George Camilleri

Maltatoday, Sunday 3rd August, by James Debono – A company owned by business magnate Albert Mizzi pays the government €349.41 (equivalent to Lm150 a year) for the land presently occupied by the Mellieha Bay Hotel and a much larger area for a total of 165,246 square metres, which is now earmarked for villa development. Mellieha Bay Hotel, which is partly owned by...

Maltatoday, Sunday 3rd August 2008, by James Debono – Government wants to reclaim the land occupied by the derelict Riviera Martinique Hotel in popular Ghajn Tuffieha bay through a new court application just filed by the Lands Department. Filed last Thursday against Kevin Fenech of NMF Ltd – the owners of the site – the department is citing a condition in the...

Times of Malta, 1st August 2008, by Fiona Galea Debono – The Malta Environment and Planning Authority reform consultation process continued yesterday when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi had a series of back-to-back meetings with NGOs in an effort to better understand their suggestions and start making decisions. The aim of the reform, he told the NGOs, is to have more consistency and...

Times of Malta, 1st August 2008, by Fiona Galea Debono – St John’s Co-Cathedral Foundation is asking the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to provide the terms of reference for an Environment Impact Assessment on the proposed new museum, which would also cover any potential risks to the co-cathedral. Referring to comments by the environment body Flimkien Għal Ambjent Aħjar, the foundation...

Times of Malta, 31 July 2008, by Kurt Bugeja Coster – The Order of Preachers has commissioned the restoration of Giuseppe Calì’s religious scenes painted on the ceiling of St Dominic’s church in Merchants Street, Valletta. The paintings have suffered extensive damage and are peeling off in patches. Fr Charles Vella, director of the project, explained that rainwater has been seeping through the...

Sunday Times of Malta, 27th July 2008 Directive 2002/91/EC of the European Parliament and Council on energy efficiency of buildings was adopted on December 16, 2002, and came into force on January 4, 2003. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) is considered an important legislative component of the EU’s energy efficiency activities. The directive is set to promote the improvement of energy...

Times of Malta, 3rd July 2008 – Editorial Hard on the heels of its high-powered report on the environmental deficit and the reform of Mepa comes another thought-provoking study from the independent think-tank, The Today Public Policy Institute, on Malta’s energy security, its levels of traffic pollution and the dire effects on health. As the price of oil heads inexorably upwards –...

Maltatoday, 8th June 2008, by David Darmanin – Not only has the delay in MEPA’s approval for the development of Fort Cambridge become a matter of concern for the applicant, but it is now also causing anxiety among some of the private investors, whose money is either secured in bonds aimed at co-financing this project, or otherwise spent in deposits covering...

Times of Malta, 16 July 2008 Extract from Times of Malta report on Parliamentary sitting of 15 July 2008 Labour MP Leo Brincat described Mepa as a three headed monster, with its gods, political appointees and directly-appointed civil servants on its board. He called for a suitable balance which led to sustainable development, pointing out that the silent majority in Malta...