The public meeting scheduled for 17th March starting at 6.00 pm in Torrevieja's Virgen del Carmen cultural centre concerning the rights of British expat residents to vote in the UK general election, has now been broadened to include information concerning the voting rights of non Spaniards in the Local Municipal elections next spring. As you are no doubt aware, it is not sufficient to be registered on the municipal padron (although this is a requirement); non- Spanish residents must actually apply to be placed on the voting register. The meeting on 17th therefore will be extended to include an explanation of the voting rights of expats in the Municipal elections as well as the UK general election. The meeting will be addressed by the Mayor of Torrevieja, Pedro Hernández Mateo.

The mayor of Torrevieja, Pedro Hernández Mateo together with the delegate of Youth, Jose Manuel Pizana, and the director of IES Libertas No 1, Jorge Banon received a group of students and teachers from a number of different European countries participating in the Comenius programme of cultural exchange with students from IES Libertas in Torrevieja. One of the main objectives of the exchange is to carry out a comparative study of the environment in countries participating in the scheme, with particular emphasis on ‘water’. The students from Nice, Sicily, Greece and Turkey will visit the waste water treatment plant in Torrevieja which is claimed to be one of the most advanced in the country. The reclaimed water produced is used to water green areas in the town and orchards in the Vega Baja.

It seems the well known Spanish singer Miguel Bosé is not welcome in Torrevieja at the moment. Negotiations were under way to bring the popular artist to perform in the town during the summer period but he has upset and angered council members with his recent remarks in connection with the removal of certain photographs from an exhibition in Valencia relating to the Gürtel corruption case. The director of the museum staging the exhibition resigned over what he called intolerable censorship. The pictures were of a number of prominent Valencian politicians. Miguel Bosé described the act as one of repression and some of Torrevieja’s ruling PP councillors have taken offence at the slur as they see it to the Valencian community. As a result negotiations with the artist to hire his services have been broken off.

Two businesses in Torrevieja received awards under the UNE 175.001 quality certification scheme which is intended for small and medium retail businesses where the corresponding ISO qualifications are inappropriate. The awards were presented by the president of the Valencian Community, Francisco Camps, at the Valencian fairground and the two businesses that qualified are Carnicería Charcutería Andrés in calle Ramón Gallud no 62, and the sports shop Sport Torrevieja in the Plaza Isabel II no 2.The two winners were accompanied to Valencia by the councillor for commerce in Torrevieja, Agustina Esteve. The certification process was aided by members of APYMECO, the small and medium business organisation in the town and grants are available from the Valencian government for businesses who want to become accredited.

One of the most popular exhibitions and events in the Torrevieja cultural calendar was opened last week by councillors Maria Dolores Canales and Javier Montoro. The Model boat exhibition is now in its seventh year and has always drawn a huge attendance of people to the exhibition room at the top of the Garden of Nations in the Town called the Aljibes exhibition room. The exhibition is organized by the Museo del Mar y de la Sal de Torrevieja and la Asociación de Modelismo Naval “Pascual Flores”, founded in 2006, which consists of nearly 100 members from 10 different nationalities with ages ranging from 8 to 80 years. In total, members from ten different modelling clubs and associations are taking part in this year’s exhibition. Visitors to the exhibition can see all types of vessels on display; boats through the ages. The full title of the show is la VII Exposición de Modelismo Naval Estático y Radiocontrol ‘Ciudad de Torrevieja’ and many of the exhibits are radio controlled and demonstrations are given by model makers at the weekends during the period of the exhibition, putting the craft through their paces and perhaps, like last year even having a number of races. The exhibition is on until Sunday May the 9th and is open Tuesdays to Sundays inclusive from 9.30 am until 1.30 pm and then again from 5.00pm until 8.00 pm. Entrance is free.