All newspapers spotlight the US Presidential elections on Wednesday and their preliminary results. Meanwhile, in Romania, Bucharest mayor Sorin Oprescu started approving the construction of buildings which do not comply with the Bucharest General Urbanization Plan. Elsewhere in the news, the government's negotiations with teachers unions fail. Last but not least, for the first time, the Romanian electoral law gives televisions the right to charge politicians for their electoral appearances in talk shows.
Cotidianul reads about Bucharest's mayor, Sorin Oprescu who started approving the construction of buildings which do not comply with the general urbanization plan of the capital city. The main reason is that the government passed an emergency ordinance ruling that, starting March 2009, exceptions from the general urbanization plan will not be easily granted.
Thus, Oprescu approved 60 construction works which were announced on Tuesday on the official website of the city hall for public debate. The 60 plans could actually be the last to receive the exceptional ruling since each decision needs to be open for public debate for 30 days before receiving the general council's approval.
The projects approved are not new ones: former mayor Adriean Videanu refused to approve any constructions in the last months of his term. Moreover, it was only after Sorin Oprescu won the seat and after firing Bucharest's chief architect Adrian Bold that these projects were finally approved.
According to the current Bucharest chief architect Gheorghe Patrascu, all projects were approved under the exception rule. Patrascu declared that he was compelled to approved them because they had all required authorizations.
Elsewhere in the news, dozens of teachers continue their strike as negotiations with the government over increased salaries
