Save water, city utility urges; Court rejects Lasso’s IESS revisions; Wind energy project planned for Azuay; Bus robbed in Cajas; Boss-killer sentenced

Domingo, 8/10/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Titular –

La fiesta electrónica vuelve a sus orígenes (The electronic music fiesta returns to its roots) – The 17th edition of Rotofest returned to its “casa” at the Puente Roto and plazoleta “Antonio Lloret Bastidas” with hundreds of fans enjoying electronic music over the weekend.

Hundreds gathered Saturday and Sunday to enjoy electronic music at Cuenca’s Broken Bridge. More holiday activities are planned for Monday. (El Mercurio)

De El Mercurio del sábado, 7/10 (1 article):
Azuay tiene un plan para energía eólica (Azuay has plan for wind energy) – The El Pimo project aims to be the 1st wind power electrical generation system in Azuay and the biggest in the country. It will be built near the communities of Pimo and Can Can about 18 km. from Soldados at an altitude of 3,800 meters. It is planned to generate 150 megawatts with the possibility of expanding to 200. The Prefectura of Azuy is planning to assume part of the $225-300 million project cost and is waiting for an answer from the Ministerio de Energía and anticipates that the Corporación Eléctrica del Ecuador (CELEC) will be its principal partner.

The project will be about 18 km. long on the Western Cordillera of the southern Andes in an area where the main activity is ranching. It is outside of national parks and protected areas. Geological studies were done as well as a socio-environmental assessment, a study on road access, an energy analysis, and a preliminary design. Other energy projects seek to reach 1,232.5 megawats of generation from wind, hydro, photovoltaic, and geothermal sources. <I wonder what the carbon footprint of Ecuador as a country is? Does using non-carbon based energy generation decrease the carbon footprint by a lot?>

Cuenca –

De El Mercurio del sábado, 7/10 (2 articles):
Caudales de los ríos, al límite (River flows at the limit) – Due to the serious estiaje (low water level – your word for the day <it will be applicable until we get some serious rain>), the rivers in Cuenca have been pushed to their limit. ETAPA has asked for people to use water responsibly. <So how are your water conservation efforts going? Have you gone as far as foregoing bathing entirely so that your friends can literally smell you coming from a mile away?> As of el viernes, the Tomebamba and Tarqui rivers registered flows that put them in an official state of estiaje with flows of less than a cubic meter per second. The Yanuncay and Machangara are also in a low state. <Makes a drought sound like a mood swing.>

Cierre de circulación en la Panamericana Norte (Traffic closure on Panamericana Norte) – EMOC announced that maintenance work by MTOP on the Pana Norte will result in total closure of 2 stretches of the road until el lunes, 9/10. The first stretch will be from the Rialto business to the access to CELEC EP, and the 2nd from the entrance to the Ucubamba sector to the Hostería El Molino where only residents will be allowed to enter. The recommended alternate route is the vía Ricaurte-Sidcay.

Sucesos –

Asaltan a pasajeros de un bus interprovincial en Cajas (Passengers of an interprovincial bus assaulted in the Cajas) – Passengers on a Súper Semería bus on the Cuenca-Guayaquil route in the Lake Toreadora sector were robbed in the madrugada (early morning hours) of el viernes. 2 of the robbers were riding as passengers in seats 23 & 24 with another robber seated closer to the front. One of them faked having nausea and asked the driver for a bag, pulled a gun, and subdued the driver. The other delinquents hit and robbed the passengers and escaped in a black vehicle in the direction of Guayas. <Another reason to be glad that there’s air service between Cuenca and Guayaquil.>

Imponen 10 años de cárcel a hombre que mató a su jefe (Man who killed his boss gets 10 years in prison) – Roidy José G. was sentenced to 10 years in prison after stabbing and killing his boss after an argument in enero, 2023. The killing took place in a property on 10 de Agosto where the victim had a food store. According to the prosecutor’s office, the killer took a knife and stabbed his boss 12 times, left the store, walked a few km., and called his stepfather telling him that he’d been injured by delinquents who entered the store with the intention of robbing it. The stepfather and Roidy José G. went back to the store and called 911 to report the crime. Police arrested Roidy some hours because of inconsistencies in his story and seeing security videos. <So this fool did what a lot of employees have probably fantasized about, and actually killed his boss. How many of you have had bosses that you at least wished would just disappear?>j

Nacional –

Corte rechaza reformas para la seguridad social (Court rejects social security reforms) – The full body of the Corte Constitucional issued an opinion against the Ley Orgánica de Urgencia Económica para el Equilibrio, Organización y Transparencia de las Finanzas Públicas (Organic Law of Economic Urgency for the Equilibrium, Organization and Transparency of Public Finances) decree/law submitted by Pres. Lasso. This decree would have forgiven the interest accrued by the Government when it stopped paying its 40% into the Social Security pension funds, and would also have allowed the Government to pay only 33% for the treatment of catastrophic illnesses. The Court rejected these economic cuts to the IESS because they would have violated various laws and constitutional principals. <I think that decree would only have made the service and funding cuts official since there doesn’t seem to be enough money to pay those expenses anyway.>

De El Mercurio del sábado, 7/10 (1 article):
Pactan alianza continental alimentaria (Continental food alliance agreed upon) – Organized by the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura (IICA), The Conferencia de Ministros de Agricultura de las Americas 2023 met in Costa Rica and endorsed rhe creation of a continental alliance for for food security and sustainability. It highlighted the sector as part of the solution to the climate crisis. At the close of the conference, ministers and authorities from the 34 member states instructed the IICA general director, Manuel Otero, to amplify and deepen actions necessary to consolidate the continental alliance. The conviction is that agriculture plays a strategic role against current global challenges. <I wonder if a large presence in that conference included the major agri-businesses. If so, the security would be about those corporations’ bottom lines.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne