This Week | Back from Summer Break
Bon dia! Pont de Valencia is back from summer break with our first new digest of the month. We’ve got a new look to the website and are still rolling out some changes, so bear with us as we adjust. Stay tuned for Valencia Weekend, out this Thursday.
City & Safety
DANA ruling revives the blame debate as new season nears
The judge overseeing the criminal investigation into October 2024’s fatal flash floods said this week that residents were not warned in time before floodwaters filled underground garages. Responding to defence arguments from former regional president Carlos Mazón, the judge wrote that the lack of warning “resulted in deaths.” More than 200 people died in the DANA storm, and the case remains one of the most closely watched in the region’s recent history.
Source: La jueza de la dana responde a Mazón: “A nadie se le escapa que la falta de avisos sobre el riesgo al bajar a los garajes resultó mortal” — El País Comunitat Valenciana
Some municipalities aren’t waiting on the courts to act. Manises, on the Turia west of the city, is investing nine million euros in a new emergency siren network, upgraded street drainage and a public shelter, aimed at preventing a repeat of 2024. The move comes as the still-warm Mediterranean heads into autumn, the season when DANA storms are most likely to form.
Source: Manises proyecta sirenas, calles con drenaje y un refugio frente a otra dana — Las Provincias
The ruling lands as new research suggests the region should brace for more of the same. A study involving the AEMET meteorologist who first warned of October 2024’s catastrophic DANA found that global warming could drive a 20 percent increase in these storms across the Comunitat Valenciana in the years ahead.
Source: Las danas que vienen: el calentamiento global disparará las tormentas un 20% — Las Provincias
Alicante museum theft prompts a region-wide security review
Thieves made off with more than 10 kilos of antique gold and religious relics from a museum in Villena, near Alicante, despite the site holding the top-tier security classification required at municipal museums. More than 200 churches, museums and cultural centres across the region are now reviewing their own security measures. Las Provincias has also ranked ten comparably valuable Valencian treasures now under closer watch.
Sources: ¿Están a salvo los tesoros? El saqueo de Villena obliga a replantear la seguridad en museos valencianos — Las Provincias
Also: Oro y plata en el objetivo: las diez joyas valencianas comparables a las del robo de Villena — Las Provincias
City & Environment
El Saler still recovering from its worst fire on record
Nearly 40 hectares of the pine forest just south of the city burned in a blaze that broke out in the final days of August, forcing evacuations and threatening the rice-growing Albufera area nearby. Firefighters spent days afterward working to contain the last hotspots before fully extinguishing the fire.
Source: El peor incendio en la historia de El Saler — Las Provincias
Also: Los bomberos controlan puntos calientes e intentan aún extinguir el incendio de El Saler — Valencia Plaza
Rain, and a break from the heat, on the way
Aemet is forecasting an end to this summer’s heat by the end of the week, with rain returning to the Comunitat and a modest drop in temperatures.
Source: Aemet pone fecha al regreso de las lluvias a la Comunitat y señala dónde caerán — Las Provincias
City & Politics
Ceuta crisis keeps rippling outward
An estimated 50,000 people filled Plaza del Ayuntamiento last week in a show of solidarity with Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave, following July’s mass border breach that briefly overwhelmed local controls with an estimated 70,000 migrants.
Source: Valencia se vuelca con Ceuta: 50.000 personas llenan la plaza del Ayuntamiento en la mayor concentración de apoyo a la ciudad autónoma — Valencia Extra
The national government has taken control of Ceuta’s port to temporarily house up to 1,000 migrants during processing, over the objections of the Port Authority and local business owners. Separately, Spain says it will keep border checks with Italy in place until 22 September, meaning travellers between the two countries need a passport rather than free movement — a tit-for-tat measure after Italy imposed its own checks in protest at Spain’s handling of the Ceuta breach.
Source: El Gobierno toma el control del Puerto de Ceuta para alojar a migrantes con la oposición del Consejo de Administración y de los empresarios — El Mundo
Also: Spain to maintain border checks on arrivals from Italy until 22 September — Euronews
Teachers get an early pay rise as tensions simmer ahead of term
With the new school year underway, regional president Juanfran Pérez Llorca is fast-tracking the first of several promised teacher pay rises, hoping to head off renewed unrest after last year’s strikes and mass protests. Talks between education staff and the regional government remain tense, and unions have already scheduled a fresh protest for 12 September.
Source: Llorca trata de aplacar al profesorado con la primera subida salarial a las puertas de un inicio de curso ‘caliente’ — El Mundo
City & Transport
Pérez Galdós reopens as the school term begins
All lanes at the Pérez Galdós intersection reopen to traffic this week, and resurfacing work on Colón is also wrapping up, ending months of disruption that began back in June just as schools return for the new term.
Source: Pérez Galdós reabrirá todos los carriles al tráfico la próxima semana — Las Provincias
City & Economy
Two more American retailers land in the metro area
TK Maxx opens in Alfafar on 17 September, joining the retail park’s existing lineup of Ikea, Decathlon and Bauhaus. A short drive away in Paterna, Costco has finally broken ground on its long-rumoured store next to Heron City, though its opening has slipped to 2027.
Source: El gigante americano con productos de marca al 60% que aterriza en Valencia — Las Provincias
Also: El futuro Costco de Paterna ya tiene fecha estimada de apertura — Las Provincias
City & culture
Residents picnic on the promenade to save a summer tradition
Residents of Valencia’s maritime neighbourhoods filled the seafront promenade this weekend for a mass outdoor picnic, in protest at a proposal to restrict the area’s long-standing “sopar a la fresca” — dining al fresco on the sidewalk. Locals say the tradition, dating back generations, is increasingly squeezed by mass tourism and short-term rentals. Several local politicians joined the picnic in solidarity.
Source: Los vecinos de Valencia llenan el paseo marítimo para salvar el ‘sopar a la fresca’ — ABC
Valencia CF’s 5-0 defeat sparks fresh fury at the club’s ownership
Valencia CF’s 5-0 loss to Barcelona on Sunday, watched from the stands by Singaporean owner Kiat Lim, reignited years of simmering fan anger at the club’s management. Writing in Las Provincias, columnist Cayetano Ros called it a “total failure” of the club and the wider footballing community around it.
Source: Fracaso total de la sociedad valenciana — Las Provincias
Capes and poses take over Plaza del Ayuntamiento
More than 200 people gathered in the square on Saturday evening for “aura farming,” a viral trend in which participants strike poses and don costumes to win the crowd’s applause, and a few extra likes online. Levante-EMV has video of the display.
Source: ‘Farmear aura’ en la plaza del Ayuntamiento: el fenómeno viral toma el centro de València — Levante-EMV
Wolverine and Deadpool race it out at the marina
Down at the marina, Hollywood pulled up alongside the sailors. Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds, co-owners of Australia’s Bond Flying Roos SailGP team, raced each other over the weekend in matching Wolverine and Deadpool helmets, reviving their onscreen rivalry for the cameras and, reportedly, a forthcoming Disney+ docuseries. Reynolds won.
Source: SailGP: Deadpool vs Wolverine in Valencia — Nautica News
The United States scored an historic first win at the Sail GP, beating out Australia, Denmark and Italy. But it was not a good showing for host country, Spain. Despite high hopes for Los Gallos, a disastrous start forced Spain to finish last in their qualifying race.
Source: Estados Unidos conquista el primer Sail GP de la historia en València – Valencia Plaza
Pont de Valencia Sources | El País · Las Provincias · Levante-EMV · Valencia Extra · El Mundo · ABC · Euronews
