The Alicante City & Beach Tourist Board has pre-awarded the services of beach bars, sun loungers, lockers, and boat rentals for all beaches except San Juan, totalling €874,166.

The services were placed out to bid in five lots, and over 30 interested companies submitted proposals. The updated specifications include an expansion of the service, which will now run from March 15th to November 2nd, rather than May 1st to October 31st. The contracts will be valid for the next four years, with the option for a one-year extension.

After opening the envelopes containing the bids, they were classified for later awards. Manuel Romero Vargas was the highest-ranked bidder for Lot 1, which includes the management of umbrellas and sun loungers on Tabarca Island; for Lot 2, which includes umbrellas, sun loungers, and a beach bar from Urbanova, along with umbrellas and sun loungers from Agua Amarga, Sgao Asfáltica took first place; for Lot 3, which includes umbrellas, sun loungers, lockers and nautical rentals in El Postiguet, the UTE Compromiso, made up of Restaura Gestión Forty and Como S

The concession for these services in San Juan Beach is being put out to competition under another contract that will stay in effect this year.

Iberdrola recently confirmed further power disruptions in Alicante and other municipalities across the province. These disruptions are planned to take place between Saturday, May 17th and Friday, May 23rd. According to the corporation, the purpose of this step is to perform maintenance work to ensure the quality of service and safety of the facilities.

Alicante, Agost, Alcoy, Aspe, Calpe, Elda, Ibi, Xàbia, La Mata – Torrevieja, La Xara-Dénia, Muro de Alcoy, Mutxamel, Partida de Vallonga (Alicante), and Turballos (Muro de Alcoy) are among the places affected by the power outages.

Iberdrola has pledged to giving a 24-hour notice of the commencement of the power outage. This notification will take the form of signs at the impacted entrances that specify the projected start and end hours of the outage. This is done to reduce inconvenience and allow users to take appropriate safeguards at this time.

Get essential information about power outages in your region. Stay informed to avoid setbacks!

The responsible business has indicated that if the work is done ahead of schedule, power would be restored promptly and without notice. To ensure your safety, avoid performing any maintenance work on your facilities during the outage, since power may be restored earlier than expected, posing a danger of major mishaps.

Due to the nationwide blackout on April 28th, the power outage timetable for the following days may alter.

Power disruptions are scheduled from May 17th to 23rd.
All planned power outages for the week of May 17-23 are listed here, including those in Alicante, Agost, Alcoy, Aspe, Calpe, Elda, Ibi, Xàbia, La Mata-Torrevieja, La Xara-Dénia, Muro de Alcoy, Mutxamel, Partida de Vallonga (Alicante), and Turballos (Muro de Alcoy). Plan ahead!

Section XI of the Elche-based Court sentenced Miguel Zaragoza, the former mayor of Santa Pola, to six and a half years in prison for malfeasance in conjunction with fraud (two years) and bribery (four and a half years) in the Gran Alacant Clinic case, following a complaint alleging labour patronage in favour of Popular Party members and his own sister, as well as exempting the company from the fee. Zaragoza is not the only person convicted; the ruling also finds the former Personnel Councillor, Jorge Perelló, and the clinic’s two managers, Fernando GS and Manuel RB, guilty and sentences them to the same prison terms for the same crimes, despite the fact that the latter two are considered necessary collaborators. The four must jointly and severally compensate the Santa Pola City Council for €109,371. The Gran Alacant Clinic has already paid €13,022. Pilar ZF, the councillor’s sister and partner, received a two-year and three-month prison sentence for being an accessory to bribery. The facility was also barred from obtaining any subsidies or tax breaks for the next four years. Three individuals were found not guilty: former councillor Loreto Cascales, Francisco Martín, and Antonio MG. The proceedings began with a complaint filed by the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, and the City Council withdrew the accusations. It has taken more than a year to impose the penalty since the trial concluded.

The defendants Fernando G. S and Manuel RB worked as doctors in a private clinic in Gran Alacant on Avenida Escandinavia, according to the verdict. The former has worked there since 1989, while the latter had been a contractor since 2004. According to the verdict, the clinic “operated on municipal premises without paying any rent, nor did they pay for water, electricity, etc.” According to the ruling, after winning the elections in 2003, Zaragoza, who was mayor until 2015, approached the clinic and stated that “since they had been enjoying free use of the municipal premises, they should contribute to the hiring of an administrative assistant to provide services in the Social Security clinic that was to be opened in the same building and that Servasa was demanding from the City Council.” The councilman informed Fernando GS that the clinic’s administrative concession would be conditional on the appointment of an administrative assistant.

The granting process started the same month, with just Clínica Gran Alacant participating. The clinic was founded in March 2005 “in order to be eligible to participate in the award process.” It was controlled by defendants Manuel RB and Fernando GS, who served as administrator and attorney, respectively. On March 13th, 2006, the ten-year concession was granted. According to the agreement, the clinic would pay €10,920 per year, which may be countered or decreased by offering a medical service to manage temporary sick leave for municipal employees. The cost had to be paid in full for the first year, then in six-month payments. ” Despite knowing that they were in violation of the concession contract’s provisions, neither the mayor nor the Personnel Councillor “demanded compliance.” The clinic received three requests between 2008 and 2009 for noncompliance with the sick leave follow-up service. Without receiving a thorough response, Zaragoza and Perelló summoned the clinic’s administration to produce additional evidence because “they weren’t covering the fee, (…) going so far as to call them fools” during that meeting.

In August, the company abandoned the premises but left a consulting room available for a few hours per week, “which was not notified to the City Council.” The mayor and councillor decided “by mutual agreement” not to submit additional sick leave documents to the clinic due to “the concessionaire’s blatant failure to fulfil its obligation to monitor sick leave.” In 2012, the clinic’s floor space was lowered from 132 to 74 square metres, the cost was reduced to €6,176, and the sick leave monitoring service was replaced by a medical examination service. This alteration was implemented “with full awareness that the procedure was being followed de facto without proof in the file of a cause of public interest , without a hearing from the interested party, and without approval by the plenary session.” However, the fee was not paid.

The services now encompassed emergency treatment as well as general medicine. “This clause was breached by the concessionaire with the approval of the political leaders.” According to the verdict, the clinic was required to carry out improvement works totalling 10,842 euros, which the City Council paid to pass on to the concessionaire, but the money “was never claimed.” According to the verdict, the necessity to hire an administrative assistant “responded to the deliberate desire” of Zaragoza and Perelló to use their position to ensure that the clinic hired persons of their choice, which was completely supported by the concessionaire in exchange for not paying. “Those selected to work as assistants “were recruited because of their affinity or closeness to stated political leaders.”

Antonio MG succeeded Francisco MM, who had left the clinic on leave to join the PP’s 2011 candidate list and been elected councillor. The verdict stated that these two were unaware of the “false pact” between the politicians and the clinic. Therefore, they receive an acquittal. The third was Pilar ZF, a “politician’s sister and partner.” According to the decision, she “took advantage of her family relationship and stopped showing up to work without justification, knowing that she would face no negative consequences.” Despite not attending to work, she continued to receive her entire income from the clinic, which was agreed upon by the concessionaire in exchange for not having to execute her remaining contractual responsibilities.” City Hall employees filled her absence. Loreto Cascale, Gran Alacant’s councillor, was acquitted because she was unaware of the agreements reached by the now-convicted individuals.