2022: The Year in Review – February

Thursday 29th December 2022 · Mike Smith
Source: Original

February

The Winter Olympics were held in Beijing, China and it was not without its controversies with diplomatic boycotts, doping scandals, questionable food, and those beds in the athletes hotels. A couple of weeks after China and Russia release a joint statement opposing NATO expansion, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in Ukraine as independent and then, two days later, invaded Ukraine in the face of international condemnation and sanctions. Russia is later suspended from club and national competition by FIFA and UEFA. In Spain, the far-right Vox party came third in the 2022 Castile y Leon regional elections and would later form a government with the Partido Popular, becoming a major political force in Spanish politics.

In the UK, OFGEM increased the energy price cap by over 50%, forcing more than 18 million households in the country to find almost ₤700 more a year for their gas and electricity. At the same time, the Bank of England raised the interest rate to 0.5% to restrain inflation. Queen Elizabeth II became the first monarch to mark the 70th anniversary of accession to the throne; she later tests positive for COVID-19. Partygate continued to dominate the news as Prime Minister Boris Johnson came under increasing fire as the media reported more parties and gatherings taking place during lockdown. Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement over her civil sex assault claim. Storm Eunice became one of the most powerful storms to hit the UK in decades, sandwiched between Storm Dudley and Storm Franklin. Liverpool won the 2022 League Cup Final, defeating Chelsea 11–10 on penalties following a 0–0 draw after extra time.

Xàbia in February

03: Xàbia Council said that it would temporarily close Ramblars green waste transfer plant which had been burning for several weeks and been covering much of the area with polluting smoke ever since.

06: The gastronomic magazine Tapas declared that Xàbia was the most famous town in the entire Comunidad Valenciana and one of its greatest exponents was its landscapes and, of course, its cuisine.

07: TETMA had been providing the rubbish collection and street cleaning service in Xàbia for a week after being awarded the contract worth almost 6 million euros a year when it released a statement of its website announcing several new features of the contract, including a new fleet of vehicles and replacement of collection bins.

08: The Valencian Anti-Fraud Agency published the final resolution of the investigation that it opened at the request of an anonymous complaint regarding the premises of Punta del Arenal in Xàbia in which it gave Xàbia Council and the Ministry of Justice three months to formalize the closure of the seven premises that existed at that point on the Arenal beach since they do not have the corresponding license or report from Costas as they are in an area affected by regional department.

10: The Marina Alta Business Circle (CEDMA) expressed its support for the ‘No to the Tourist Tax’ campaign to which numerous companies, services and establishments directly related to tourism in the Comunidad Valenciana had subscribed.

11: Residents in the Arenal zone of Xàbia expressed their concerns and discomfort about the unhealthy effects that were being generated by the dredging work that was being out in the La Fontana canal.

14: The General Directorate for Ports contracted technical assistance to assess the effects of the works that it had projected for the Xàbia port harbour wall and breakwater that would result in the virtual disappearance of the Pope beach.

14: The Partido Populares de Xàbia presented a motion to demand a global strategy for the protection of the coastline and that all the necessary actions be planned in order to protect the coast hit by storms in recent years.

16: Xàbia Council requested permission from the Provincial Headquarters for Coasts to install 20 anchoring buoys around Cap Negre, one of the areas in which this type of system does not currently exist, to stop vessels anchoring directly onto the seabed.

17: Concern was spreading among the residents of Thiviers due to the absence of workers from the company awarded the reform project for the neighbourhood park in Plaza Reina Sofía.

20: There were wide smiles and a few tears as the Moors and Christians of Xàbia made an emotional return to the streets of the port after an enforced two-year absence due to the pandemic.

22: Construction company Binaria requested a suspension of the execution period of the extension work of CEIP Trenc d’Alba in Xàbia, for a period of three months, due to the increase in the raw materials that had to be used to complete the project.

23: The municipal Xàbia Connecta APP celebrated its fifth anniversary this year, a facility which has allowed members of the public to report issues affecting them around the municipality, such as problems on public roads, street lighting which isn’t working, amongst others.

23: Xàbia Council reported that it was planning to start the urbanization works of the Plan Parcial Mar Azul – in the surroundings of Cala La Barraca – in the next week, a project that will involve a major improvement of public infrastructure in the estate at a cost of some one million euros.

25: The 2022 local budget was definitely approved after its publication in the Provincial Official Gazette (BOP) and its details revealed that more than a third of council staff positions in Xàbia remained vacant.

28: It was announced that there would be a new party in the next municipal elections. Vox, the conservative nationalist party, considered right-wing to far right in its policies, made its first public appearance in Xàbia when it mounted an information table in the port zone of the town.

javeamigos.com Review of the Year 2022