Car sales increase

FOR the first time since the pandemic the car industry has registered a total of 99,524 cars sold in a single month (March), which is 66 per cent more in Spain than in the same period last year.

In the region of Murcia specifically, we have seen an increase of 36.6 per cent with 1,382 passenger cars registered in the month of March 2023.

Interestingly the data also showed a decrease in the number of diesel vehicles registered in the first quarter and an increase in electric and hybrid vehi ­ cles up by 30 per cent in the Region of Murcia. It is worth noting that the figures are still below the pre ­ pandemic figures by 19 per cent when compared to March 2019, but after a 2022 to forget, the increase certainly shows promise in the sector.

WITH local shops in a continuous battle with online companies San Pedro del Pinatar continues to promote and support its local stores with its new spring campaign. Nintety ­ seven businesses have signed up for the initiative which runs until May 19.

The businesses involved give out a ticket for every purchase over €5. At the end of the campaign, all the tickets get put into a raffle which takes place on May 22. Every business has a €100 voucher to give

‘Light of the Past’

MAZARRON Town Hall will exhibit Mazarrón ‘Light of the Past’ from the cartoonists Juan Alvarez and Jorge Gomez. You can visit the exhibition until May 13 and it shows the most emblematic corners of the town in its illustrations. It is located in the town hall and the timetable is from Monday to Saturday from 10am until 2pm. The two artists are from Murcia and one of them Juan Alvarez is from Mazarrón itself. They use their art to publicise and promote the historical and cultural heritage of the Mazarron area. away and these vouchers must be spent in the shop that gave out the winning ticket. This supports all the local stores involved and so with that in mind don’t forget to shop locally this spring!

New Eco Park Los Ramos

THE new Eco Park in Los Ramos, Murcia will occupy 2,600 square metres on the Carretera of Sucina. It is the third in the region and will cost €450,000, part of which has been funded by the EU.

The Eco Park will receive waste that cannot be deposited by the public containers.

The access will be by the RM 300 road. The timetable will be from 8am until 2pm and 4.30pm until 6.30pm Monday to Friday and on Saturdays from 8am until 2pm.

Nonagram 69

UNFORTUNATELY there was a small error in the Nonagram puzzle in Edition 1969 where the wrong letter was shown in the text and the centre of the puzzle. The correct letter should have been D. Apologies to all those who struggled to find the correct solution.

Events IFEPA

THE popular trade fair and exhibition centre in Torre Pacheco in Murcia, the IFEPA, holds a number of dif‐ferent events throughout the year. The next event runs from April 19 to April 22 and is the next edition of FAME INNOWA, Agricultural Tech‐nology and Agribusiness Fair of the Mediterranean.

Laughing gas

THE Local Police have ex‐pressed alarm at the in‐crease in the consumption of laughing gas among the young people of Murcia. They have seized so far this year 140 bottles of nitrous oxide. While this sounds like harmless fun this new trend can have unreversible effects on one’s health.

Ronald’s wife

DID you know Cristiano Ronaldo’s wife Georgina Ro‐dríguez hails from Murcia? Well kind of, the model and bussinesswoman was born in Argentina but her mother Ana María Hernández is from Murcia. Georgina’s fa‐ther Jorge Eduardo moved to Elche from Buenos Aires in 1984 and while in Spain he met Ana María. Even though Georgina spent most of her childhood in Jaca, Huesca, she did spend a brief period in the Murcia region.

Free events

THE festival is called ‘Somos Murcia’ (we are Murcia) and will run from April 24 until April 30 and will include all kinds of free events. There will be live music, markets, literature events, cinema, and fashion events held in different locations in the city centre.