Person of the week

was Sonia Martín. And who is she? The Palma judge who ruled that the government of the Balearic Islands had “not proved” that students placed in quarantine at the Hotel Palma Bellver were close contacts of positive cases. The government, upset by the decision, launched a social media campaign against him with the hashtag # LaSalutPúblicaPrimer (public health first). Judiciary power did not take too kindly to this, the oldest judge of Palma, Sonia Vidal (photo), feeling obliged to inform the government that “we are in a state of law, and respect for judicial procedures must prevail”.

Three cheers

Because, the Tramuntana mountains, which celebrated the tenth anniversary of Unesco’s declaration as World Heritage Site. While the mountains are there for all of us, a reminder has been given that they are more than just a “postcard”.

The anniversary recalled the reasons for the declaration – the cultural heritage of the landscape shaped over the years centuries by different peoples – but it also highlighted economic imperatives. Agriculture, which is in decline, is not the least.

The next ten years, it was emphasized, cannot be another decade of discourse; meaningful intervention is needed.

A big sore

For invasive species. In their own way, they manage to get to Mallorca. One of them is the horseshoe whip snake. Although tall, up to two meters, and therefore capable of causing the alarm, it is harmless enough to humans – it is not poisonous.

But it is harmful to native species, as is the case with invasive species, whether flora or fauna. The thing with the horseshoe snake is that he can apparently get bigger in Mallorca than in his original environment.

The regional Department of the Environment is urging anyone who sees one to call the emergency number 112, so they can hopefully be caught.