Art Basel 2016 Begins; Free Bags At Check Out Go Way Of Dodo; Meat Party For Border Control; River Barge Towed To Safety

News For 14 June 2016         Art Basel has once again descended on the city, bringing throngs of collectors, dealers, gawkers, journalists.  The annual art event does not officially open to the public until Thursday, but the gallerists and their special guests have been mixing it up in private tours since this morning.  In the meantime, the city is already alive with special art and music installations.  In the Holzpark Klybeck, at the end of the #8 tram line, a special open-air concert area has been set up with additional concessions for food and drink also operating along the Rhein around the park.  On the Gross Basel side of the river, Cargo Bar is hosting a special week-long event "Go C Art" which will feature a rotating cast of art installations and live music.  In the heart of the old city center, Freiestrasse, the Spira Pop store will be open late every night of the festival and features music, a bar and is a registered waypoint on the Art Basel Art Parcours.     *****************

If you're not in the habit of carrying shopping bags with you at all times, you may want to start practicing.  The Swiss Green party may have succeeded in instigating food retailers, including Migros and Coop, to voluntarily withdraw their free plastic bags currently available at check-out lines.  A few weeks ago, the Federal Environmental Commission rejected an outright ban proposed by the Greens saying current pollution resulting from the bags is limited and the benefits to the environment are uncertain.  However, the Swiss commercial group IG DHS, which represents the interests of large food and commercial retailers in the country appears to be paying attention.  Its spokesman Patric Marty said the group has been contemplating a voluntary withdrawal of the bags anyway, having already experimented with charging various fees for the bags and finding almost no impact on pollution or volume of bags used.  Retailers insist that by voluntarily withdrawing the bags, they would be able to make them available for exceptions which are needed to accommodate all of their customers.

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It appears that the Swiss border control has had their hands full again intercepting would-be smugglers of undeclared food into the country.    Last week, a man driving what appeared to be an overloaded vehicle was pulled over at the Freiburgerstrasse border crossing.  Upon inspection, his car was determined to be carrying 730 kilos of meat.  In addition to fines and duties related to the meat importation, the man is now also being criminally charged with operating a vehicle that was overloaded with weight.  It seems the spring and summer festival season motivates unscrupulous vendors to try and import lower cost meat products from Germany and France, which also motivates enhanced customs surveillance at the borders.  You've been warned.

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If you happened to be down by the Rhein Saturday afternoon around 1:30 PM, you might have noticed a wayward cargo barge pulled up alongside the river bank near the Munster.  It seems the boat had some sort of technical malfunction and could no longer be maneuvered by its captain.  While a towing operation ensued, the waterway was deemed unsafe and temporarily closed to all river traffic by the BaselStadt Security Department.  The quick-thinking crew and captain of the Dutch barge were lucky to be able to safely bring the vessel to rest once without causing any damage or injuries.  The ship was towed to Birsfeld for repairs and an inspection a few hours later.