2018, a year dominated by the great Monchique fire

The year 2018 was dominated by the great fire in Monchique, which raged during a long week in August and left many problems to be resolved. But perhaps it has also, finally, contributed to changing mentalities and ways of acting.

In the field of negative news, there is still room for the tornado that, in March, caused damage especially in the municipality of Faro. One of the affected areas was the gypsy camp of Cerro do Bruxo, whose inhabitants were taken to the municipal sports pavilion, where they were entitled to a visit by the President of the Republic.

In fact, the state of the weather, with tornadoes, storms with the right name, heat waves, less or more rain, was a recurring theme throughout the year.

Other relevant facts, at a regional level, were the elections for the Algarve Tourism Region and later for the Algarve Tourism Association, both won by João Fernandes.

The formal announcement of the creation of the Tech Hub Algarve, which will involve universities, companies and regional brains and beyond, was good news, as was the formalization, in Alcoutim, of the National Observatory to Combat Desertification, which could attract to this peripheral council know and people.

For the rest, on the EN125, patching works were carried out on the Sotavento section, not least because the background work is not yet known when it will begin. On the railroad, mishaps followed, with the word on the agenda on the Algarve Line being “suppressed”.

2018 was also the year of affirmation of the cultural program supported by 365 Algarve. Events such as Lavrar o Mar, Festival do Contraband, Video Lucem, Jazz nas Adegas or Cataplay, to name but the most successful, have put Algarve's cultural animation on the national map, even out of season.

2018 was also the year that saw the disappearance of many important figures in the Algarve, deaths of which the Sul Informação was breaking the news.

On January 4, Carlos Lourenço, former president of the Municipal Assembly of Faro, two days later Colonel José Manuel Rosa Pinto, botanist and specialist in the Algarve's flora.

That same day, José Correia Leal, former president of the Municipal Assembly of Silves, died. Almost at the end of the month, on the 25th of January, Ana Isabel Leiria, a professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Algarve, died.

In February, on the 23rd, the mayor of Albufeira, Carlos Silva e Sousa, died in a completely unexpected way.

In March, on the 9th, it was the turn of the English businessman John Stilwell, founder of the Hotel and the Penina golf course.

In June, Emídio Serrano, former president of the Municipal Assembly of Portimão (18th), and José Manuel Tengarrinha, anti-fascist resister, deputy, investigator (29th), died. On July 16, Francisco Correia, former president of the Parish Council of Portimão, died.

José Louro, sower of theater and culture in the Algarve, died on the 10th of August, and Vítor Reia-Baptista, professor at the University of Algarve, creator of the Communication Sciences course, on the 16th. Cabrita, amateur archaeologist and former councilor of the Silves Chamber.

Former Supreme Judge Mário Varges Gomes, husband of the mayor of Portimão, died on 31 October. Santos Serra, poet, lawyer and former president of the Albufeira Municipal Assembly, died on 29 November.

In December, the day before Christmas was terrible: Professor Joaquim Romero de Magalhães, who a few days earlier had been awarded the title of doctor, died. Honorary by the University of Algarve.

On the same 24th, João Santos, founder and partner number 1 of the Almargem association, as well as Maria João Calapez, radio broadcaster and considered «the voice of Fatacil», died.

For our newspaper, the year that ended yesterday was a successful one: in July we launched the new website, with more features and new content, in September we formalized an agreement with Jornal de Notícias, which will bear even more fruit in 2019, in December we received two national journalism awards: the Sapo Digital Media Award and the National Innovation Journalism Award.

Here is the balance of this year of 2018, based on the work that the Sul Informação been doing over twelve intense months:

January

On the first day of the year, a juvenile sperm whale was found stranded on the beach at Monte Gordo, but managed to return to the sea, with the help of volunteers and members of the Vila Real de Santo António lifeboat. the sperm whale ended up to be found lifeless, the next day, at Armona beach, in Olhão.

Also starting the year, there were complaints from nurses at the Hospital of Faro, accompanied by images, that situations of chaos were being experienced in the emergency room. A reality denied by the administration of the University Hospital Center of the Algarve, which, even so, proceeded with a reinforcement of human resources shortly thereafter..

In Portimão, it was known that would advance the work of refurbishment of the city's already very degraded PSP squadron, an investment that will be "between 800 thousand and a million euros", as he revealed to the Sul Informação the mayor of Portimão Isilda Gomes.

This was not the only good news received by Portimão this month, as he also got to know that would become European City of Sport in 2019.

Em Faro, Belmarço Palace gained a new life, the result of an investment that is expected to be large – the exact amount has not been revealed – made by businessman João Rodrigues, who is the current president of Farense and owner of the Couteiro-Mor wine brand.

The work was presented to journalists during another edition of Faro Impact, where the new Alfarroba processing plant of the Chorondo e Filhos company was also announced, in which 7 million euros were invested.

Also in the Algarve capital, a preliminary version of the proposed revision of the PDM was presented, which it removes the downtown railway line and opens the door for the creation of a new station in the Patacão area, in addition to providing a corridor for the construction of an alternative route for the line.

Although this intention is nothing new, this time the Chamber of Faro guarantee that already got the green light from Infraestruturas de Portugal, the owner of the railway.

Equally well received, in this case by the Minister of Maritime Ana Paula Vitorino, was the vision of the Chamber and CCMar for the Commercial Port of Faro, the Farformosa project, which intends to revolutionize this zone. In January, the minister created a working group «with the objective of presenting the Spatial Planning Plan for the Commercial Port of Faro and to the Commercial Wharf».

Another member of the Government, in this case Pedro Marques, Minister of Planning and Infrastructure, was in the Algarve capital, accompanying Prime Minister António Costa, and announced that the electrification works of the Algarve Line would be launched in 2018, which ended up not happening.

At Praia do Peneco, in Albufeira, an authentic crater appeared, which was quickly denounced on social networks. The Portuguese Environment Agency went public to explain that it was a project to build a beach support, duly licensed, which did not prevent heavy criticism and the request for suspension of intervention by environmental associations, namely Almargem.

Another topic that stirred the news, in the first month of 2018, was the dredger that overturned and sank in the Armona bar. The Maritime Authority rushed to take measures to prevent potential environmental accidents, namely the spillage of fuel and oil, but, despite (many) attempts, failed to remove the wrecked boat.

O Sul Informação he also took a trip to Luz de Tavira, to talk to archaeologists who have been trying to find out more about the ancient Roman city of Balsa and learned that there is a draft to continue the work, delimit the city limits and even create an Interpretive Center. There is no money now to carry it forward.

Back to the Algarve capital, the lack of space in the cemeteries of Faro, a problem admitted by the City Council, but which proved to be difficult to solve. The old cemetery, inside the city, has had space problems for a long time. In the new one, which was built on the outskirts of the city, bodies cannot be buried, due to the characteristics of the soil and, even in the big drawers, “the corpses mummify instead of decomposing”, according to the Chamber.

In Castro Marim, the political war continued between the PSD's minority executive and the opposition. despite having managed the approval of the Municipal Budget proposal, even though the second attempt, Francisco Amaral was forced to end the Mobile Health Unit, a situation that generated exchanges of accusations between the mayor and those elected by the PS.

Also following the 2017 municipal councils, José Liberto Graça and Steven Piedade, presidents of the parish councils of Luz de Tavira and Santo Estêvão (Tavira) and Montenegro (Faro), respectively, were elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Parishes.

However, the mayor of Aljezur José Amarelinho saw the Constitutional Court deny him an appeal, thus confirming the sentence of loss of mandate to which he had been sentenced at first instance by the Court of Lagos, in 2012, due to illegalities in the licensing of works in Vale da Telha. The mayor still remained in office, but not for long.

On Via do Infante, where tolls had increased at the beginning of the year, maintenance works have been carried out for a long time, claimed by users.. The intervention took place in the Sotavento area, after a chorus of protests by motorists on social networks, due to the high state of degradation of the floor and the existence of potholes.

In January, the Sul Informação interviewed Anabela Afonso, then the new commissioner of the “365Algarve” program, who gave an account of the ideas she had for the future. Between them, was the strengthening of communication aimed at foreign residents, to reach their friends who live in other countries.

With the start of 2018, the Polis Ria Formosa Society went into liquidation, but it did not stop launching works and proceeding with demolitionss. As early as January, new notifications were sent to homeowners in Hangars and in the Farol, that returned to the courts to try to stop the collapse of houses. This time, they opened an account, for anyone who wanted to support.

On Twelfth Day, died José Manuel da Rosa Pinto, 76 years old, retired infantry colonel, specialist in botany and profound connoisseur of the Algarve's flora. He was, along with Professor Maria Manuela David, the creator of the Algu-Herbarium of the University of Algarve, which contains more than 14 thousand plants, of which 2500 were collected in the field by the botanist.

They also died, in the first month of the year, José Correia Leal, former president of the Municipal Assembly of Silves, Ana Isabel Leiria, professor at the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Algarve (UAlg) and Carlos Lourenço, former president of the Municipal Assembly of Faro.

February

February 2018 was marked for the unexpected death of Carlos Silva e Sousa, the mayor of Albufeira, which shocked the county and the region. The funeral of the mayor from Albufeira gathered more than a thousand people, including the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

Also in February, José Carlos Rolo, until then deputy mayor of Albufeira, assumed the presidency of the municipality.

The day before he died, Carlos Silva e Sousa was one of the mayors who joined Algarve business associations, environmental associations, anti-oil movements and public figures to say a resounding and definitive "No!" to the exploration and exploration of gas and oil off Aljezur, in an initiative that took place in Loulé.

The Chamber of Loulé was, moreover, quite active in the second month of the year. started by assume responsibility for the EN270, replacing the State in the construction of the missing section of the city's North Circular.

A few days later, announced the construction of a panoramic road, south of the city of Loulé, integrated in an urban and agricultural park that will be created there, and the extension of Avenida do Atlântico, at the entrance to Quarteira for those coming from Loulé. On the way, he made known the most recently monument de Loulé, the catalog of the exhibition “Loulé: Territories. Memoirs. Identities".

Also on the tide of announcement of structuring interventions was the mayor of Lagoa, which revealed to the Sul Informação your plans to revolutionize downtown Ferragudo, making it more friendly to pedestrians.

With the arrival of Carnival, Loulé was once again in the spotlight. In 2018, they took to the streets of the city Reinaldo's contraption and balls, to participate in the Carnival Summit in Loulé. At the same time, in Moncarapacho, Mrs. Ismenia explained to the Sul Informação the soul of another famous Algarve carnival parade.

In the city of Olhão, the population could once again cross the Level Crossing next to the railway station, closed since the beginning of the year.

However, the cold arrived, which led Faro to take steps to warm the body and soul of the homeless, action accompanied by the reporter from Sul Informação. The temperature dropped, but the rain insisted on walking away, maintaining the drought situation that had lasted for months.

In February there was, moreover, a fire in Alte, which was fought using the means of seven fire brigades in the Algarve and Alentejo, with the help of an air force. on the same day, on Faro, firefighters fought a fire in a warehouse, in Chalé das Canas, next to Quinta da Senhora Menina.

The rain arrived at the end of the month. On the 28th of February the Algarve was under yellow warning due to rain and wind, but it was a rare meteorological phenomenon that ended up making news.

This day, Faro was surprised by a low intensity tornado, which still had enough strength to overturn boats in the Dock, the most affected area, and cause damage to cars and terraces.

Meanwhile, Portugal was champion of Europe Futsal, an achievement lived intensely in Loulé, birthplace of Pedro Cary, who helped win the title. And it was also in Loulé that the 44th Tour of the Algarve ended, which was won by Michal Kwiatkowski of Sky.

Em Faro, the candidacy for European Capital of Culture had developments, but one of the main cultural structures in the county, ACTA – The Algarve Theater Company, was experiencing moments of uncertainty, due to delays in supporting the arts. a situation that put in doubt the schedule of Teatro Lethes, managed by the theater company.

February was also the month chosen by Paulo Águas, the new rector of the University of Algarve, to meet with businessmen in the region and let them know what the academy has to offer.

Companies were already facing, by this time, with difficulties in finding labor to work in the Algarve, which led them to look for workers in other regions and even in other countries.

The second month of the year would also be marked by the dismissal of service directors of the unit of Faro of the University of Algarve Hospital Center, an output that was devalued by the Minister of Health, who spoke of punctual divergence.

There was also time to hold the two semi-finals of the Festival da Canção, where the choice of the Portuguese representative at the Eurovision Festival, which would take place in Lisbon, would begin. The Algarve was represented by Diogo Piçarra, from Olhano, Júlio Resende and from Vilarreal, Susana Travassos.

The music composed by Júlio Resende was one of those selected for the finalAs well as Diogo Piçarra's, but only at first. Accusations of plagiarism led the farense singer to walk away, despite having denied having copied the song, having Susana Travassos advanced to the final decision.

March

A new tornado and three storms with the right name startled the Algarve in March and marked the month. The destruction began on day one - the low-intensity tornado that had hit Faro the 28th of February proved to be a harbinger – and several episodes followed, which together created massive losses.

Early in the morning of March 1st, under the influence of storm Ema, the strong maritime agitation caused damage in various parts of the Algarve coast.

on the beach of Faro, the waves climbed the dune, dug the sand and even reached break into a guesthouse room.

In Portimão, the most battered area was Praia da Rocha, where the No Solo Aqua bar was razed. The force of the sea provided impressive images, that Sul Informação captured.

In Sotavento, the storm also caused damage, namely on the island of Tavira, where the sea climbed dunes until reaching where it rarely goes, taking everything it found with it.

Damage from the storm was still being assessed when the Algarve was hit again by a tornado, even more intense than in February.

On the night of March 4th, a Sunday, the one that would later be confirmed as a tornado came ashore at Praia de Faro, went up to the Campina area, in this municipality, and evolved from Barlavento to Sotavento, through the Barrocal area, returning to the sea in Cacela Velha.

Em Faro, very strong winds razed the gypsy camp of Cerro do Bruxo, leaving the various families that lived there homeless. The Roma community was welcomed at the Municipal Pavilion of Faro and asked for help to recover what he had lost.

another zone of Faro where the destruction was great was in Bela Curral, on the outskirts of the city of Faro, which was hit hard by the meteorological phenomenon, as a video captured by popular shows.

The reports collected by the Sul Informação, the next morning, already in the municipality of Olhão, they were able to a tornado with "great strength" and that it arrived accompanied by a sound like airplanes.

The strong circular winds also left their mark in height, where trees were uprooted and cars and roofs damaged, and in old cacellea, where a motorhome overturned, causing an injury.

O President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa quickly headed to the region, to see with their own eyes the damage caused by the tornado, but also to appeal for tolerance and inclusion.

The gypsy community of Cerro do Bruxo took advantage of the presence of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to ask for a permanent housing solution or, at least, the installation of prefabricated structures that they could use. The Chamber of Faro rejected this proposal, but helped the Roma community to rebuild their camp..

Days later it was the turn of the Environment minister to visit the region, with the perspective of making a survey of the damages and knowing the amount of the invoice to pay.

Until the end of the month, there were warnings from the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere, warning of rain and strong winds and the high maritime agitation. Justifying them were two other storms, to Felix, which arrived in the middle of the month, and to Gisele, which came right away.

Of these, only the Félix storm left its mark on the region, when tearing off part of the new roof of the Municipal Pavilion of Olhão.

As the days went by, the damage with long-term consequences caused by the storms also began to be accounted for.

In Cacela Velha, the wild sea opened a bar in front of the village and ate part of the cliff where the church and the fortress stand. A situation seen with concern by the local community, namely by the ADRIP association,  who feared consequences for the rich local historical heritage.

Also worrying was the situation of the last oyster producer in Cacela, which he revealed to the Sul Informação who was preparing to give up his activity, due to lack of conditionss.

Still, it wasn't all bad news when it came to this historic village. It was in March that it was discovered that the archaeological excavations would return to Cacela Velha and, this time, the work would involve students from a university in Canada.

This new archaeological campaign involved the Chamber of VRSA, the Regional Directorate of Culture and the University of Algarve.

The Algarve academy would be in focus more often, throughout the month of March, for the best reasons. Following the storm, a CCMar team saved corals that had been uprooted, with the aim of replanting them. Meanwhile, a team of researchers from Ualg launched the Milage app, a portable math tutor.

In the area of ​​culture, the month was marked by several initiatives with the “365Algarve” seal. One of them was the Algarve International Music Festival, which started that month and took music to various parts of the Algarve until May.

In Alcoutim, they returned to smuggling culture between Portugal and Spain, in a new edition of Festival do Contraband. The animation was a lot and not even the secretaries of State for Tourism and Culture resisted giving a dance..

In the Barlavento Algarvio, Lavrar o Mar continued, another of the anchor events of the “365 Algarve”. In this month, the theater arrived in Marmelete, in the municipality of Monchique, accompanied by music and small glasses of arbutus.

Margarida Tengarrinha was also highlighted, in March, by launching the book “Memoirs of a Counterfeiter”, where he tells episodes of his life in hiding, before the 25th of April.

In Ourique, the Black Pig was once again king and had a festival entirely dedicated to him. O Sul Informação esteve there and recorded the very original moments provided by the event, namely the grunting contest.

In sport, the national women's soccer team made history, by securing an unprecedented 3rd place in the Algarve Cup. For that, they had to beat Australia, one of the strongest women's football teams in the world.

Storms, in this case figuratively, also reached politics. José Amarelinho, mayor of Aljezur, who had seen the Constitutional Court reject his appeal against the decision that he would lose his mandate, suspended functions and was replaced by the vice-president until then, José Gonçalves.

AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community went public announce that the introduction of a tourist tax in the Algarve had been unanimously approvedand, but quickly it was denied by the mayor of Silves Rosa Palma, who assured that she did not agree with the measure and that he would vote against – he did not do so because he was not present at the meeting in question.

The previous holders of the position of mayor of Silves – Isabel Soares and Rogério Pinto – were also in the news, for having been sentenced by the court to pay 267 thousand euros to the municipality, in the context of the “Viga d'Ouro” case.

In Castro Marim, the situation was calmer than in the first months of the year and it was announced the construction of a new hotel in the county seat, a private investment of close to 2,5 million euros.

March 2018 was also marked by the death of John Stilwell, creator of the first golf course in the Algarve and the Penina hotel.

April

The EN125 was on the agenda in April 2018, not only because it became known that, after all, the fault of not yet having authorization to carry out structural works was not the responsibility of the Court of Auditors, but also because works were announced. emergency to rehabilitate the section of this road between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, which was very degraded.

But let's go by parts. In the middle of the month, a delegation composed of elements of the Citizens' Movement of Users of EN125 -Sotavento and mayors from Castro Marim and VRSA met with the director of the Court of Auditors, which guaranteed that this entity had been awaiting, since 28 March, a response from Infraestruturas de Portugal  and that it was not the first time that the process had been stopped for a long time, waiting for clarification from the company.

The day after the Sul Informação have advanced with the news, Secretary of State for Infrastructure Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins was in Faro to meet with the mayors of the Algarve and announce in person the progress of emergency works, to be completed before the summer.

The member of Government had not yet concluded the meeting and IP already publicly announced that it would proceed with emergency works not only on the EN125, but also on the EN124 and EN396, all of them in the Algarve.

Despite the guarantees that were left by Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, the social democrats Francisco Amaral and Conceição Cabrita, mayors of Castro Marim and VRSA, respectively, argued that the intervention would only serve to plug holess. Also because they would never advance background works before 2019.

Meanwhile, the president of IP António Laranjo assured the algarvian mayors that would respond later this week to the Court of Auditors.

About two weeks earlier, Carlos Fernandes, the vice president of Infraestruturas de Portugal, had announced in Faro that the electrification of the Algarve Line between Tunes and Lagos and Faro and Vila Real de Santo António would cost 57 million euros and move forward in 2019.

In addition to adjusting the start date of the work, moving it to the following year - when the minister of Planning and Infrastructure had announced in January that it would start in 2018 -, Carlos Fernandes said that the rail connection to the Airport of Faro was going to be studied and that it was «an essentially environmental problem».

In Loulé, the first days of the month brought the start of construction work on the new GNR post in Almancil. At the same time, the Loulé Chamber was already thinking about the enhancement of heritage and launched the idea of to nominate the feast of the Sovereign Mother for Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

In Portimão, there were works to be inaugurated and others to take shape. the long claimed Companheira's new WWTP was finally inaugurated by Águas do Algarvand. In addition to having lost the bad smells associated with the old Treatment Plant, Portimão gained a modern and innovative infrastructure in its territory.

The Chamber of Portimão presented the requalification project of the Igreja Matriz square, where strengthening the identity of the historic center is a point of honor.

In Vila Real de Santo António, it was inaugurated the new pier to host the Guadiana's international river routes.

In April, the Government also signed a cooperation protocol with the association Algarve Safe Communities, with a view to strengthening the security of foreigners in the Algarve.

After a rainy month of March, the drought in the Algarve has finally been declared over – or almost, as there was still an area in the Northeast of Algarve in this situation.

Rain filled the dams, but the storms that brought it left a lot of damage. In all, 800 thousand euros were channeled to the Algarve to face the damage caused by the storms on the coastline.

On the way, it was signed between the Ministry of Environment and the Chamber of Portimão the contract for the dredging of the channel and bar of the Ria de Alvor, with the replacement of the sand removed from the beach of Alvor Nascente (Três Irmãos), scheduled to start in October.

It was also in Portimonense territory, in the Megalithic Monuments of Alcalar, that it was the programming of another edition of the DiVaM program, by the Regional Directorate of Culture, was launched.

Shows of the Algarve's cultural structures have once again given life to the Algarve's monuments, including the one that hosted the program's presentation ceremony, which, in April, returned to prehistory for a day.

It was also thinking of its cultural heritage that a delegation from the Chamber of Lagos, headed by President Joaquina Matos, traveled to Morocco, to sign a twinning agreement with Alcácer Quibir. O Sul Informação it was the only information organ invited to accompany the visit, where an attempt was made to transform “a tragic moment into an act of cooperation”.

April was also a month in which hiking was highlighted. Firstly, because there were two hiking festivals in the Algarve, in Alcoutinot me plum, but also because it was discovered that a third would be born in Lagos.

Meanwhile, the Algarve was hit by a new extreme phenomenon of localized wind, described by witnesses as a tornado. This time, happened in Albufeira during the night and caused damage to cars parked in the car park of a commercial area.

The sea sponges from Sagres also made news, as they provide the essential component for a new drug being developed by an Algarve company. This project awarded to Sea4Us the SME Instruments award from the Horizon 2020 program of the European Commission, in the amount of 50 thousand euros.

At AMAL, Miguel Freitas' replacement was finally elected as AMAL's 1st Secretary, about 9 months after he was now Secretary of State for Forests for the Government. Brandão Pires was the name chosen to fill this important position, although there was no unanimity among the mayors of the Algarve.

Also the elections were the Portimonense, with members reappointing Fernando Rocha as club president.

Closing the month of April, the Algarve learned that in 2018 it would have another Blue Flag than in the previous year, thanks to the return to this list of Praia do Pintadinho, in the municipality of Lagoa. With 89 awarded bathing areas, the Algarve region is once again the one in which the most beaches exhibited this seal of quality.

May

May in the Sul Informação, it was month of great interviews. It began with an interview with Conceição Cabrita, the first that the mayor of Vila Real de Santo António gave after her election. About the complicated accounts of that municipality, the mayor revealed that the revenue went through cutting the "fats" and renegotiating with the bank. Despite good intentions, it was not yet in 2018 that the Guadiana City Council came out of the red.

In tourism, there were many novelties: the hiking festival filled with people again and leaving its mark on Ameixial, while, in the Algarve Tourism Region, it was learned that the presidency would be disputed by two people: João Fernandes, who was vice-president, and Desidério Silva, then president. The winner turned out to be João Fernandes.

In Baixo Alentejo, the Festival Terras sem Sombra continued to add successes. In Ferreira do Alentejo, the North American pianist Pauline Yang guaranteed the Sul Informação which will never forget the Alentejo festival.

A Academic Week animated Faro, with lots of music, while in the neighboring county it was known that the Guinness record guitar builder “reinforced” Loulé Criativo.

Back Faro, good news: the Roman mosaic of the Ocean God, from the Museum from the Algarve capital, became the first National Treasure of the Algarve.

In Portimão, the french frigate hermionand visited the city and was accompanied by dozens of ships on their arrival at the city's port, in a party attended by the Sul Informação and reported in video, photography and text.

May was also the month when the former anti-fascist resister, deputy, painter and writer Daisy Tengarrinha celebrated 90 years of life well lived…and received a paragliding flight as a gift.

José Amarelinho, facing a long legal process, resigned from the presidency of the Chamber of Aljezur. At the end of the month, it was learned that it would become the first secretary general of the Association of Municipalities Terras do Infante.

Also in May, the Sul Informação he went to Lisbon, as chairman of the Council of Ministers, to interview minister Siza Vieira with some of the country's main regional information bodies. And it was known that the Government is studying a system to "remunerate" the interior for the services it provides to the country.

With regard to gastronomic tourism and gastronomy, in May it was announced that the Algarve is preparing a “recipe” to be a world “icon” in culinary tourismo, while sardines, whose fishing reopened this month, will be plentiful and fat.

Less good is the news about the roads: it was confirmed, once again, that the EN125 is the road with more black spots all over the country. On the other hand, work begins on the EN2. So, as they were announced improvement works on EN124 and EN396, to be ready "before the summer" (and they were).

May is the month of Museums and that's why there was good news in this sector, here in the Algarve. O Portimão Museum celebrates 10 years and even won gifts. In turn, the Museums of Loulé and Faro won awards APOM, the Portuguese Association of Museology.

As for football, the fifth month of the year was also good: the Ferreiras became district champion and went up in division, while the Farense guaranteed ascend to the II League, thus stamping his return to professional championships, after years of desert crossing. But there was also bad news: the sports journalist died Carlos Flour.

June

Portugal is “in fashion” in Italy and the EasyJet decided to expand its offer of flights from the Airport of Faro. In such a way that, the Algarve airport already surpasses Lisbon in the number of EasyJet routes. It was with this good news that the month of June began in Sul Informação.

In the opening days of the sixth month of the year, Prime Minister António Costa was in Monchique, to see the work of the forest sappers…and our newspaper discovered that the brigade that demonstrated the clearing of the forest to António Costa had not yet been paid by the Government. Nothing to stop the poses for photographs and television images.

Another war is the preservation of the riches of the Ria Formosa. And "War Horses" is precisely the name of the film and book to help the seahorses of this important wetland.

Also in June, the Sul Informação was at the hospital in Portimão, to speak with the nurse responsible for the first Stroke Mutual Help Group in the Algarve. A new, voluntary help, very useful for stroke survivors and their families.

Among the news of the month was the appointment of the former vice president of the Chamber of Lagoa, the jurist Nuno Amorim, as Algar's new executive director representing the Municipalities. As seen throughout the year, an appointment that has not had repercussions so far in the improvement of services provided by Algar in the region.

In June, the program of Festival F was also presented, again in Lisbon, which would arrive in September in the historic center of Faro. And it was known that the F would have «all the artists of the moment in Portugal».

In an in-depth interview with the regional director of Culture of the Algarve, Alexandra Gonçalves revealed that «there is a change in the tourist who visits us».

It was also known that the Volta a Portugal returns to the Algarve and the proof was presented in the Algarve. The first stage of the Volta, which would take place in August, passed in Southwest Alentejo and ended in Albufeira.

Despite being necessary, there are works that can undermine the fragile and rich underwater heritage. In a lecture in Portimão, promoted by the Friends of the Museum, the archeologist Cristóvão Fonseca warned: more dredging in the Arade River estuary only with an archaeological campaign.

Speaking of archeology: throughout the month, chronicles were published about the new excavation campaign in Cacela-Velha, involving the University of the Algarve and international students.

The MED Festival took place in Loulé with a strong musical poster and a focus on families and the environment. O councilor Carlos Carmo, in an interview, revealed all the news.

June also brought good news regarding railway safety, as it was known that 7 level crossings will disappear on the Algarve Line, namely the of Estômbar and Parchal.

Less good was the news regarding the highway. In June, news arrived that the Court of Auditors failed the requalification of EN125 in Sotavento, between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António, which was considered a «bad news for the Algarve» by the president of AMAL.

In his first major interview after being elected, the new rector of the University of the Algarve announced that the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Algarve may be “born” next year, at the same time that the School of Health would be transferred to the Campus of Gambelas. In response, the Academic Association stated «uncomfortable” with this change.

With time weird that occurred throughout the month of June, there was a electrostatic discharge that damaged homes in Almancil and even caused a fire in the house of the president of the Parish Council. Fortunately there were no victims.

Em Faro, June was a month full of news announced. Thus, according to the Chamber, the Mata do Liceu and Jardim da Alameda will be requalified in 2021, while a year earlier, in 2020, Praia de Faro will have "Camping as it should be». THE Users' Association of this old camping reacted negatively, as expected, to this announcement.

The sixth month of the year also saw two reference figures disappear: on the 18th, he died Emidio Serrano, former president of the Municipal Assembly of Portimão, and on the 29th, it was time to leave José Manuel Tengarrinha, resistant anti fascist, deputy, investigator.

At the end of the month, and despite the enthusiasm with which she was accompanied by fans across the Algarve, Portugal's national team ended up being removed from the World Cup. Portugal even played well, but Uruguay was relentless in attacking in the game played on the 30th.

July

The month of July started with good news: young canoeists from the Algarve, from the Kayak Clube Castores do Arade (lagoa) and from the Grupo Desportivo de Alcoutim, guaranteed three titles of national champion in the modality.

In Portimão, it was learned that, after a conflicting electoral process, João Rosa was chosen as the new president of the city's Clube Naval.

But on the 2nd, also in the city of Barlaventina, Folha was introduced as the new coach of Portimonense, pointing to maintenance as the «first objective» and guaranteeing «a competitive team, without fear of losing, in any stadium». After a somewhat complicated start to the season, by the end of the year Folha has been doing a good job of it.

Em Faro, opened at the Municipal Museum an exhibition with works by Cesariny, Paula Rego and Cruzeiro Seixas, among other artists, in a partnership with the Millennium BCP Foundation.

In Baixo Alentejo, the Festival Terras sem Sombra came to an end, with the usual delivery of your prizes, which this year distinguished the musician Péter Eötvös, the city of Albarracín and the association that protects Portuguese grape varieties.

On the 3rd, a big scare in Portimão. A fire that broke out in an electrical equipment store in the small shopping center located in the basement of the Cedipraia building, on Avenida 25 de Abril (or Liceu), caused a slight wound and forced the evacuation of 80 residents of building.

At the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, experiencing "a historic year" in terms of races and events received, the Racing School presented its new Porsches.

Another good news, first hand, had to be given by Sul Informação on the 6th Algarve Tech Hub, which will be born at the Penha Campus of the University of Algarve, in Faro, will be a reality in two years' time. And it will be a "seed" to make the Algarve a "Silicon Valley on our scale". Is it this one?

July was also the month of one of the most negative events of the year in the Algarve: the felling of trees, with radical clearing of the land, in a theoretically protected area, close to Cacela Velha. GNR's SEPNA source began by telling the Sul Informação that slaughter had been authorized by ICNF, entity that would come to deny such authorization, days later.

The clearing of the land, after having already destroyed an extensive area of ​​secular trees and shrubs, would be suspended, mainly due to the pressure of news in newspapers, radio and television and the social alarm caused, invoking offenses registered in the cliff areas, next to the Ria Formosa.

Environmental heritage defense associations demanded answers and it was known that the felling of trees in Cacela Velha could be worth a fine of 5 million euros. As far as we know, so far everything is the same.

Also in the Environment, there was good news during the month of July: the Court agreed with PALP, the Algarve Free Oil Platform, another step to prevent the ENI/Galp consortium from prospecting for hydrocarbons in the sea off Aljezur. Another step in a long war.

Through these more serious matters, he opened, in Faro, another Alameda Beer Fest, with beers for all tastes and lots of entertainment.

A recurring theme throughout the year is the EN125. Infraestruturas de Portugal announced that it was preparing to redeem the EN125 requalification and maintenance concession, following the suspension of operation and maintenance activities announced by the sub-concessionaire Rotas do Algarve Litoral. This should allow, at least in theory, to finally launch tenders for the rehabilitation works of the road between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António. This, as would be seen later, did not happen. And only emergency interventions, patches, were carried out on the eastern section of the EN125.

Talking to Leeward. The Municipal Museum of Tavira/Palácio da Galeria hosted the unprecedented exhibition ««Modern Women», with 55 drawings and paintings by Almada Negreiros, the vast majority belonging to the collection of the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum's Modern Collection. It was a highly successful show.

In the Arade estuary, over the course of the month, another underwater archeology campaign took place, led by Cristóvão Fonseca. Although very short, this campaign allowed the recovery, from the bottom of the Arade river, of a 1-year-old Dressel 2000 Roman amphora, for the transport of wine, the only complete specimen to date collected in Portugal in the context of excavation.

At the Fortaleza de Sagres, within the scope of DiVaM, the program for the Disclosure and Valorization of Monuments in the Algarve, promoted by the Regional Directorate of Culture, and, in this case, with the organization of the Centro Ciência Viva de Lagos, there was another edition of the event « New School of Sagres», where neither robots nor holograms were lacking .

Also in terms of heritage, July brought two good news to Lagoa: at the beginning of the month, the new walking trail «Caminho dos Promontório», by the coast, while a few weeks later it was time to inaugurate the work of conservation and restoration of Torre da Lapa, also located on the coast. At the base of this centuries-old watchtower, it was buried a time capsule, where a print of the opening page of the Sul Informação that day, which contained a report on the intervention.

In Cacela Velha, there are not only attacks on the environmental heritage. In July, archaeological excavations were carried out there, which included the Canadian student participation, to help “unearth” the history of this location. And, among the novelties brought by the archaeological work, an "unusual case": it was discovered a cat buried in the medieval cemetery of Cacela.

It was also in July that it was learned that the Portimão Museum is now the home of the Forum of European Museums and names a new prize.

The Cognitive Neurosciences Group of the Center for Research in Biomedicine (CBMR) of the University of Algarve is carrying out a study to understand the adult dyslexia.

On the 13th of July, culminating long months of work, a new was born Sul Informação, released with a party at the newspaper's premises, among the stone pines of the CRIA business center, on the Campus de Gambelas, in Faro.

On July 15th, there was the first big fire of summer. two canadairs, two light planes and three helicopters helped to control the fire in the Serra de Monchique. It seemed that everything was prepared and that things were going to go well…but Agosto would take it upon herself to tragically disprove this idea.

July was also the month for the return of the ferry between Portimão-Madeira-Canárias to the Algarve port. And, on the day of the third trip, the Minister of the Sea was in Portimão, to announce that the connection of ferry to Spain and Morocco, as well as to reveal that the Environmental Impact Study for the «large dredging» in the Port of Portimão is already underway.

Em Faro, opened at Solar das Pontes de Marchil, headquarters of Associação 289, a large exhibition of contemporary art curated by Pedro Cabrita Reis. O Sul Informação interviewed the most renowned Portuguese plastic artist who said: «this exhibition is a light». And it was.

The installation of the National Observatory to Combat Desertification in Alcoutim it was finally made official on the 19th of July.

The seventh month of the year is also time for the Motard Concentration of Faro, which has already become the biggest event of its kind across Europe. After the arrest of elements of the Hell's Angels, who allegedly wanted to cause serious disturbances in Faro, José Amaro, president of Motoclube Farense, had already warned: if you don't go to the Motorcycle Concentration for the sake of it, it's better to "not show up". And it was even so, because the Concentration ended up take place "in the peace of the angels".

In the Algarve, as in the rest of the country, the CP service is getting worse. The Minister of Planning and Infrastructure Pedro Marques was in the region and announced that the Government will rent railcars to alleviate problems on the Algarve Line. Months followed and problems on the Algarve Line did too. And only on December 31 was announced the date for the competition to buy the railcars.

In São Teotónio, Alentejo, on the occasion of FACECO, there are always many new things to announce. One of them was the formalization of a Working Group to address the issue of "new intensive agriculture", which worries the municipality of Odemira so much.

In the balance of FACECO – Cultural and Economic Activities Fair of the Municipality of Odemira, the Mayor announced that the contest needs space to grow.

Continuing through Baixo Alentejo, on the 23rd of July landed at Beja Airport, for the first time in Portugal, an Airbus A380, the largest passenger aircraft in the world. There were dozens of photographers there interested in planes, the so-called plane spotters, including one of the Sul Informação.

Back in the Algarve, it was learned that the marine renewable energy team of the Center for Marine and Environmental Research (CIMA) of the University of Algarve is preparing an application to the European Horizon 2020 program, to achieve funding to test a new tidal energy extraction technology demonstrator prototype.

In July, the Beta Talk celebrated its anniversary with a meeting of entrepreneurs at sea, aboard a boat. He celebrated the anniversary and, apparently, said goodbye, because there were never any more of these initiatives.

In Silves, the seventh month of the year brought a sign of hope to the neighborhood of Caixa d'Água, with the start of the project «O Bairro é Meu!».

A Feira da Serra brought 33 thousand people to São Brás de Alportel, while in Moncarapacho, it was time for Carnival…summer.

One of the night of total eclipse of the Moon was chosen for another «Walk to the Moonlight», promoted by the Museum of Loulé, this time to discover the archaeological remains in Quinta do Lago.

July was also the month of new presidencies in two important entities: João Fernandes assumed, on the 27th of July, the presidency of the Algarve Tourism Region. In an exclusive interview with Sul Informação said to come “with the strength of someone who has arrived again, but with the experience of someone who was already here”.

At Farense, businessman João Rodrigues, who was already leading SAD, was elected president of Farense, also on the 27th.

The end of the month brought several good news for the Algarve's museums: a "new" stele of the mysterious writing of the Southwest was the magazine's star National Geographic and is now shown at the Museum of Loulé.

Em Faro, reopened, after rehabilitation made mandatory by the 2015 fire, the Maritime Museum Almirante Ramalho Ortigão, the oldest in the Algarve.

In Portimão, the Museum was the stage for the party of 100th birthday of Francisco Oliveira, former city photographer. The party included the opening of an exhibition with some of his best photos, but also with a cake, shared among all family and friends.

Finally, on the 31st, a notice arrived: a heat wave was coming, which put the Algarve under an orange warning and required special care. But not even this warning stopped what would follow, a few days later, in August...

August

The month of August started with bad news and that would unfortunately be the dominant tone throughout 31 harrowing and scorching days: from August 1st, the Planet Earth lives on "environmental credit", since that was the day when humanity will have used the natural resources available for the entire year, according to the Global Footprint Network (GFN), warn the ANP|WWF and ZERO.

On that first day, the Minister of Internal Administration, who visited the Loulé air resources center and guaranteed: Algarve is in «maximum readiness and prepared» to fight fires. Nothing more wrong, as it would be seen in a few days.

However, the IPMA warned again, as if anticipating the coming tragedy: temperatures can exceed 45°C. And the National Civil Protection Authority, to show its service, sent an sms to everyone to warn against the heat wave...but he got his own number wrong, and suggested Glassdrive's phone number in that emergency SMS.

On the 2nd, there was a first fire in the Serra de Monchique, but it was fought promptly, with land and air means, and the thing seemed to have gone well, in such a way that the Mayor Rui André himself would say that this fire it had been subdued thanks to "the prompt response of the media."

But the very next day, a Friday, August 3rd, the fire returned to the mountain range and would never leave it for a long and tragic week.

The first news of Sul Informação about this great fire, which would consume about 20 thousand hectares and leave a trail of destruction of homes and possessions – fortunately without fatalities – was published at 14:23 pm: Fire in Monchique already mobilizes 9 aerial means.

Since then, and until the end of August, the Sul Informação, which was the only regional newspaper that followed, step by step, and with reporters on the ground, the great fire, published no more, no less than 136 news items on this topic, more than half of which were reports. There were even days when virtually the entire news flow in our newspaper was dominated by fire-related information.

On that first day, the news of a destroyed house and an evacuated village (Taipas), while the Civil Protection provided for a night «very difficult, of hard work».

On day 4, given the seriousness of the accident, the Municipal Emergency Plan was activated in Monchique. And the heat and wind meant that, in the afternoon, worsen the fire-fighting conditions of Perna da Negra.

The first news of the reinforcement of terrestrial resources appears, with 130 soldiers sent to fight the Monchique fire, while it was learned that two more small towns – Ladeira de Cima and Trucais – had been evacuated.

There was also talk of the immense wave of solidarity, which would involve hundreds of volunteers, public entities, companies, all helping firefighters and civil protection agents on the ground. Residents of various areas of the municipality of Monchique forced to leave their homes – often under protest – as a precaution were mostly taken to Portimão, where the Arena pavilion became a huge shelter.

The 5th dawned with two active fronts, which did not show signs of slowing down, knowing that the fire had destroyed houses and cars in Perna da Negra and forced to evacuate people in the neighboring municipality of Odemira.

With the flames out of control, the location of Portela do Vento, along the road to Sabóia and at the gates of the village of Monchique, it had to be evacuated.

At the end of the afternoon, the fire arrives near the village of Monchique and destroys houses and possessions in the localities around the village. It was a night of hell, with hundreds of people unable to leave Monchique.

At that time, it was also known that the fire was go south towards Fornalha and Alferce. In this village, which ended up being isolated by flames for a long night, there was one wounded: an elderly woman. It became known later that, around Alferce, the fire had destroyed everything, even the centuries-old cork oaks.

With the fire going down the south slope of the mountain, it was thought, at nightfall, that the Odelouca dam would help firefighters to brake Monchique fire. But that didn't happen, such was the force of the flames.

On the 6th, it was learned that the fire was already in force in the municipality of Silves, with fronts in the area of ​​São Marcos da Serra. In Caldas de Monchique and in the neighboring areas of Montinho and Barranco do Banho, firefighters had no respite. The worst was feared in relation to the thermal complex.

Smoke, which in the meantime was already seen at a distance of tens and tens of kilometers across the Algarve, it prevented, during the morning of that 6th of August, that the air resources – planes and helicopters – could act.

First assessment of the burned area done: 13 thousand hectares destroyed...

After CDS says that 95% of the Monchique fire was «under control», on a «difficult day», it was also admitted that a "hard and hard work" night was approaching. And so it happened.

In such a way that, on the following day, 7th of August, the concern started to be in the areas south of Nave, Casais and Odelouca Dam.

But the fire was already raging with all intensity in the municipality of Silves, where the inhabitants of Top Zebro they had to fight, with their own means, the fire at their door. At the Falacho, two kilometers from Silves, residents were also evacuated.

The European Copernicus system, however, updated the area burned in the Monchique fire, which this morning it was already around 19 thousand hectares.

The flames descended down the mountain and arrived in the area of ​​Rasmalho, municipality of Portimão and about three kilometers from the city, where they ended up stopping. But the spectacle of Canadair planes going to supply themselves with sea water in front of Praia da Rocha, to pour it over the flames, impressed, in such a way that photos and videos invaded social networks…after all, fire was no longer a distant and uncomfortable thing, with the ashes invading gardens and swimming pools and beaches on the coast, it really was there at the foot...

That night, because the fire also didn't seem to slow down in the mountains, the flames went up the slope, towards Fóia, the highest point in the Algarve, and thethreatened the existing telecommunications antennas.

On August 8, the fifth day of the fire, the flames continued to threaten, now mainly in the vicinity of Silves, in the densely populated locality of nursery, Pinheiro and Garrado, Vale Fuzeiros, among others.

In such a way that, in this county too, part of the population was removed from their homes, as a precaution, and taken to a pavilion, in this case the EB 2,3 School of São Bartolomeu de Messines. The smoke was so dense, that the Silves population was advised to close doors and windows and stay in safe areas.

In Lisbon, Prime Minister António Costa, at the weekly briefing of the National Civil Protection Authority, found that "it still takes many days of work for the fire in Monchique to be completely extinguished."

Rui André, mayor of Monchique, warned, however: the «situation remains very critical».

It was on this day that it was learned that the Iberian lynxes from the Silves Breeding Center, located in the middle of the mountains, near the Funcho dam, had been removed to take them to a safe place in Spain. First, made a stop in Lagoa, having stayed overnight in the sports hall of a school.

With six days of fire, on 9 August it was learned that more than a hundred people had been evacuated in a night of alarm in the municipality of Silves. O Sul Informação he went to the school pavilion in Messines, where these people spent the night, and spoke with some of them. «If I had stayed there alone, even if it wasn't from the fire or smoke, I was scared to death," said Deolinda Sequeira, 78 years old, resident of Vale Fuzeiros, who that night had been removed from her house by the authorities, when the fire “already hovered there at the door”.

In statements to the Sul Informação, after a night also spent in shock, the Mayor Rosa Palma was clear: «There was a communication failure here».

That morning, it was learned that the burned area in Monchique was already above 23 thousand hectares. But, on the ground, the situation was more “calm”, although there were fears of rekindling. At the end of the day, good news arrived: the fire was still active, but it no longer had any fronts.

With the news and powerful images of the Monchique fire circulating around the world, the British government advised against travel to affected areas in Algarve and the Tourism Region itself admitted that they were 500 tourists removed from the affected areas, but only as a precaution.

The mayor of Monchique made the first assessment of the huge losses: the fire had destroyed 50 homes and caused more than 10 million euros in damage.

And finally, on the seventh day, the fire rested! On August 10, a week after it started, the Civil Protection finally gave as dominated the Monchique fire.

It was announced that "large part" of the displaced, sheltered in the municipality of Portimão or Silves, would return home that same day.

Amidst criticism and applause, the mayor of Silves decided that the Medieval City Fair would open its doors on the 11th, as scheduled. A motivated decision, explained Rosa Palma, for "love and determination".

On the same day, in an interview with Sul Informação, the president of RTA assured that there is support to “rebuild” tourism in Monchique.

After being removed from the “operations theater” to avoid disturbing the work, the high figures began to visit the affected area on August 10, with the flames already under control. The first to travel was António Costa, who met in the mountain village with the mayors of the Chambers of Monchique, Silves, Portimão and Odemira.

A «priority now is to rebuild» what the Monchique fire destroyed, the prime minister assured.

At that meeting, it was also decided, and the prime minister announced, that the president of the Chamber Rui André would coordinate a working group for the «economic reorganization of the Serra de Monchique».

The journalist of Sul Informação Nuno Costa, who started by going to Monchique as a reporter and ended up helping his parents, who were also affected by the fire, wrote a column in our newspaper where he stated: I'm not an expert, but this fire is not like the others. And it wasn't.

On August 11th, the Sul Informação accompanied veterinarians and volunteers who walked the field to rescue animals or coordinate the assistance to the animals. Is that the animals are also victims of the fire, but there are teams on the ground to rescue them.

On this day, the President of the Republic came to the Algarve and saw, heard and consoled Monchique and Silves. At night, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa went to the Medieval Fair of Silves (where he spoke exclusively with the Sul Informação) and stated that this visit was a “duty of civic solidarity”.

In the days following the end of the fire, while we could still see fumaroles in the mountains coming out of the bowels of the earth, the tourist complexes were reopened: the Thermal Villa Caldas de Monchique SPA Resort reopened on August 13, Macdonald Monchique Resort & Spa he opened the doors again three days later.

On the 20th, it would be time to follow the restoration work on an old path between Caldas de Monchique and Picota, which was being rediscovered to welcome nature tourists, who, in September, would start arriving in the mountains.

The Mayor of Monchique, concerned about the consequences for residents in the municipality, demanded a 'emergency measure' to support small farmers.

On August 17th, it was learned that 150 farmers they had already declared damage from the fires, but there could be more.

It was also on this date that the Sul Informação, in a report at RIAS, revealed that four wild animals victims of the fire that arrived at this recovery center, only one survived.

Our newspaper still took care of the work of the group of volunteers «Ajuda Monchique», who demonstrated how to work when the problems of others matter more than ours.

The Environment Minister came to Monchique and announced, on 20 August, ten days after the fire ended, that interventions in the water lines affected by the fire cost 1,1 million and "you can start now". Already, they have not started.

But the month of August, despite everything, was not just made of flames and incendiary polemics.

On day 1, it was learned that residents of São Brás de Alportel were contesting the so-called rehabilitation works ongoing in the historic center of the village.

On the 10th, the Seafood Festival began in Olhão, which even featured an oyster opening contest, in charge of a French specialist.

As for Portimonense, its opening journey in the new season of the I League was not auspicious: lost at home, 2-0, with Boavista.

The University of the Algarve, however, announced the creating a Blue Hub to pass knowledge on renewable energy and marine surveillance to companies.

O Sul Informação he went to Aljezur and interviewed the mayor José Gonçalves. And it turned out that the new Town Hall to be installed in the old school and the work on the Municipal Market are Aljezur's major projects.

Despite the heat, the Algarve grapes resisted and even more wine was expected.

The President of the Republic was on vacation in the Algarve and went to inaugurate Fatacil, in Lagoa, where even bought a beret. A few days later, he went to Albufeira to see the «genius» Nelson Évora jumping with Beijing in memory.

In terms of large projects, it was announced that the Chamber of Portimão will invest 1,4 million euros in the rehabilitation and readaptation of the Old Fish auction to new functions, located next to the old bridge and by the river.

As for a great investment from the past, opinions are divided: Faro he was building the Algarve Stadium again, but Loulé had to think better.

In São Bartolomeu de Messines, the tinsmith route was inaugurated, to recover the memory of this art.

On the 28th, the President of the Medical Association came to the hospital in Faro say that less doctors and more problems oblige us to invest in hospitals in the Algarve. Miguel Guimarães considered such investment “a priority” and demanded that the Government “take into account the response capacity that the NHS has to provide in a region that, in addition to [tourism and international visibility], has a very strong private sector, which easily enters into competition with the public sector'.

The Hospitality Union put its finger on the wound, in response to what the bosses had said, and affirmed what many people already knew (and lived in their skin): that «there is no shortage of labor in the hotel industry, there is a lack of working conditions».

In terms of summer parties, Castro Marim returned to medieval times with the historic parade, while on the beach at Manta Rota. revived the Holy Bath party, with long underwear and combinations.

August was also the month in which two reference figures in the Algarve died: the teacher, sower of theater and culture José Louro (10th), and Victor Reia-Baptista, professor at the School of Education and Communication of the University of Algarve (16th).

September

A 'comedy of the year', which was mostly shot in the Algarve, premiered in September and the Sul Informação spoke with its director André Badalo before the film reached the cinemas.

In September, the flames returned to the Algarve. On day 1, a fire that broke out in Ameixial progressed towards the municipality of Almodôvar and mobilized nearly 500 operatives and seven helicopters. On the 15th, the fire returned to consume the forest, in Monchique, in the Palmeira area, and caused a slight wound.

The mountain council continued to recover from the August fire, and one of the ways to help the victims was through the creation of a solidarity supermarket. To stabilize the soils, aerial seedbeds and the Government guaranteed that it wanted to put in place, by mid-October, the most urgent actions to protect the soil from erosion, in the Silves and Monchique areas. It was also known that producers who exchange eucalyptus by other species in the burnt zone will be rewarded.

Also in Monchique, also in sports, there was bad news in 2018: the Monchiquense Sports Youth withdrew from participating in the 2nd District Football Division, remitting the blame to the City Council.

In Mértola, an investment of 3 million euros to create a new home was announced. The Lar das 5 Freguesias will create between 25 and 30 jobs in the Alentejo municipality.

September is the month of return to school and the University of the Algarve had news, with the change in full from the School of Health to the Campus of Gambelas. With regard to placements, in the first phase, the algarvian academy bucked the national trend and rose 4%. psychology returned to being the course with the highest entry average. In the second phase, there was a drop in placements, but still less than what was seen at the national level.. There were practices, but there was no controversy and there were even freshmen who painted walls and cleared weeds.

The Chamber of Faro approved, in the ninth month of the year, the end of the lending contract that it had with the Users and Friends Association of the Praia de Camping Park Faro (AUAPPCF). The campsite's occupants will have to leave the space by September 2019. At the same time, the municipality launched the tender for the contract for the future campsite that will be built in the same location.

The construction of the new campsite was not the only investment announced for the Algarve capital in September and, on Municipality Day, a project was presented for the city to embrace the Ria Formosa. The ceremony took place at the Commercial Pier of Porto de Faro, where the Sagres School Ship and the Boa Esperança Caravel were moored.

Rota do Petisco returned in 2018, reaching new municipalities with the greatest offer ever.

It was also known, in September, after the “storm” had passed, that the survival of the RIAS – Wildlife Recovery and Research Center was «shaky».

O Metoposaurus Algarvensis arrived at the Museum of Loulé and the discovery of this prehistoric animal could boost the creation of the first Geopark in the Algarve.

On September 6, the National Team returned to the Algarve to play against Croatia, world runner-up but, despite the good first part and the mexican waves, the team of the corners did not go beyond a draw.

September was the month of World Cups in the Algarve: The World Underwater Fishing World Cup was disputed this year in Sagres, and the Algarve came out victorious with Teresa Duarte to become the first female world champion e Jody Lot to take the world title. In Portimão, the Windsurf World Championships were held, with João Rodrigues and Stephen Allen becoming champions.

The earth shook on September 10th, with an earthquake of 3.0 on the Richter scale that was felt in Messines and Silves. On the same day, Filipe Castro Mendes, Minister of Culture, visited the restoration works, with the historical construction process of the Almohads, of the albarra tower of Paderne Castle.

The European Heritage Days, which passed through 12 municipalities, were entitled, in 2019, to a stew, movies to an (Ins)tendal. Already Mobility Week had a solar boat, 100 bicycles at the school and an app with Lagoa routes.

In Olhão, a few weeks before the start of the renovation works on Avenida 5 de Outubro, the local authority announced its intention to create a new area for recreational boating in the fishing port of Olhão. Also in education, there was investment, with the beginning of work that will transform the old school nº5 in Olhão in a «fantastic space», with all the conditions required of a modern educational establishment.

In Loulé, the music conservatory was inaugurated and not even António Costa, the prime minister, missed the party.

Since August, it was known that Jackson Martínez was going to reinforce Portimonense's football, but the striker only arrived in the Algarve in September. The Colombian said he is 100% focused on the Algarve club and debuted in a game that coincided with the first victory of Alvinegros in the First League.

The Algarve Councils started to receive more competences, within the scope of the decentralization process approved by the Government, but the mayors asked for funds to be able to do the job.

On the 15th of September, 150 people climbed the Foia to see stars and help Monchique recover from the fire and, the next day, the Albufeira and Olhos de Água Table was considered one of the 7 Wonders of the Table. The tables from Lagoa and Zambujeira do Mar were also finalists in the competition.

On September 20th, the Sul Informação entered the News Network, after having formalized a partnership with Jornal de Notícias that encompasses the sharing of content.

The tourist tax was approved by the Algarve's municipalities on 21 September, but it is still unclear when it will come into force. AMAL still points to March 2019.

The fight against oil was still active, with ASMAA to appeal for the help of citizens and organizations to secure the legal action for the nullity of the Aljezur scoop.

On the 23th of September, there was another fire in Monchique, but in the underground car park in the village. There were no injuries, but six cars were destroyed in the flames.

For Via Algarviana, the news was good in September, with the approval of an application that will allow for the introduction of "many novelties" in the pedestrian and cycle path that crosses the interior of the Algarve.

The Quarteira Summer Fair did not generate consensus and, even after its end, opinions on the success of the initiative diverged between the executive of the Chamber of Loulé and the opposition.

The EN125 took another life, in a frontal collision, in Portimão, between two vans, one of them from EMARP. In the accident, two people were still injured.

October

The month of October started with a tribute by Loulé to its guardians and heritage donors. But not everything was positive for the municipality, as it had to launching a new international competition, after the contractor who was going to build the D. Dinis School had given up on the work.

O Sul Informação even advanced that the pipe organ of the Igreja Matriz in Portimão, which has been restored, would be ready in time for the Algarve Organ Festival. And steve.

Earlier this month, Portimonense continued to struggle to get out of the tail of the Primeira Liga table, but a heavy defeat against Desportivo das Aves accentuated the poor start of the season for Alvinegros. However, on October 7th, a gala night against Sporting started the recovery in the standings.

At APA Algarve, there were changes. Sebastião Teixeira is no longer the delegation's director, being replaced, once again, by José Pacheco. The regional education delegate also changed: Alexandre Lima took over, replacing Francisco Marques, who was dismissed.

The executive president of Altice Portugal visited the Algarve at the beginning of the month and guaranteed the company's support to the Algarve Tech Hub, in an exclusive interview with Sul Informação. The location of the Altice Lab in Olhão was also revealed, that will be born in Pechão in 2019. Alexandre Fonseca also showed availability for Altice support the victims of the Monchique fire “beyond technology”.

Support for victims of the fire in Monchique was back in the news, since the legislation prevented farmers who paid cash for equipment to restore their productive capacity from being reimbursed. However, days later, the law changed.

The City Council also faced difficulties in receiving post-fire support and considered not presenting candidacy due to the rules of PDR 2020.

The new edition of 365 Algarve was presented on the 5th of October. A “marriage” edition, which brings together more cultural and economic agents, and which has more than 20 productions, which will provide more than 400 sessions in all the Algarve's municipalities until May.

On October 8th, a 21-year-old boy was killed by a train in Portimão, in the Boavista area.

The nurses were on strike and, on October 10th, 40 surgeries were canceled in hospitals in Faro and Portimão. On October 26th, a new strike, this time a general one, closed schools and also affected hospitals.

The new bridge to Praia de Faro, an old ambition of the Farenses, was “trapped” by a million euros, after a first contest was deserted.

If the bridge was stopped, the rehabilitation works of Largo de São Pedro were advancing at full speed, so that it would be ready by the end of the year. Bones were found during the work, but this did not prevent the work from continuing.

On October 11th, the winning projects of the Participatory Budget of Portugal were announced, four of them from the Algarve. Monchique also won an award, due to the design that protects pets in case of fire.

Hurricane Leslie "threatened" to pass through the Algarve, but ended up entering mainland Portugal further north, in the Lisbon area. The region still did not get rid of some rain and wind.

Djalmir, a legend from Olhanense, took his boots out of the closet and he returned to Rubronegros, aged 42, to score goals and unite the fans.

At the University of Algarve, researchers made two important discoveries: the sardine genome has been decoded and were found microplastics in mussels from the Algarve.

On October 15, Margaret Thompson boarded a plane, in the UK, and landed at the Airport of Faro, where she was received with pomp and circumstance for having traveled for the 100th time to the Algarve.

The details of the State Budget for 2019 were becoming known little by little, but in October, it was known that there was money for the railroad in the Algarve and more money for the municipalities.

Not only will the railway in the Algarve receive improvements, too the problems on the Ecovia do Litoral will be solved by 2021.

With regard to roads, the Environmental Impact Study of the coveted Olhão Variant was delivered. However, days later, less good news arrived: there is no forecast for the requalification of the bottom of the EN125 between Olhão and VRSA.

An assistance dog was also an ambition for the family of young autistic Rui Marques, after a fundraising campaign, Farrusco arrived, but he was not trained and the performance of the president of the Portuguese Association of Assistance Dogs proved to be a sham.

In the Portuguese Cup, Silves made history and was the only team from the Algarve to reach the 4th Round.

"The Artists", one of the emblematic spaces of the Faro night closed on 27th October, but promises to come back.

the money to rebuild 50 homes affected by the Monchique fire arrived in late October, on the same day it was learned that an application of half a million euros will give a new impetus to nature tourism in the county.

What can give a boost the accordion's candidacy for Cultural and Intangible Heritage of Humanity is the 69th World Trophy, which will take place from 3 to 9 November 2019, in Loulé.

In economics, Vítor Guerreiro, mayor of São Brás de Alportel, advanced to Sul Informação that there is a carob factory on the way to the new Business Park.

Through the skies of the Algarve, in October, there were divers, dogs and even ice cream, brought by the ballooning festival, which passed through various lands in the region.

At the same time of the month, a delegation from the Moroccan city of Alcácer Quibir arrived in Lagos, to lay the foundations for future cooperation between two cities "connected by fate".

On October 28, there were elections in Brazil and the Algarve did not pass by, with Brazilians from the Algarve and Alentejo voting for Faro, giving the victory to Bolsonaro.

The hiring of 22 doctorates started the regularization of precarious researchers at the University of Algarve.

At the end of the month, one of the news of the year arrived, and «great news for the Algarve», with Galp's withdrawal from exploring for oil off Aljezur. Mayors and environmentalists rejoiced at the decision.

November

The month of November began with the news of the death of Judge Mário Varges Gomes, husband of Isilda Gomes, president of the Portimão City Council.

In the ninth month of the year, the discussion on the State Budget continued, with the opposition and the PS with different positions regarding the amount allocated to the Algarve.

LUZA once again illuminated Loulé with torches, light installations and even a melody in the water.

In Barão de São João, in the municipality of Lagos, walks, workshops, arts and conversations marked the Walk&Art Fest.

The Algarvian Diogo Piçarra has been featured in music nationwide and, in November, received the MTV award in the Best Portuguese Act category.

On November 3, in Aljezur, a book was launched that it's memory and seed for future memories. Also at the beginning of the month, it was released a site to try to end the wild motorhome phenomenon in the Algarve and the fortress of Sagres opened a shop with an artistic installation.

In Tavira, dredging was announced in Gilão that open the door to new wharves on the riverfront.

Demolitions returned to the barrier islands and nor did the precautionary measures prevent houses from going down in the nuclei of the Farol of the Hangars. Culatra wants to become an example of how it is possible to live with only clean energy.

The Lavrar o Mar project showed, in November, why «fire doesn't have four letters» and was born an inclusion orchestra in Costa Vicentina. In addition, the Sul Informação revealed how this initiative will be scheduled until the first days of June 2019.

The decentralization of competences continued and the schools arrived at the hands of the Municipal Councils, such as the maintenance of health centers.

The solution to the lack of funds for the construction of the new bridge at Praia de Faro had to be found by the Chamber, which provided another million euros for the launch of a new competition. Still in Faro, the municipality was taken by surprise with the move of the GNR Territorial Command to Loulé.

The Chamber of Monchique even advanced to an application to PDR2020 for post-fire stabilization work, but the €2,7 million may not be enough.

On November 12th, a Transavia plane landed in an emergency at the airport of Faro, the day after another aircraft also made an emergency landing, but at Beja Airport.

Although initially there was a different idea, the University of Algarve announced that it is considering transforming the former Escola Superior de Saúde into a student residence.

Two bomb threats forced evacuations. The first, at Albufeira Shopping, on the 14th of November, and the second, at the Penha Campus, on the 21st. Both were false alarms, and the author of the second threat was arrested.

O Sul Informação went to Serra de Silves with a team that hunts for diabetes among the elderly and told the story in a report.

November was also a month of awards: Loulé won the Municipality of the Year award: Sul Informação was elected the best regional information body and the journalist Nuno Costa was named a finalist for the National Innovation Journalism Award. Also used to winning awards, we went to meet Daniel Batista, one of the best pizzaiolos in the country, who is from the Algarve.

On the roads, November claimed four victims: two of them in a garbage truck, in Castro Marim, and two others, in Portimão, in an accident in which a truck crushed a car.

In culture, the secretary of state, in an interview with Sul Informação, announced that there would be more money for this sector in the Algarve. An increase in funding that will not be managed by Alexandra Gonçalves, since I was leaving the position of regional director of Culture.

In Vila Real de Santo António, the works of the Pousada de Portugal are continuing and should open by the end of 2019, if the works do not finish sooner than expected.

Good news arrived from Morocco for the Algarve. Representatives and professors from several Moroccan universities signed protocols with the University of Algarve that open the door of this country to Portuguese companies and will allow Moroccan master's students to come to the region to study. The 1st Councilor of the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Portugal, who accompanied the delegation, informed the Sul Informação that your country is "working and making contacts" in order to reactivate the maritime connection between the Algarve and Morocco.

Silves' beautiful walk in the Cup of Portugal ended on 25 November, after being defeated by Rio Ave.

In tourism, the elections for the presidency of the Associação Turismo do Algarve shook the month. João Fernandes announced his candidacy, but Carlos Luís, the acting president, he re-applied, stating that a victory for the president of the Algarve Tourism Region would be “a step backwards”.

In two days, Águas do Algarve had two reasons to smile: on November 27th it inaugurated the new datacenter and the next day, the new WWTP Faro/Olhão, which will treat the sewage of a third of the Algarve's population.

A report by Sul Informação revealed, on November 30, that a quarry has been working in Monchique for 15 years without complying with the rules of operation.

At the end of the month, another news of a death, de Santos Serra, former president of the Albufeira Municipal Assembly.

The Sweet Potato Festival in Aljezur, which began in November and continued into the first days of December, was on sale again the real sweet potato.

December

The Algarve started the month of December with two world tourism Oscars. It is also looking for an international distinction for Armação de Pêra Bay, that the Municipality of Silves, the University of Algarve, the Parish Council of Armação de Pêra and the Association of Fishermen of Armação de Pêra are working.

The case of the Monchique quarry that has an aversion to the rules, revealed by Sul Informação, continued to be in the news in December, with the General Environmental Inspection ensuring who will intervene, "if justified". The Environment Minister came to the Algarve to say that “within days” would have access to the results of the inspection of the Monchique quarry.

In the Algarve, in 2018, people still die of AIDS, but according to doctor Helena Ferreira, early detection is increasingly effective.

In the elections for the presidency of the ATA, João Fernandes defeated Carlos Luís and accumulated the position with the presidency of the RTA. O Brexit and the strengthening of air connections to Lisbon are at the top of the new person's list.

Portugal became European champion in wheelchair handball, with the help of two athletes from the Algarve, who Sul Informação made known.

Another victory achieved in 2018, but for the inhabitants of Clareanes, Malhada Velha and Carvalhal, was the beginning of work on the water and sewerage network, which began in December.

Caldas de Monchique will change hands. A consortium formed by Taylor's, Unlock Boutique Hotels and one of the companies that own Águas de Monchique will buy the resort and have 10 million euros to invest.

The Chinese president visited Portugal, at a time when the Algarve orange may be very close to entering this Asian market.

the inhabitants of Faro received a “gift in the shoe”: the city's parking meters were free during the last month of the year, due to the end of contracts with surface parking companies.

After the Sul Informação having said that Alexandra Gonçalves was going to leave her position in December, we revealed that Adriana Freire Nogueira was going to be the new regional director of Culture. Adriana Nogueira took office on the 16th.

Events supported by the 365 Algarve program continued to animate the region. There was cataplayTo “Video Lucem” renewed which debuted with Salvador Sobral and, at the end of the year, the magic of the new circus returned to Monchique, by the hand of “Lavrar o Mar”, with a spectacle difficult to define. O Sul Informação visited the rehearsals and the French company Cirque Aital congratulated those who had the idea of ​​bringing such a show to the mountain village.

The idea came from Madalena Victorino and Giacomo Scalisi, who gave an interview to Sul Informação, guaranteeing the future of the “Lavrar o Mar” project.

Gulbenkian traveled to Portimão bringing the plastic arts with it, but in the future it will also bring music to the city.

As Acts of the Council of Loulé from the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries were distinguished as National Treasure, on December 10th. On the same day, it was learned that the Environmental Impact Assessment Commission “failed” the tourist allotment on the cliffs of Benagil and Praia da Marinha.

O Sul Informação continued to earn distinctions, winning the National Innovation Journalism Award, which was presented at a ceremony at Alfândega do Porto.

Preparations for Christmas were beginning to liven up cities, towns and villages. In Monchique, after the fire catastrophe, the Christmas season was celebrated with children in mind. The Jazz Orchestra had a reinforcement of international artists for the special Christmas concerts and Cortelha went back to making his nativity scene out of cork. In Lagoa, the living statues returned to enchant and Bordeira had a Christmas site.

The Day of the University of the Algarve, which distinguished Joaquim Romero Magalhães as Doctor Honoris Causa, Teve also messages from the dean to the government, which is not fulfilling what it promised the algarvian academy.

After the changes in the Regional Directorate for Culture, the Regional Directorate for Agriculture and Fisheries had a new regional director: Pedro Valadas Monteiro.

In Loulé, the Guinness record-setting chord-phone maker moved to Loulé Criativo to “make school”.

Portimonense continued in a stable position in the league table and beat Vitória de Setúbal with the return of Jackson Martinez to his good old days.

Emergency stabilization work, following the fire that ravaged Monchique and Silves in August, arrived, but not all the money asked for did not arrive.

Galp withdrew from the well off Aljezur in October, but the PALP remained behind in relation to the oil company's real intentions and demanded the publication of the letter in which ENI/Galp renounced the Aljezur borehole.

On December 19, it was learned that the municipal company NovBaesuris, from Castro Marim, will have to close its doors, as imposed by the Court of Auditors.

The story of Loulé comic book was published in book, just in time to be a good gift for the holiday season.

The fire, throughout the year, did not want to give truce to Monchique and, on December 20th, a fire in a house in Alferce left an 87-year-old man homeless.

On the 21st, there was a national protest for the yellow vests and drones were banned in the vicinity of airports. The demonstration ended up not having the dimensions expected by the authorities.

In Olhão, work continued on Avenida 5 de Outubro that will prepare the city's downtown for the «next 20 years». In Lagoa, there was a dispute the Cidade de Lagoa International Handball Tournament, which had special sponsors.

On December 23, it was known that Lagos will have the only Living Science School in the Algarve.

To sweeten your mouth for Christmas, the Sul Informação visited Kubidoce, a pastry that is healthier.

Christmas Eve brought three sad news to the region: Joaquim Romero Magalhães, who had been awarded the Honoris Causa doctorate earlier this month, died, aged 76, at his home in Coimbra. Also Maria João Calapez, the voice of Fatacil, died at age 46, victim of aneurysm e João Santos, founder and partner number 1 of Associação Almargem, died of cancer at the age of 66.

On December 26th, the Sul Informação made known the work of an Algarve company that is at the forefront of the fight against legionella.

An amusement park in the Algarve, which operates all year round, is an idea that is being cherished by entrepreneurs associated with the Franco-Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This project can make it possible to counteract the seasonality of the region.

As a balance of the environmental facts of the year, the Quercus considered that the abandonment of oil exploration in Aljezur deserves to be highlighted.

Also worthy of mention at the end of the year was the new bridge at Praia de Faro which had the contest relaunched.

In Albufeira, the projects for 2019 were presented, among them the investment of 8 million euros in the homes of Olhos de Água and Fontaínhas.

Good news also at the Hospital de Faro that, after being recognized as a treatment center for Continuous Subcutaneous Insulin Perfusion, you can put “pocket pancreas” in diabetic children in the Algarve.

Farense ended the year giving a gift to their fans, thrashing Oliveirense and finished 2018 in sixth place in the II League.

for the new year, there will be news in the water supply and sanitation of Vila Real de Santo António, services that will be managed by a concessionary company.