ISSUE NO. 1613
2 - 8 June 2016
AXARQUÍA - COSTA TROPICAL YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Smart City plans resume at last
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Save the olives A LOCAL political group is pushing for a law to be created to protect the Axarquia area’s ancient olive trees, which environ-
mentalists fear are being destroyed to make way for subtropical fruit. See page 2
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What a stink! THE police had to persuade a woman from Torrox to let municipal cleaning teams in after neighbours complained that she had accumulated half a tonne of rubbish in her home. See page 4
Trial and error A COUNCILLOR has had his driving licence confiscated for eight months and been fined at a speedy trial after
being caught driving while three times over the legal limit for alcohol. See page 5
Culture club A THREE CULTURES MARKET attracted hundreds of visitors to La Herradura on the last weekend of May, with newly renovated streets glowing by candlelight for the much-announced event, which included market stalls, music and dancing. See page 6
By Eleanor Hawkins Although all went quiet for a while, the ball appears to be rolling again to turn Nerja into one of the Costa del Sol’s 13 Smart Cities, a project which aims to mix the old with the new and bring new technologies to the chosen towns. The project, which in the Axarquia town includes providing four free WiFi zones in public areas, installing special low energy and ecologically friendly street lighting, and ‘smart’ tourist offices and car parks, also includes creation of
10 ‘intelligent taxis.’ At a meeting last week between local Transport councillor Cristina Fernandez, New Technologies councillor Jorge Bravo and taxi sector representatives, one of the matters discussed was how intelligent equipment to be provided for the vehicles was to be distributed. The meeting also covered proposed changes to local bylaws concerning the sector. The Smart City project, which also includes Rincon de la Victoria and Velez-Malaga, has funding from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism and revolves around an urban vi-
sion to integrate multiple information and communication technology in a secure fashion to manage a town or city’s assets including council departments, schools, libraries, transport systems, hospitals, power plants, water supply networks, waste management, law enforcement and other community services. The end goal of all this is to improve quality of life by increasing the efficiency of services and meeting the needs of residents and tourists while reducing costs and resource consumption. Altogether the Ministry set
aside €9.8 million for Smart City projects in Andalucia, and 81 municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants applied to join. However just 23 where chosen in all of Andalucia, including the three in the Axarquia area.
International pilots TORRE DEL MAR’S Air Show will include displays of aircraft and pilots from a number of European countries including the UK and Belgium,
and there will even be an acrobatic wing walking display to wow the crowds, the organisers have announced. See page 8