Stopping motorcycle crime, Local distilleries make the grade, Water conservation project, Disabled accessible buses, Schools need repairs

Jueves, 6/2/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Exhibición – “Las venas de América” opened Thursday night in two venues: the Salón del Pueblo and the old Escuela Central. The exhibit will include works by 20 young American artists, and was inspired by the book, “Las Venas Abiertas de América Latina” by Eduardo Galeano.

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Team Bikers UCuenca – A group of cyclists composed of personnel from the U.of Cuenca is organizing a feria for viernes a las 8:00. There will be food booths and information booths about cycling. The group’s calendar of events for the year will also be presented. <No, nothing was said about where the feria will be, but given the organizers, don’t you think it might be a good idea to look for carpas on campus?>

Carnaval means fun with foam.

Festival de la Espuma (foam – your word for the day and seasonally useful. Espuma is also the stuff street venders serve in cones. Be warned – it’s not ice cream.) – There will be a Foam Festival el 22/2 entre las 10 & 14:00 in the parque El Paraíso. The fair is organized by the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Cuenca (Cuenca Fire Department) and geared towards kids who can see the fire engines and trucks. <I think the big kids of tercera edad would also be welcome – some people never outgrow their fascination with fire trucks.>

Otras cosas –

Titular – En 10 años comenzará a faltar el agua (Water shortage to start in 10 years) – Technicians at the Comisión de Gestión Ambiental (Environmental Management Commission) warned that Cuenca will start to feel a lack of water in at most 10 years when there will be a deficit of 350 liters per second. The commission found that average consumption per person is 250 liters per day, when 100 liters is reasonable. The municipality has signed an agreement with the Banco de Desarrollo de América Latina (DAF – Development Bank of Latin America) for the Conservación de Fuentes de Agua para la Reducción de la Huella Hídrica (Conservation of Water Sources for Water Footprint Reduction) Project. The project will establish why there is an excess use of water <No more 30 minute showers for you water wasters.>, how to raise awareness, and how to control excess usage.

Irrigation – <Here’s one of those complicated articles that I might have got 180 degees wrong.> Pres. Moreno, in decree 989 on 3/2, took the responsibility for administering irrigation water away from the Provincial governments and gave it to the national government. Much of the article explains the reasoning and justification for the decree. Azuay hasn’t reacted yet, but the province has 408 registered irrigation projects, 70% of which are over 50 years old, with $1.4 million in the 2020 budget for improvements to these systems. There are also various ongoing projects.

School repairs – Various schools in the North district need repair work, but there was only $37,500 in 2019 available for infrastructure improvements at the 200 schools in that district. Problems include half finished projects, sewer lines in poor condition, unusable bathrooms, and roof leaks. Parents do what they can in terms of fund raising and actually tripled the amount budgeted by the government, but not all parents are able to make financial contributions.

Booze factories – ARCSA (Agencia de Regulación y Control Sanitario) inspected local alcoholic beverage processing plants ayer and found them <the suspense builds> in compliance for hygenic conditions. <Were you all holding your breath and praying, “Please don’t let my booze be contaminated.”? Or worse, don’t let my booze be taken off the shelves. Cuenca, by the way, is the distilling capital of Ecuador.>

Disabled accessible buses – 20% of the bus fleet or 88 buses, are accessible to people with reduced mobility or a physical disability. They are equipped with “cama baja” (low bed) technology which is a step with a wheelchair lift. These 35 seat buses include 8 seats for the disabled and elderly.

Limits on number of riders on motos – In response to robberies by a motorcyclist and an accomplice, Azuay and the Policía Nacional are talking about limiting the number of riders on a motorcycle to 1. Other communities in Ecuador, including Guayaquil, already enforce the limit. A recent robbery el lunes pasado was committed at De Las Américas y Juan Pío Montúfar when the victim who was apparently followed from a bank and robbed of $15,000. Witnesses said the robbers used two motorcycles to escape and fired shots at people who tried to stop the robbery. The problem is that many families use a moto as their family vehicle. <You’ve all seen that – Mom, Dad and two kids on their moto. But do they really look like armed delinquents interested in the ATM withdrawal you just made?>

Descuentos y compras –

Homevega – Días Home Vega – discounts on over 4000 products – 6-9/2.

And that´s all for today so Hasta la próxima semana –

Jeanne