Weekly review
Poll
Concern about gaps in the skills and knowledge of our pupils is voiced quite widely from time to time. Unfortunately, only when someone from outside Latvia has concluded as much. Why is that?
There is a political tendency to be busy, to invest, to make promises, but not to think about the results
If you have little knowledge yourself, you do not even know how or what you do not know...
A smart society is not always desirable or welcome
Many interests swirl around education. A "good result" is rarely mentioned among them
1-7 July
Current and upcoming events
### Workshop on growing sweet cherries as timber on 11 July in Dobele and its surrounding area
silava.lv · 2023 06 30 Seminars Programma
silava.lv · 2023 06 30 Seminars Programma
### It is possible to sign a petition “No new protected nature areas without the provision of fair compensation!”
### Looking for a tree with a story!
### Excursions on the Baloži peat museum railway for the 2023 season
### A study on horticulture and its environmental impact by scientists from ten countries (including colleagues from Daugavpils University), we invite you to support it by participating in a survey:
### When planning summer outings, this might come in handy
majaskafejnicas.lv
majaskafejnicas.lv
### Hunter festival “Minhauzens 2023” in Mētriena. On 4 and 5 August, when all hunters’ roads will lead to the Mētriena open-air stage.
National news
The Minister of Agriculture, Didzis Šmits (AS), has been granted special clearance for access to state secrets.
No significant changes are expected in foreign policy, and not just because the new president has held the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs for a long time. It may sound harsh, but in such small countries that are dependent on “big brothers”, as is the case with Latvia, even the country’s top official cannot afford much freedom of action. It is worth recalling the current President of Lithuania here. When Gitanas Nausėda became president in 2019, there was some nervousness regarding his competence and backbone in foreign affairs.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the draft orders prepared by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (VARAM) on improving the usability of the Latvija.lv portal and modernizing the e-address, which will allow users to receive the necessary information and perform desired actions more easily and quickly.
Industry news
In this significant 150th anniversary year, “Latvijas Finieris” is one of the supporters of the XXVII Latvian Song and XVII Dance Festival. Thousands of singers, dancers, musicians and visitors to the festival will enjoy birch branches provided by SIA “Latvijas Finieris mežs” from its thinning operations, while birch plywood products manufactured by the company will be extensively used in nine scenography projects throughout the city – ranging from information signs and decorations to stage floors and acoustic structures.
In the first half of 2023, the wood processing and forestry company “Stiga RM” purchased 1,128 hectares of forest property in Kurzeme, Zemgale and the Pierīga region for a total of 10.4 million euros, company representatives informed.
While the volume of damage for early spring plantings ranges from 20% to 30%, it reaches as high as 50% for late spring plantings, according to information compiled by specialists from the Forest Services Centre of the Latvian Rural Advisory and Education Centre (LLKC).
By embedding a time capsule into the foundations of the factory's third building, the timber construction manufacturing company “ZAZA TIMBER Production” marks an increase in production capacity. The cost of the future building is planned at around 2.5 million euros, with 45% of this co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund. The company's growth has been gradual, but not without setbacks; however, these were offset by determination and belief in their cause, said Māris Peilāns, Chairman of the Board of “ZAZA TIMBER Production”, at the capsule-laying ceremony. Construction of the new building is scheduled for completion by the end of this year.
The most important thing in the entire company is the people, and maintaining a belief in people through this positive microclimate—that we are doing work that creates satisfaction—is very important. I try to talk to every person at least once a week and give them a boost of positive emotion. We are like one family, and proof of this is that people from several generations work here, who came here with their parents as small children and now work here themselves. We have very low staff turnover.
Forester Vilnis Otvars lives happily in the Madona region. The Latvian flag flies on the flagpole of his renovated house, and he said on the Latvian Television programme “Meža stāsti” that the Ukrainian flag will also be there when the Ukrainian people achieve victory. In his daily life, Vilnis is “waging” a tough battle against the invasive hogweed species. He has dedicated his life's work in research and practice to combating this plague in Latvia's forests. He has researched and fought—both with a machete and sweat, and with thoughtful work that brings results.
The State Forest Service offers hunting rights holders the option to register all harvested game animals in the mobile application “Mednis”. To do this, it is necessary to conclude an administrative agreement with the Service.
The execution of this specific administrative agreement has similar requirements to those currently established for wild boar hunting. This means that the requirements of the Hunting Regulations are met if the harvested or wounded game animal is registered and the information about it is sent to the State Forest Service using the “Mednis” mobile application.
The economy
Latvia’s economy will be sluggish this year, said Bank of Latvia Governor Mārtiņš Kazāks on the Latvian Television programme “Rīta panorāma”. Commenting on the question of the Bank of Latvia’s revised economic growth forecast for 2023, Kazāks pointed out that the forecast was revised because the turn of the year did not turn out to be as bad as previously expected.
Meanwhile, the sharpest decline has been recorded in the printing industry—a 32% drop in May, and almost the same year-on-year. In the event of trouble, companies first reduce training and marketing expenses, and this sector feels it—advertising print volumes are falling rapidly. The book market has also shrunk, as the extra demand caused by the pandemic has disappeared and clients are waiting for a drop in paper prices.
However, there are some examples in Europe where, thanks to energetic state action, it has been possible to slow down the rise in prices. The French government has managed to get 75 large food production and retail companies to promise to lower prices for several hundred types of food products starting from 1 July.
Roads and repairs
Resurfacing has begun on the Valmiera highway from Inčukalns to Brasla, the LETA agency was informed by the state-owned limited liability company “Latvijas Valsts ceļi” (LVC).
LVC indicates that this week, asphalt concrete resurfacing has begun on the section of the Valmiera highway (A3) from Inčukalns to Brasla, and traffic restrictions should be expected there until November. Currently, there is one temporary traffic light there, and the scale of the restrictions will increase later.
Construction work is taking place on 80 state road sections, and traffic restrictions have been introduced. On Friday afternoon, traffic may be heavy towards the seaside, as well as in the Pierīga region. We urge you to allow extra time for your journey and plan your trips in advance. The Fisherman’s Festival will take place on the South Kurzeme coast on Saturday, where you should also expect increased traffic flow.
Environmental issues
The most fires—262, with an area of 492 ha burned—were extinguished in the territory of the Riga Regional Forest District, followed by the South Latgale Forest District with 82 fires and 19 ha burned. The State Forest Service also participated in extinguishing 64 other fires, eliminating fires on 11.7 ha of land outside of forest territories.
The wooden plank boardwalk has worn out over time and has become dangerous for pedestrians in certain sections, so the trail surface will be replaced. Until the boardwalk is restored, please do not use it and choose another route to the seaside beach.
...for the convenience of visitors, the expansion and renovation work on the swamp boardwalk will continue in the Cenas tīrelis of the Tīreļi Forest District for approximately 800 m. During the work, starting from next week, the boardwalk will be closed.
The jackal
Recently, foreign species entering Latvian territory can be seen more and more often. Daugavpils University ornithologist and researcher Indriķis Krams shared his observations. Near Subate, he spotted an animal uncharacteristic of our land—the golden jackal. According to I. Krams, it is nothing unusual for new species to enter Latvia, as it is a process that has happened, is happening, and will continue to happen in the future.
Bridges and friends, or in Riga someone will always be unhappy
Instead, the Department of Transport, visibly with the support of politicians, chose to widen the bridge, making it less friendly to people, even though it would have been possible to further improve the submitted proposal, for example, by introducing sidewalks of adequate width on both sides.
Various topics
db.lv · foto bez butaforijas cauri birokratijai hamana muizas atdzim…
After four years of restoration work, the historic Hāmanis Manor has been opened on Slokas Street in Āgenskalns. This has required not only significant investment but also the patience to break through bureaucratic obstacles to create high-quality architecture.
The first truffle garden opened to tourists in Latvia, located in the Jelgava region, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, and a few truffles have already been found there. Kristīne Vilka, manager of the “Rasas” truffle farm, noted: “The first seedling was bought in France when we were visiting. We just brought it back in a suitcase and planted it.”
After all, there is a possibility that brilliant works lie stagnant in archives, never republished, simply because the authors' contemporaries were unable to properly appreciate them! For both of these reasons—to bring attention to and identify what hasn’t been read, and to find new candidates for the canon—the idea of digitizing both data about literature and the literary works themselves seems very attractive.
Current events in cartoons
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