Mass vaccination campaign underway; Two cops murdered in Troncal; Section of Av. las Americas repaved; Insects return; Blueberries in Nabón

Miércoles, 3/5/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

19 libros gratuitos en biblioteca virtual (19 free books in virtual library) – The Dirección de Cultura of the City of Cuenca has made a virtual library available with 19 books downloadable in PDF. They include a collection of short stories by Oswaldo Encalada, a book about the bicentennial of the independence of Cuenca, a book of photos about the churches of Cuenca <something those of you haven’t had time or haven’t bothered to learn Spanish might be able to read>, and an anthology of poems by Cuencanan women. To download the books, go to https://cultura.cuenca.gob.ec/programas/editorial/biblioteca-virtual/.

Titular –

The Health Ministry hopes to vaccinate 300,000 children in Azuay Province against measles, rubella, smallpox, and polio. (El Mercurio)

Tres meses de vacunación para infantes (Three months of vaccination for infants) – The massive campaign to vaccinate children against measles, rubella, smallpox, and polio will run until el 9/7. It is hoped that 301,000 kids in the province will get vaccinated in 3 phases. The first will be at schools, daycare centers and health centers of which there are 98 in Cuenca, and 150 in Azuay. The second phase will be at health centers with health workers visiting barrios to vaccinate the stragglers. The 3d phase will be a verification of the state of vaccinations in the population. <I’m guessing most of you got those shots 60 or 70 years ago.>

Cuenca –

Una biojardinera trae de vuelta a los insectos (A biogarden brings back insects) – In abril, 2022, the Sembrando un Ciudad Project of La Iguana foundation planted 1200 species of native and endemic plants typical of the dry interandean valley in some 100 sq. meters of the median strip along av. 12 de abril between Solano to calle del Batán. At that time they found only 200 insects since the natural conditions were inadequate. The planting was done with the help of the Empresa de Aseo de Cuenca (EMAC EP – garbage company) <which is also is responsible for maintaining parks and green areas> and the Grupo Industrial Graiman. There were 2 goals — to return the area to nature and to capture carbon from vehicles and return the space to house, feed, and provide a refuge for wildlife. Some 20,000 specimens of insects and 73 species of other animals have returned to the median strip in the year since the planting.

Tramo de la avenida De las Américas será repavimentada (Section of De las Américas Avenue to be repaved) – Yesterday, the City of Cuenca started repaving 10.42 km. of las Americas between Turuhuayco and the Panamericana Sur in the Hospital del Río sector. The contractor has 120 days to finish the $1,789,172 project. There are temporary closures planned at avenidas Turuhuayco and González Suárez, and calles Obispo Miguel León and Barrial Blanco. <I hope this won’t be a project like painting the Golden Gate Bridge — once it’s done, it’s time to go back to where you started and start repainting – or in the case of las Américas, to start repaving.>

Region –

Producción de arándanos es un desafío para Nabón (Blueberry production is a challenge for Nabón) – <Arandanos are also cranberries, and arandanos azules (blue cranberries) are blueberries. Just to confuse you.> 18 agricultural producers in the Asociación de Productores de Fresas in Nabón canton are planning to cultivate blueberries for the first time and are looking to adapt them to the local terrain and climate. The members of the association are experienced in growing products that aren’t generally found in the area. They started 19 years ago with strawberries which are now produced in large quantities and are sold in the mercados. They saw on social networks that blueberries are grown in the middle of the country and are planning on planting about 700 sq. meters in the next 4 months. They are analyzing the possibility of planting on more land which is clay and sand at 2,700 to 3,000 m.s.n.m. (metros sobre el nivel del mar – meters above sea level – your phrase for the day.). <Blueberries haven’t been hard to find for a few years now, and I wonder if they’ll get cheaper if the transportation costs can go down.>

Nacional –

Metro con inicio accidentado de operación (Metro with a bumpy start of operation) – The Metro de Quito started operating yesterday and had problems due to the massive number of people seeking to use the system which is currently the most important transport system in the country. The crowds obligated the suspension of fare collection. The Metro de Quito apologized to riders for the inconveniences which were attributed to the delay in printing the passes. The quantity of users tripled compared to the free rides phase, most of all at the southernmost stop in Quitumbe. <I bet Cuenca would love to have that same problem.>

Policías asesinados en La Troncal (Policemen killed in La Troncal) – Two policemen were killed in El Troncal yesterday, supposedly in retaliation over work they were doing in the zone. The Policía Nacional said unknown persons shot the officers while they were patrolling in the canton.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.