encourage folks living in Orihuela Costa to get the right to vote you may be interested in this little story. 

A  couple came into the PSOE office in Orihuela Costa concerned about a letter they had received from the Mayor, Monica Lorente. This couple have been living permanently in Orihuela Costa for a number of years. They have residency in Spain. A few weeks ago they went to the Ayuntamiento in Orihuela Costa to register to vote. They went on a Tuesday when Rosa Martínez, PSOE Councillor, was present in the Ayuntamiento. They produced their passports and copies as required and they were put on the Electoral Register.
Then a few days ago they received a registered letter from Monica Lorente stating that only people living in Spain for more than six months in the year are allowed to be on the Padron. Some of this couple´s details may have changed and they now need to show proof of their residency. If they do not go along to the Ayuntamiento with the appropriate documentation within 15 days it will be assumed that the couple´s habitual address is no longer in Orihuela Costa & accordingly they will be removed from the Padron.
This couple now have to go to the Ayuntamiento for a second time with original & copy of their identity documents.
This seems very strange.
Let us suppose, given the time of year, that this couple had been on holiday or gone to visit family & friends in the UK for Christmas & the New Year, then they would certainly have lost their recently acquired rights to vote.

What´s that about? A suspicious person might even conclude that this is a canny way of reducing the number of voters in Orihuela.