I am at the house of a friend who lives in Santa Coloma. The days are getting longer and by the riverbank there are lots of people practicing sports outdoors. Some are boxing, some are running, some are playing ball. The space is pleasant and well-maintained and looks safe and clean. I stop for a moment to watch. I like the normality exuded by those who use it. Before, I lived in Vallès, near Collserola Park. I myself used the park to go running. When there is a conducive state for an activity, it is easier for that activity to take place. If you live in a place where there is a bicycle circuit, where cycling is easy, it will be more likely that you will use the normality of cycling. If there is a park for outdoor activities, it is more likely that you will do outdoor activities. It is more likely that you will become a casteller if you live in Vilafranca than if you live in Manresa, and it is more likely that you will become a sommelier if you live in Manresa than if you live in Vilafranca, not that it's impossible.

The story begins at the Santa Coloma de Gramenet Town Hall, when a person arrives to complete a procedure and hands over a document certifying their registration as a resident of the town. However, the official quickly realizes that the document is fake. This was the start of a National Police investigation that has culminated in the arrest of three women accused of creating a network of fraudulent registrations.

A Catalan police officer could face up to two and a half years in prison for taking the mobile phone and headphones of a man who had died in the street in Santa Coloma de Gramenet. On the night of November 2, 2021, the accused was on duty and, along with his patrol partner, received a report of a dead person in the street. Both officers were members of the public health unit at the Mataró police station and responded to the call because there were suspicions that the victim might be a victim of a homicide. mule. According to the prosecution's indictment, the accused officer kept the iPhone 12 that the man had in his backpack before a colleague completed the chain of custody document listing the deceased's belongings. The colleague explained at the trial, held this Tuesday at the Barcelona Provincial Court, that he made the list of items after they were already at the Mataró police station, and that he didn't include the phone because he never saw it, but he did include the headphones, which were there. The officer is also accused of appropriating the man's AirPods. According to the prosecution, once his colleague had searched the victim's belongings, the accused had to write the police report, and at that moment he allegedly stole the AirPods, taking advantage of the fact that the victim had other white headphones in his backpack that were not listed in the inventory of the items in custody. The case began to be investigated following a complaint from the victim's widow, who noticed his iPhone and AirPods were missing when she collected her husband's belongings from the police station. Furthermore, the victim's children were able to turn on their father's iPad to search for the location of the iPhone and AirPods: the phone had been turned off at the Mataró police station shortly after the victim's death, and the headphones had been detected the day after his death, when the accused was already off duty and nearby. The head of the Mossos d'Esquadra's investigation unit in Santa Coloma de Gramenet explained during the trial that, precisely because of suspicions that the victim might have been involved in drug trafficking by concealing drugs inside his body, it was especially important to preserve the electronic devices he was carrying, as he could have used them to make contact. In addition to the iPhone and AirPods, the victim was also carrying an iPad with a keyboard and stylus, "all state-of-the-art and worth over €2,500," as described in court by the first police officer to arrive at the scene, a local police officer from Santa Coloma de Gramenet. His shift supervisor that afternoon, a sergeant from Santa Coloma, testified that all the victim's belongings were handed over to the accused officer and his partner to be taken to the station, but both deny this. In fact, the accused denies keeping the victim's phone or headphones and is requesting acquittal. He remains on active duty.

The officer remains on active duty, and at the time of the incident, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) did not apply any precautionary measures against him. Sources within the force add that, should he be convicted, a disciplinary file will be opened against him. The officer faces a conviction for misappropriation, and the Public Prosecutor's Office has also asked the court to disqualify him from working in the Catalan police force for the duration of his sentence. Neither the victim's iPhone nor AirPods have been recovered, and they are valued at 850 euros, which the prosecution is claiming as compensation for the victim's family. Should the accused fail to return them, the Department of the Interior, as the subsidiary civilly liable party, would be responsible for their return.

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The last municipal elections in Catalonia left a bleak outlook for Ciutadans: only ten councilors in nine municipalities. Santa Coloma de Gramenet was the only city where they won two. These were their best results in 2023, but they were bittersweet: the ERC candidacy, led by Gabriel Rufián, overtook them, and the Oranges ceased to be the main opposition party. The surprise came after the elections: the then mayor and now Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, offered them entry into the government despite having an absolute majority—17 councilors out of 25. Almost two years later, and now with the new mayor, Mireia González, The pact is moving smoothly, and both parties are boasting. Under the Socialist leadership, the Ciudadanos (Cs) leader in the city, Dimas Gragera, is Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, while Ciudadanos councilor Salvador Tovar has responsibilities in security matters.

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Three people died and a fourth was critically injured after a fire broke out last night at a residential building in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, with three more suffering minor injuries. As reported by the city council, the fire broke out at a building on Sant Joaquim street and the firefighters, who sent in ten teams, have already extinguished the flames. Eduard Martinez, the head of the Fire Service of the northern metropolitan region, explained to RAC1 that when they arrived they found a fire burning with two simultaneous outbreaks: one on the ground floor (in the metre room) and another in the second.

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Bartomeu Muñoz avoids setting foot in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, where he was mayor until he left the City Council in handcuffs 11 and a half years ago. He also avoids anyone who might remind him of the events that will land him in jail. "He decided he didn't want to talk to anyone linked to Santa Coloma shortly after the sentence," explains a person who dealt with him until the former socialist mayor stopped picking up the phone. Muñoz restricted his circle when Spain's National Court found him guilty in 2018 over the Pretoria case, a plot of urban corruption involving around seven million euros between bribes and illicit gains. Despite the court's ruling nearly three years ago against a network that was born in 2002, no one involved has yet been jailed.

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