Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1241994
4 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 29 APRIL 2020 NEWS Today 100 best recipes Today 100 best recipes FOOD Saying it aS it iS SAVIOUR BALZAN Volume I In volume 1 of 'Saying it as it is', Saviour Balzan tells the story of his journey from being an active environmentalist, to becoming a teacher, a politician, a journalist and finally, the owner of a media house. In his uncouth and abrasive style, he speaks frankly about the thankless job of being an investigative reporter and what running a media house truly entails. But perhaps more interesting, however, are the anecdotes and inside stories also embedded in the narrative, which pick up on key happenings over the past few years. The book also has a semi-autobiographical streak, as Balzan reminisces over the incidents that ended up having an effect on his writings. He uncovers the political networks and the friends and foes of the politicians who dominated the Maltese political scene for the past 35 years. Zoning in on events which he believes left a lasting impact on readers, Balzan expands on the background behind important news stories. In 'Saying it as it is', what emerges most clearly is that scandals have no political boundaries. Saviour Balzan takes us through a brief journey of his journalistic work. He also underscores the influence of politics and politicians in Malta, and the challenges of independent journalism. MediaToday Co. Ltd. Vjal ir-Rihan, San Gwann. SGN 9016, Malta www.maltatoday.com.mt Saying it aS it iS Volume I SAVIOUR BALZAN SAVIOUR BALZAN was born in Birkirkara, Malta in 1963. He was a biology and environmental science teacher for eight years and a part-time journalist during that time. He was active in the environmental lobby and later co-founded the Green Party in 1989 but left politics altogether in 1997. He worked for the newspapers il-Fehma, Alternattiva, The People, and The Independent. He was appointed editor of MaltaToday in 1999 and today co-owns that same newspaper, as well as the independent media company MediaToday based in San Gwann. At MaltaToday he built a reputation for running the most daring, investigative and independent newsroom. He hosted the TV discussion programme Reporter for seven years on PBS until his programme was stopped in 2009. He now hosts the same daily discussion programme on Favourite Channel. He lives in Naxxar with his wife and two children. €30 ISBN 978-99957-0-427-8 20mm All round Bleed DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS DRAGONFLIES AND DAMSELFLIES OF THE MALTESE ISLANDS Charles Gauci Dragonflies are large, oen brightly coloured, insects which few people would not notice actively flying over water, whether it is while walking along water reservoirs in valleys or while visiting gardens where water features are present. However, these are only one stage in their life cycle aer having spent a much longer period living under water as larvae. Most species of dragonflies and damselflies are highly habitat specific in both their larval and adult stages. e Maltese Islands lack most types of riparian habitats and as a result the number of species found locally is very small. is is compensated for by the high concentration of these insects at most water bodies. is book describes each of the nineteen species recorded in the Maltese Islands and each species is amply illustrated by photographs which, for the commoner species, illustrate most or all the stages in their life cycle. It is hoped that besides being of help and interest to nature lovers, it will also raise a much needed awareness among the general public about biodiversity and nature conservation,. e author spent fourteen years teaching Integrated Science and Biology at secondary State schools before moving to the Għadira Nature Reserve where he was Managing Warden until his retirement twenty four years later. He has been interested in dragonflies for the last ten years. Having been an avid bird watcher since his early teens, he co-authored a number of ornithological books – Bird Studies on Filfla, L-Agħsafar, A Guide to the Birds of Malta, A New Guide to the Birds of Malta and e Breeding Birds of Malta. He also co-authored several ornithological papers and was the editor of BirdLife Malta's scientific journal 'il- Merill' from 1986 to 1994. Since his initial interest in dragonflies in 2008 he has been so fascinated by these wonderful insects to the extent that they now oen take precedence over birds. ISBN: 978-99957-894-0-4 CHURCHES IN MALTA maltatoday PART 1 TOWERS, FORTS & BATTERIES IN MALTA maltatoday MALTATODAY ©2017 in collaboration with the MTA TOWERS, FORTS & BATTERIES IN MALTA maltatoday CHURCHES PART 2 maltatoday MALTATODAY ©2019 in collaboration with the MTA IN GOZO maltatoday CHURCHES IN GOZO ERA to introduce regulations for quarries CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The agreement was reached with negotiations with the Malta Developers Association, and the Environment and Resources Au- thority, with operators of quarries. More facilities are said to be about to be announced shortly. Roadworks suspended last week are now scheduled to resume on Wednesday. Roadworks were stopped last week after Infrastructure Mal- ta CEO Frederick Azzopardi claimed there was no availability of dumping sites for the disposal of construction and demolition waste, including dredged material. However, MaltaToday is in- formed that Malta still has a supply of quarries and voids, but not all are taking in construction waste. This has pushed landfill- ing prices up. "There are many readily-available quarries to take in construction waste, but they are not ready to landfill it at just any price," an industry source told MaltaToday. The same source claims that roadworks contractors are usually the owners of their own quarries, who however refuse to landfill in their own quarries at the prices they dictate. "There is no time- frame for them to landfill their quarry. Owners want to exploit this resource for as long as they want." Government had once mooted the possibility of expropriating quarries to solve the issue of con- struction waste, but this would cost millions. Azzopardi put the onus of the decision on the Environment and Resource Authority, saying that the suspension would stay in place until it makes necessary provi- sions for the disposal of such con- struction, demolition and dredged material. But in a rebuttal from the ERA, the regulator said there are 31 quarries permitted to accept construction waste, six of which for recycling construction waste only. "The ERA took stock of the quarries in Malta and Gozo in November 2019 where it emerged that there are a number of disused quarries that may be restored. The authority gives precedence to the infilling of disused quarries, whereby sea dredged material is permitted to be dumped at sea at the official spoil ground off Vallet- ta Harbour. "The ERA expects all applicants and contractors to seek proper waste management facilities prior to commencement of works that are known to generate any quanti- ties of construction waste." The ERA said it cannot fulfil the obligations of operative entities, whether public or private, in their course of contractual obligations with third parties. "The ERA has always been available to facilitate negotiations between contractors and quarry operators, however it is the responsibility of the enti- ty generating the waste to secure proper waste disposal in line with sustainable environmental goals." The ERA said it will be introduc- ing regulatory measures to bring in line the quarrying sector, which for the past years has been largely unregulated. All roadworks in the country ground to a halt due to the lack of available quarry space for dumping debris