Tag: travel

Valencia News: Miracles, Marches, a New Police Chief, and a Paella Uproar

Bon dia! Here’s your news update for Monday, 28 April. Reminder: Today is the Festival Day of San Vicente Ferrer. Most supermarkets and stores are closed, and traffic disruptions are expected this evening due to a religious procession and a political demonstration.

San Vicente Ferrer

This weekend, fireworks and children’s theater celebrated the miracles of San Vicente Ferrer. El Carmen won the theater contest for best performance.
Las Provincias: Valencia returns to its Golden Age with performances of San Vicente’s miracles

Among the events today to celebrate Valencia’s patron saint:

  • 12p Flower offering from Plaza Ayuntamiento
  • 2p Mascletà at Plaza Tetuan
  • 7p Religious Procession from Valencia Cathedral

Politics in Valencia

A mass demonstration is scheduled today at 6 PM from Plaza Ayuntamiento to protest the government’s handling of the October flood disaster.
Valencia Plaza: Seventh demonstration against Mazón to mark six months since the floods

One novelist has quipped that even Agatha Christie couldn’t solve this mystery: Where was Generalitat President Carlos Mazon on the day of the October 29 Flood?
Levante: Where was Mazon? 6 unknowns, 6 months after October 29

Residents are invited to propose ideas for the city budget in a new campaign called VLC Participa.
Valencia Extra: Participatory budgets launched for Valencia 2025

Unions have called for a general strike on May 29 over flood recovery grievances.
El País: Organizers of anti-Mazón marches call general strike across the Valencian Community

Flood victims requested a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during this week’s PPE Congress, but she has scheduled a later meeting in Brussels instead.
El País: Von der Leyen will meet flood victims in Brussels after the PPE Congress in Valencia

Flood Recovery

A new report from Valencia’s Chamber of Commerce shows the flood recovery has been uneven across affected areas.
Valencia Plaza: Report shows economic recovery gaps in flood-hit areas

Avenida Gómez Ferrer has made a strong comeback, revitalizing the business community between the flood-hit areas of Alfafar and Sedaví.
Las Provincias: The rebirth of a street that once broke hearts

Some tower residents are still trapped without working elevators, half a year after the floods.
Levante-EMV: Three tower residents without elevators since the floods

The town of Chiva continues to struggle to rebuild vital roads and bridges.
Las Provincias: Urbanization trapped by the floods still awaits recovery

Farmers may be billed for emergency flood repairs by the Júcar Water Authority (CHJ).
El Español: CHJ will charge irrigation users for reconstruction works if the government does not step in

Residents in Aldaia are resisting a plan to divert the Saleta Ravine underground, fearing that it will not have the capacity to drain floodwaters.
Valencia Plaza: Confrontation over the Saleta diversion

Housing Shortage

The Prime Minister has announced a new technology and research project in Valencia’s port area (ZAL) to promote new housing innovation.
El País: Government to create ‘City of Construction’ for modular homes in Valencia

Valencia will allow more tourist apartments, only in areas where they remain under 2% of the housing stock.
Levante-EMV: Valencia will authorize 5,500 new tourist apartments

A resident in El Carmen describes how an investment firm is pushing tenants out of buildings under dispute.
Levante-EMV: A neighbor’s battle with a property fund in Ciutat Vella

Changing City

Urban renewal is planned for Tendetes, Marxalenes, and Saïdia, adding new green and leisure spaces.
Levante-EMV: New urban plan for Tendetes, Marxalenes, and Saïdia

Renovation of the historic Palace of Justice is 70% complete and will be ready for next year.
Valencia Plaza: Restoration of the Palace of Justice to conclude in first half of 2026

Benimàmet has been named the city’s poorest neighborhood by new income data.
El Español: Benimàmet: Valencia’s poorest neighborhood and a forgotten tourist draw

Crime and Corruption

Valencia names a new police chief after months of political disputes.
Las Provincias: Valencia City Council appoints Ángel Albendín as new chief of police

Police arrested an inmate for starting a fire inside Valencia’s immigration detention center. Two officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
Las Provincias: Inmate arrested for arson inside Zapadores detention center

Food and Culture

Recently recovered amateur film reels from the 1940s offer a rare glimpse into Valencia’s past.
Las Provincias: Filmoteca recovers a collection of amateur films about Valencia

A Madrid chef sparks outrage with his controversial “Thai Tom Yum Paella.”
Valencia Secreta: Dabiz Muñoz shocks paella purists with Thai twist

Valencia News: Easter Petals, British Gangsters, and Why the Best Paella Isn’t in Valencia ?

Happy Easter Monday! Here’s your community news update for Monday, 21 April. Reminder: Today is a public holiday. Most supermarkets and stores are closed. Regular hours resume on Tuesday.

Easter Celebrations

Semana Santa Marinera wrapped up with flower petals falling from balconies during the Easter Sunday procession, featuring participants dressed as Biblical figures. On Good Friday, the atmosphere was more solemn.

Tragedy near Buñol: A man was gored to death during a bullfight.

Politics in Valencia

Valencia’s local police chief has been forced into retirement after the mayor declined to extend his term— part of a broader shakeup amid ongoing corruption investigations.

A new analysis by emergency services experts pinpointed systemic failures by local councils as well as a lack of leadership and coordination by the Generalitat Valencia as reasons for the high death toll in the disaster.

Another mass demonstration is planned for 28 April to protest the regional government’s handling of last October’s floods.

Flood Recovery

Last year’s flood disaster left behind nearly 800,000 tons of garbage and sludge, which cleanup crews are still working to remove.

Villarreal CF has donated more funds to help restore flood-damaged football fields, bringing its total donation to €2.3 million.

Housing Shortage

A new study estimates that tourist apartments have prevented hundreds of new homes from entering the market since 2018.

Meanwhile, the regional government has only built only a fraction of the public housing units it had promised—despite receiving state funding.

New proposed regulations would limit tourist rentals in areas where more than 8% of housing is already for tourists. The rules also propose capping tourist use of commercial properties to 15%.

Changing City

Several homeless migrants in Valencia say they were sent from Barcelona with city-paid bus tickets. Some are also seasonal workers priced out of the housing market.

The Church of San Juan de la Cruz on Poeta Querol is nearing the final stages of its restoration.

For language learners: Las Provincias has a podcast on the transformation of a former prison into an administrative building.

Crime and Corruption

The Guardia Civil arrested a group of heavily-armed British gangsters targeting cannabis clubs along the Costa Blanca.

A drug trafficking ring in Burjassot was dismantled by the Policia Nacional, confiscating cocaine and other illegal drugs.

In Picassent prison, inmates have used drones and creative methods to smuggle in mobile phones.

Climate and Environment

The Mediterranean region is expected to be one of the hardest-hit by climate change, with two-thirds of flood-related deaths projected to occur here, a new study finds.

The Valencian government is promoting hiking as a tool against rural depopulation, with plans to improve the GR7 trail.

Valencia is leading a national pilot project to study how biodiversity affects agriculture and fruit production.

Food News

A bakery in Mislata has been named the best panquemao baker in Valencia, thanks to its commitment to traditional methods.

In a surprise statement, celebrity chef Ferran Adrià declared that the best paellas are not in Valencia—but in nearby Alicante ?