City notes

Haifa to get new promenade along Carmel Beach.

By TAMARA ZIEVE
Haifa plans520 (photo credit: Tzahi Wazana)
Haifa plans520
(photo credit: Tzahi Wazana)
NORTH A new promenade is currently under construction along Carmel Beach in Haifa. The boardwalk is the last piece needed to complete a sequence of promenades that together will provide a single long promenade along Haifa’s shoreline, offering various activities along the way, such as hiking, fishing, sailing and surfing.
The Carmel Beach Promenade is some 350 meters long and 40 meters wide, according to the Local website, and was planned by the Miller-Bloom offices and implemented by the Yefe Nof company, at a cost of NIS 5 million donated by Israel Electric Corporation.
Panoramic steps will be built along most of the promenade, which will provide a view of the sea from the steps in the style of a theater. Additionally, landscape garden furniture is set to be placed along the boardwalk, as well as modern lighting and a bike trail.
Local quoted Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav as saying that the completion of all sections of the boardwalk will be a seminal event in the city’s history, which will be “joined together” with its seashores and a cornerstone in realizing the vision of transforming Haifa into a unique tourist center.
Tira man shot dead by masked assailant A 30-year-old resident of the town of Tira was shot and killed by a masked assailant in his home on Saturday night, Israel Radio reported. The gunman fled the scene immediately after the shooting.
Medical personnel tended to the victim and took him to Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba, where doctors pronounced him dead.
2 men almost electrocuted in Golan The Magen David Adom call center in Merhav Yarden received a report of two men who received electric shocks in a chicken coop in the northern Golan Heights last week.
Paramedics rushed to the scene with an ambulance, a mobile intensive care unit, and an MDA and military helicopter. MDA paramedics treated the pair on the scene; both men were in serious condition with signs of electrocution, shock and burns. They were evacuated by helicopter to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, anesthetized and intubated with burns all over their bodies.
CENTER Music teachers hold protest concert over Rosh Ha’ayin municipal budget Music teachers in Rosh Ha’ayin organized a protest concert this week, after the municipality’s finance committee passed initial approval of this year’s budget, apparently avoiding meeting with representatives of the music center, who already united last April, demanding that their working hours be regulated and to sign a collective agreements.
“We, the teachers of the Rosh Ha’ayin Music Center, one of the pillars of musical education in Rosh Ha’ayin – the City of Music – among us musicians who are responsible for bringing the city to the public eye in the arts, both in Israel and abroad, who have been working for many years under inadequate conditions, to say the least. But nonetheless, we chose – and still choose – to stay and contribute!” the teachers’ committee stated.
“In April 2013, we united under the workers organization Maan and we founded a teachers’ committee to open collective negotiations with our employers, the Organization for the Development of Social Services and the Rosh Ha’ayin Municipality, which heads it, in order to reach an agreement and fair employment conditions,” they continued.
“Negotiations began in August 2013, insights were obtained and in early December, we were able to formulate – together with the municipal association – outlines for a new charter, which would give teachers fair conditions. But since the beginning of December, the new leadership of the municipality avoided answering our request to continue negotiations. In the coming days the budget for 2014 will be passed, in which unfortunately there is no trace of that outline, and the budget for the new center for music is so minuscule that it does not allow for the move to the new building, whose construction is due to be completed in April,” they added.
“Unfortunately, we reached an impasse, and we cannot continue to pretend,” the teachers warned, stating that they have announced a labor dispute, and if it does not receive adequate attention, it could lead to a severe disruption in the normal routine of the music center and even to a strike.
Pedestrian hit, killed by bus in Herzliya A pedestrian was hit and killed by a bus on Route 2 at Acadia junction near Herzliya Sunday morning. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Police opened an investigation into the incident.
Tel Aviv to host 6th annual marathon The Tel Aviv Samsung Marathon is set to take place today. Running for the sixth year, the city is expecting to host 35,000 runners of various levels and styles. The event offers six different tracks to participants; marathon; half-marathon; 10k; 5k; a hand cycle race for those with special needs; and a children’s mini-marathon.
Commenting on the event, Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said: “Tel Aviv-Jaffa has been a global city for some time now, standing alongside the leading metropolises in the world such as New York, Paris and London. The Tel Aviv Samsung Marathon is further proof of this.
“This year’s course will run through the main streets of the city, during which the public will enjoy the festivities. The event has become known as the ‘Marathon Holiday’ and exemplifies the cultural diversity of Tel Aviv-Jaffa and its people. This is a great celebration not only for athletes, but for all residents and visitors.”
Mexican film festival to begin in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem The Hola Mexico Film Festival is set to begin next week in Tel Aviv, Haifa and Jerusalem. Mexican Ambassador to Israel Federico Salas will attend the opening on Sunday at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque, where the premiere of La Vida Precoz y Breve de Sabina Rivas by Luis Mandoki will be screened.
SOUTH Sdot Negev prepares for Good Deeds Day Last week, the Sdot Negev Regional Council held an event in preparation for Good Deeds Day, which is set to be marked all over the world on March 9. Committees from Sdot Negev communities, volunteers and coordinators met with regional council head Tamir Idan and other community leaders, and worked together in teams to prepare for the implementation of various “good deeds,” according to the Local website.
The purpose of the evening was to bring together the different teams that include social workers, community committees and volunteers, and to begin the strategic planning of activities that had been approved by the Ruach Tova association, which tries to encourage “the gift of giving.” The evening was also attended by many residents, who expressed willingness to help and support the activities.
Gas smell in Ashdod causes panic across city Ashdod residents reported smelling a powerful gas odor throughout the city last Thursday, causing widespread panic. Nine children were reported to have been feeling sick due to the smell.
Municipal environmental teams searched the city for the source of the odor. Police initially said the smell originated from a ship dumping material at sea, but later found that it came from a factory in the city’s industrial zone. Officials said that the smell did not pose a health risk.