Firefighters Save Lost Ducks; Crowdfunding Campaign to Save Open Air Cinema; Basel to Require Payroll Withholding; Final Push To Prepare for UEFA Championship Madness

News For 17 May 2016

 

Since the beginning of April the Basel FireBrigade have been called no less than 10 times to rescue wayward ducks and ducklings.  Apparently, it is common for the duck families often get lost throughout the city as they search for food and nesting sites in Spring.  In the latest incident a week ago, when a family of ducks were seen on the roof of the Rathaus a group of firemen were dispatched with a ladder truck to remove them.  As in this case, when the birds are caught they are relocated to one of the riverside parks in the city.

 

*****************

 

  The future of the Basel Open Air cinema was in jeopardy at the end of last summer when its primary corporate sponsor, mobile provider Salt, announced it was withdrawing its support.  Although other corporate sponsors pledged support, the event was still left short of funds needed to continue operating the event.  Enter Unser Brewery, the Basel Brewery based in the Gundeli neighborhood of the city.  In addition to its commitment to sponsor the event with 50,000 Swiss Francs, the brewer is also sponsoring a WeMakeIt crowdfunding campaign to meet Open Air Cinema's funding needs.  The WeMakeIt crowdfunding platform has been used recently to successfully reopen the PumpWerks skate park in the Kleinhuningen district.  The OpenAir Cinema campaign is the most ambitious one in the history of the WeMakeIt platform.

 

  *****************

 

    BaselStadt is considering a change in payroll rules to require the collection of income taxes due via payroll withholding.  Apparently, Basel, like other Swiss Cantons does not require private employers to withhold estimated payroll taxes from an employees pay.  The change would make the canton the first in the country to require the withholdings.  Driving the initiative is a series of studies that suggest people often find themselves unable to save for and pay back taxes.  In Basel, more than one in ten employees find themselves unable to pay their end of year income tax liabilities, having left  41 million francs total in arrears to the Canton in 2014 alone.  The Great Council is set to rule on the initiative in its current session.

 

  *****************

 

    In a last-minute scramble the Basel Sports Office has decided to set up more outdoor public viewing areas for the upcoming UEFA League Championship game this Wednesday.  The catalyst appears to have been the 50 additional fan charter flights into Basel's Euroairport which are expected to bring 10,000 supporters of Liverpool and Sevilla to the city.  That's in addition to fans and supporters that are expected to come by rail, bus and car.  So far, Barfusserplatz is the only venue which has been officially confirmed for public viewing of the game, with a second venue still in planning stages.  Responding to 2005's disaster when the bars in Steinen ran out of beer when Basel also hosted the championship, the bars have also prepared by topping up their beer tanks, and the breweries like Feldschlosschen have planned extra brewing sessions.