February 23, 2010

Two renowned Fasnacht cliques are boycotting this year’s parade. Members are protesting the mandatory participation in the Monday afternoon parade and complain that Fasnacht is too regimented. The rebellious cliques have launched a tongue-in-cheek poster campaign in Basel with the slogan “stand up for yourself.”

The cliques prefer to march on the routes and streets of their own choosing. The official Fasnacht committee makes the rules and grants funding to cliques who tow the line. The committee welcomes the humorous criticism in the ironic spirit of Fasnacht.

Source: 20 Minuten -------------------------------------------
Workers at Clariant's Muttenz plant will protest the company's latest round of layoffs on March 11th. Clariant announced last week that it was cutting four hundred workers at the Muttenz plant. The plant is the last production facility of the specialty chemical maker's still in Switzerland.

The protesting workers are asking for more consultations with the troubled company and jobs for workers over 55. The workers also want Baselland to finally go ahead with an industrial park in Muttenz to attract new jobs to the area.

Source: bazonline -------------------------------------------
Baselland police confiscated seventy kilograms of cocaine from a freight ship in Muttenz last week. Dock workers discovered the drugs hidden in bags while unloading a container filled with coffee. The container began its journey in Guatemala and was shipped to Basel via Rotterdam.

This is the third largest drug bust in Swiss history. Police suspect that the cocaine was not intended for Switzerland but that sloppy smugglers made a logistical error. A similar case occurred in 2006 at the St. Johann port and remains unsolved.

Source: Basler Zeitung -------------------------------------------
Last week a 46 year old man was sentenced to 18 months probation for embezzling over 200 thousand francs from the JobFactory between 2003 and 2006. The man worked as a department head at the JobFactory and diverted payments from customers to his own private bank accounts. He said financial problems caused him to embezzle the money.

He was given the light sentence because he had returned the money and expressed regret at his actions. The JobFactory provides job training to young people unable to find apprenticeships.

Source: bazonline -------------------------------------------
Basel voters decide the fate of the Landhof on March 7th. Basel’s parliament wants to develop the large plot of land in Kleinbasel into three new residential blocks housing eighty apartments. Development supporters claim that too few people make use of the field to warrant keeping it. New housing combined with a large park area would be a boon to Kleinbasel, according to the majority of Basel’s government.

A grass-roots movement wants to keep the former FCB playing field intact and green. The FCB itself also prefers to leave the ground undeveloped as a historical monument to the team.

Source: Basler Zeitung -------------------------------------------
At 2:30 in the morning Friday night, a tail-gater in a silver car on the A2 near Giebenach pushed another car, carrying four people, from the road. The car bounced off the guard rail and spun back onto the highway before coming to a stop across the middle of the road.

With only light injuries all four people were able to get out of the car and off the roadway. However, a second car didn't see the first car until too late and smashed into it going 100 kph and flipped over. Police are looking for the tail gater.

Source: bazonline -------------------------------------------
Good Samaritans foiled a robber’s getaway last Saturday in Basel. A masked man entered the Lollipop candy store on Barfüsserplatz at 5:30pm. He threatened the saleswoman with a knife and demanded she empty the cash register.

Four passersby observed the robber as he fled the store and tore off his mask. They followed him and were able to restrain him until police arrived.

Source: 20 Minuten -------------------------------------------
A preliminary agreement between Basel's utility company, the IWB and Swisscom should pave the way for a fiber optic network throughout Basel within seven years. The agreement divides the estimated 170 million francs investment costs between the two 40/60.

Swisscom will own the fiber optic cables and the IWB will own the hookups connecting the network to buildings and houses. The agreement further specifies that the cable layed have multiple strands so service providers can still compete.

Source: bazonline