Students, public drivers and artists vaccinated; Police imposters arrested; Brothels to reopen but without social distancing; Unused housing in El Centro

Jul 14, 2021 | 8 comments

Martes, 13/7/2021

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De la pagina cultural –

Trabajos colaborativos unen a artistas locales (Collaborative works unite local artists) – During the confinement, various designers and artisans have been working cooperatively, and have opened spaces to show and sell their work. They are also sharing their knowledge with the public at La Espiral. The 3 spaces are: 1) Capital del Diseño (Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova, next to the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura (CCE)), lunes a viernes, 9:30-18:30. 2) AYNI (Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova, in the basement of the CCE), lunes a viernes, 9-18:00. 3) La Espiral (Basement of the the Centro Interamericano de Artesanías y Artes Populares (CIDAP), martes a viernes, 20-13:00 and 15:00-18:30.

Titular –

Variante delta (Delta variant) – See the today’s CHL article for story.

Cuenca –

University of Cuenca students wait to get their shots on Tuesday. (El Mercurio)

Proyecto para revitalizar casas del Centro Histórico (Project to revitalize houses in the Historic Center) – The Comisión de Áreas Históricas y Patrimoniales delivered a project to reform the articles for land use in the ordinances for historic and patrimonial areas. Alfredo Aguilar, one of the 3 councilmen on the committee said it was necessary to actualizar (update – your word for the day, because it’s sort of like the English word.) the ordinances that apply in the area. He gave an example of properties that have been catalogued as historical which have a 300 sq. m. historical house on a 2000-3000 sq. m. lot where the whole lot has an encumbrance prohibiting construction of anything on the lot. The new ordinance would allow building on these large lots where the historical and contemporary are integrated with a base of conserving the historical. The new construction would have to use materials and designs in harmony with the existing historic house.

Cristian Machado, an architect and researcher in patrimony, said the Municipio should promote the revitalization of the Centro Histórico which has some 10,000 properties of which at least 50% are not used for family housing. Because half the houses and buildings are housing commercial uses which close at night, the area winds up empty after dark. He feels the city should provide incentives to the owners to maintain the properties which is very costly. Actualmente (actually – related to your word of the day), owners of historic houses are obligated to maintain them, and many don’t have the money to do so. If they are left to fall down, that is a crime punishable with jail, so that the result is completely unfair.

Viviendas (Housing) – Pamela Moscoso, an architect, said there are at least 10,000 houses in Cuenca that have been taken out of use for housing, while at the same time, there is an average deficit of 45,000 housing units. Currently there are no policies focused on this deficit. In Cuenca, 45% of the population owns their house, 43% rent, and the rest do not have a house or live in other spaces. <LIke the shed at the back of a family compound?> She also said there are about 8.000 empty lots in the city, mostly in the outskirts and rural areas.

Registro Ciivil con horario extendido en esta semana (Civil Registry with extended hours this week) – The 15 offices of the Registro Civil in the country will have extended hours from 7-17:00 for cedula and passport services. In Cuenca the offices are at El Batán and San Blas with passports only at the San Blas office.

Cambio climático (Climate change) – The Ministerio de Ambiente, Agua, y Transición Ecológia (Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition) has presented a digital platform of Adaptación al Cambio Climático (Adaptation to Climate Change) in the country. It is a tool to facilitate consultations, research, and the exchange and development of proposals for actions oriented towards confronting the effects of climate change. <Go underground where the earth is or used to be a constant 50-60 degrees F.>

Vacunan a choferes y universitarios (Drivers and university students vaccinated) – Este 12, Phase 3 of vaccinations started with the vaccinations of artists, drivers and university students. A new vaccine center was set up in the coliseo of the Sindicato de Choferes Profesionales del Azuay. The secretary general of the union said it wants to vaccinate 14,000 professional drivers and their families. U. of Cuenca students will also be vaccinated as part of Phase 3 at the Coliseo Universitario Julio Abad. The schedule of vaccinations is by major, and runs from lunes, 12/7 to domingo, 25/7. Members of the Registro Unico de Artistas y Gestores Culturales (RUAC – Unique Registry of Artists and Cultural Managers) are also part of Phase 3 and will receive their jabs at the coliseo Mayor de Deportes, coliseo de la Universidad Católica, and in Sígsig. RUAC members have been previously notified and should show up with their cedula and RUAC certificate.

Sucesos –

Usan casacas similares a las de la Policía para robar (Use of jackets similar to those of the Police to steal) – A group of criminals broke into a house on the vía Ricaurte-Déleg in the Pampas de Zamora sector. They wore green vests similar to those used by the Policía Nacional and imitated a squad raiding a house, with a woman posing as the prosecutor in charge of the “case.” Police received an alert <I wonder if the victims had #5 -Tia Poli – on their speed dial?> and arrived in time to thwart the crime, catch 3 of the 7 gang members, and confiscate 2 cars. <Practice saying I’ve got to go get the key, or I need to lock up the dog if you’re suspicious and then call Tia Poli or 911.>

Planifican la aplicación de plan piloto en burdeles (Implementation of pilot plan in brothels planned) – Institutions charged with public safety met with 5 casas de citas (dating houses) in the zona de tolerancia in the Cayambe barrio to analyze a pilot plan for reopening the brothels which have been closed for most of the pandemic. Last weekend, the COE Cantonal resolved to start a pilot plan with the houses that have presented biosecurity protocols, open with a 30% capacity and prohibit the sale of alcoholic drinks. There will be an opening of 30 days, starting 48 hours after the publication of the resolution, and after the workers have shown negative Covid tests and pass the normal exams for control of sexually transmitted diseases. The 30 days will be divided into two 15 day periods with half of the establishments opening in each period.

Region –

Reorganizan el tránsito de Azogues (Transit in Azogues to be reorganized) – Azogues is reorganizing transit, especially in areas with high volumes of vehicular traffic. The city’s “Urbanismo Táctico” (Tactical Urbanism) project is using low cost methods such as painting signage and installing traffic separators to protect pedestrians. It will also adjust stop lights.

Nacional –

CPCCS acepta renuncia de Celi (CPCCS accepts Celi’s resignation) – In a contentious session, full of accusations among the council, the Consejo de participación Ciudadana y Control Social (CPCCS) accepted the resignation presented last 5/7 by Pablo Celi as surrogate comptroller. The committee did not act on the issue of the defensor del Pueblo, Freddy Carrión, who has been detained for alleged sexual abuse.

Mundo –

Abren investigación contra Bolsonaro (Investigation against Bolsonaro opens) – The Policía Federal opened an investigation into Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonar, for possible irregularities in the negotiations for Covid vaccines. The process was officially opened after authorization from a supreme court justice acting on a request from the Attorney General. The 90 day investigation will determine if the president lied and committed other crimes in the negotiations to buy Covaxin vaccine, made by the Indian drug company Gharat Biotech. The suspicions were encouraged by a Senate commission looking into whether the Government was responsible for aggravating the pandemic.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne

CuencaHighLife

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