In this week’s Manx Independent, the Treasury Minister admits the government’s Achilles’ heel.

So often there is an overspend on taxpayer-funded capital projects.

This week’s paper has stories about the latest on the flumes at the National Sports Centre’s pool, the Liverpool ferry terminal the Manx taxpayer is funding and, you might be unsurprised to read, the Douglas Promenade scheme.

There are two main stories on page one.

We report that some GP practice staff are facing abuse because everything has not yet gone back to normal after lockdown ended.

There is also a court story of a big VAT fraud.

Inside:

After several years of talks, rows, arguments, campaigns, a public inquiry and two Tynwald sittings, a blueprint for planning zones in the east of the island has finally been adopted.

Photos of the special event remembering the Palace Lido.

Loganair confirms an interest in a Heathrow to Ronaldsway route.

A police witness appeal after an alleged rape.

Health Minister David Ashford has destroyed a letter from a health worker that he read out live on radio and the internet.

Tynwald members have voted to accept the heads of terms of a new Manx Gas deal.

A tribunal has ruled that plumber Robert Craine was not unfairly dismissed by his former employer and that he broke the law by working during the Covid-19 lockdown.

David Christian, the leader of the island’s biggest local authority, has branded proposals to build flyovers and tunnels around the TT course as ’ludicrous’.

Martin McDonald, who was more than four times the legal limit, has been banned from driving for seven years and fined £2,000.

A dead long finned pilot whale washes up on the beach at Jurby.

Robinson’s boss Janna Horsthuis is up for an award recognising inspirational businesswomen.

Ramsey Grammar School’s next headteacher.

A book about the life a prominent noble woman who was a pivotal figure in Manx history has been published by a noted local author and academic Dr Jennifer Kewley-Draskau. Our Island Life section has a full feature about it.

Douglas Town Band is to see 2020 off in style with its gala concert this weekend.

The Isle of Man has a rich history of traditional folk music, dance and tales. Manx music officer Chloe Woolley takes a look at the stories that lie behind some of the best-known songs.

Performance poetry group Penny Productions is to hold a night of impromptu music and rhyming this weekend.

In the 11-page sports section, David Knight has surpassed the £20,000 mark in his bid to raise enough money to ride at next year’s Dakar Rally.

The leisure and pleasure Island Life section also includes a gig guide and lists which films are at the pictures.

There is also plenty of community news, as well your letters, our puzzles page and a seven-day television guide.

The Manx Independent is in the shops now.

But you don’t have to go to a shop to buy a copy.

You can also read it online if you buy the digital edition. It should be uploaded by 7.30am.

To find out how to buy it, go to the ’Digital Editions’ section of the website on the grey line near the top of this site or watch the video below.

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