Pomorskie

16th August 2009

Gdansk has finally approved the building of a raised footbridge across the Motlawa river in the city, connecting the Olowianka island to the city and providing better access, among others, to the Baltic Philharmonia which is located there. The bridge has a chequered history since its conception in 2007, initially attracting opposition from historic buildings officers due to the sensitive area in which it is to be built, then further opposition from local yachting clubs that it would cut them off from important waterways. The final design is low enough not to affect the skyline adversely and can be raised regularly during the sailing season and on other occasions. Construction is about to begin and the first pedestrians should be able to amble across by the end of 2011 at the latest.

Last Monday, Dariusz Rybak, a 20-year-old from Grapice, died in his bed in a pool of blood after being sent home by a medic to sleep off his concussion. The tragedy began when Dariusz met his friends in the evening and got into an argument with one of them. They began to fight and Dariusz hit his head on the asphalt and was knocked unconscious, bleeding heavily. The ambulance took an hour to arrive, by which time Dariusz had regained consciousness. The medic looked at him and told him to go home and sleep it off. His condition worsened by the moment, but he followed the instructions and was found dead by his father in the morning. The autopsy revealed a fractured skull and a massive haemorrhage, while the report card from the ambulance medic states ‘no evidence of injury’. The young man who fought with Dariusz has been arrested and faces five years in prison for an assault resulting in accidental homicide. The medic has yet to hear any charges at all.

Police in Gdansk seized eleven computers from an architects’ office this Wednesday with 46 illegal specialist graphics and architecture programs on them. “We raided the architects’ office after receiving a tip-off about the offence,” Magdalena Michalewska from Gdansk police told the Polish Press Agency. The two architects face charges of illegally downloading software with a value of over PLN 360,000, and due to the high value of the stolen soft ...