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Click on the picture to watch an audio slideshow of a hike to Hraunsvatn lake in Öxnadalur valley in north Iceland, which lies at a height of 490 meters, interlocked between two steep mountains and a small glacier with a view of the majestic Hraundrangar peaks.
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Fjallabyggd (“Mountain Settlement”) is a skier’s dream. Its slopes are perfect for slaloming and there are also tracks for telemark skiing. Winter sporting enthusiasts can also go ice skating or rent snowmobiles. In summer, Fjallabyggd turns into a paradise for hikers. Read this special promotion about one of Iceland’s best hidden gems.
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Minister of Transport Kristján L. Möller decided yesterday to follow the advice of the committee supervising the finances of municipalities and appoint a three-person board to reorganize the finances of Álftanes, a neighboring community of Reykjavík, which has gone into insolvency.
Álftanes. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
“I believe this is the way that we have to go to turn this development around,” Möller said during a press conference, Morgunbladid reports.
The town council of Álftanes has submitted proposals on savings measures but the board has yet to work on its action plan. “Many different measures must be undertaken,” the minister said.
The municipality owes ISK 7 billion (USD 54 million, EUR 40 million) but is only capable of paying ISK 2-2.5 billion (USD 16-19 million, EUR 11-14 million) of that amount.
One of the reasons for this heavy debt load is a new and technologically advanced swimming pool, which opened in Álftanes last year.
It has not been revealed whether the state will give the municipality additional financial support, whether debts will be written off or whether the inhabitants of Álftanes will be subject to extensive cutbacks and additional taxes.
“The high debts are the largest problem and it has to be fixed,” said Ólafur Nilsson, chairman of the committee supervising the finances of municipalities. He said selling Álftanes’s assets is a possibility; this measure has been undertaken before to solve the financial difficulties of municipalities.
Mayor of Álftanes Pálmi Thór Másson said the minister’s decision was not surprising. “It was clear that the municipality couldn’t work its way out of its financial problems without outside help.”
The municipality has discussed a merger with Gardabaer, a neighboring municipality, and Másson said the latest developments will not affect the merger talks. “We just have to look at what is in the best interest of the inhabitants.”
Mayor of Gardabaer Gunnar Einarsson confirmed that discussions have taken place and that Álftanes’s debt situation and merger ideas have been mentioned. Now further talks will await the board’s proposals for financial reorganization of Álftanes.
It has only happened once before that an Icelandic municipality has lost financial control to a government-appointed board.
In 1998 a board was appointed to reorganize the finances of Hofsós in north Iceland. Its inhabitants then decided to merge with two other municipalities.
Click here to read more about Álftanes’s troubles.
Iceland’s cabinet met at the presidential residence Bessastadir at noon today where new ministers were announced: Gudbjartur Hannesson of the Social Democrats will lead a new Welfare Ministry and Ögmundur Jónasson of the Left-Greens a new Ministry for Internal Affairs.
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The average temperature of the three summer months, June, July and August, in Reykjavík this year was 12.2°C (54°F), which makes this the warmest summer in the capital since temperatures were first recorded in 1871, according to meteorologist Trausti Jónsson.
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The comedy sketch show Spaugstofan, which has been shown more or less continuously for 21 years on the Icelandic national broadcaster RÚV, has now been relocated to the private television channel Stöd 2.
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The crew of the sailboat Santa Maria from Hamburg, Germany, called for assistance when they ran out of fuel 140 nautical miles west of Reykjavík last week. The guard post of the Icelandic Maritime Administration contacted ships that were nearby and as it turned out the whaling ship Hvalur 9 was located closest to Santa Maria.
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The second issue of the print edition of Iceland Review 2010 has just been published. Entitled “Under the Volcano” the magazine dedicates 20 pages, words and pictures, to the volcanic eruption in Eyjafjallajökull glacier which made headlines all over the word. New subscribers will receive the book 2010 Eruptions as a gift and all subscribers are part of a draw to win a trip to Iceland. Click here to subscribe to the magazine.
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REVIEWS
Dadi Gudbjörnsson's art with its smiley faces, Aladdin's lamps, gleaming hearts, blue mountains and psychedelic flora of unearthly origin reminds me of the cheesy R.E.M. song “Shiny Happy People”. The sugar-sweet naivety fails to amuse me but I must admit it infects my mood with delirious joy.
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Former President of Iceland Vigdís Finnbogadóttir turned 80 on 15 April this year and Mayor Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir—in making her an Honorary Citizen of Reykjavík to mark the occasion—observed that Finnbogadóttir’s life was interwoven with that of Reykjavík. In June 1980 Finnbogadóttir made history when she became the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
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Today, August 30, and tomorrow is your last chance to visit the exhibition “Eau De Parfum” by Andrea Maack at the Spark Design Space in Reykjavík. In the exhibition space, Maack introduces three perfumes that are the result of her collaboration with French perfumery apf aromes & parfums.
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