The friendly and happy face on Saturday television is more than an institution. Some even call Inés Sánchez de Revuelta a phenomenon.
The Cuban born journalist, naturalized Costa Rican, has been on local television for the past 50 years with her television show, Teleclub.
For her work, she has received two received two world record awards: one for the longest running educational program in world history and the other for the longest running presenter of a television program on the small screen (television).
The awards were given to Doña Inés by Ralph Hannah, the Guinness World Records representative in Latin America, who travelled from London to Costa Rica to attend the ceremony Saturday night at the Intercontinental hotel.
Sitting next to Doña Inés at the head table were Presidenta Laura Chinchilla, the Presidenta’s parents, Rafael Ángel Chinchilla and Emilce Miranda. Also on hand were former presidents, Abel Pacheco and Luis Alberto Monge.
The name of Ines Sanchez and the Teleclub are already part of the history, but not officially in the Guinness book until 2015, as the edition of 2014 and is closed.
TeleClub went on the air on February 8, 1963. The program was aimed at women, mainly housewives. Taking root on channel 4, it moved three channels up the dial, on Teletica’s channel 7, the moved down to Repretel’s channel 6 and even lower to channel 2, finding its home again on channel 4 in 2002 and the to channel 13 where it is currently.
On January 21, 2002, the program was interrepted until returning to air on May 9, when Doña Ines suffered a heart attack, keeping between life and death for months.
Today begins “road safety week” in Costa Rica with the official ceremony held next to the pedestrian bridge in Santa Ana, o the Ruta 27, in front of the Forum.
The Universidad de Costa Rica (UCR) has planned a week of activities that inclued guided tours of the city road.
There will be conferences and lectures on respect for traffic signals, rights and duties of pedestrians and drivers.
Randall Arauz (of Petroma), Alex Khajavi (of Nature Air) and Carlos Manuel Uribe (of Amigos de la Isla del Coco) are included in the list of world’s most influential environmentalists and share place with legendary fighters from natural resources such as Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd.
From June 3rd -5th, the Founding Congress of the Green Games was held in the UNESCO Building in Paris, France, where Arauz, Khajavi and Uribe were chosen as one of the “100 Guardian Angels of the Planet.” The event took place in the framework of the Global Conference – International Forum for a Sustainable Development.
The project is an initiative of visionary couple Emanuelle and Clemence Errard, who decided to act to provide children with knowledge on sustainable development and that they in turn act directly in the future to conserve the planet’s resources. They travelled around the world with their 7 year old son Jules, and interviewed whom they considered the most outstanding environmentalists of the planet. By holding these Green Games in June of 2015, and with the inspiration of the Guardian Angles, children of the world will be brought closer to each other by seeking solutions to common environmental problems in a fun way, thus turning them into “Guardian Angels.”
“Who can be better Guardian Angels than the kids themselves,?” asked Randall Arauz, of the Costa Rican organization Pretoma. “We have to create awareness and provide training through all means possible so that starting from a very young age, and all the way into adulthood, they are also committed Guardian Angles of the Planet, no matter what career path they follow.”
The objective of this first meeting was to validate the principles of the Green Games and officially launch the project to the media. The Green Games are considered to be the beginning of a new era, an era of transition, the theme of the Eighth Edition of the Global Conference – International Forum for a Sustainable Development.
Forget passwords – you could soon be unlocking your phone by wrinkling your nose or sticking out your tongue. Google is working on technology that could let your smartphone recognize your facial expressions.
Google has filed a patent that could let users unlock their smartphones and tablets using facial expressions rather than typing in passwords.
The latest Google Android devices already have a built-in Face Unlock feature that uses facial recognition to unlock their handsets, but this patent would take the technology a step further adding additional ‘liveness’ features.
When Google launched Face Unlock in 2011, as part of Android Ice Cream Sandwich, it was criticized by security experts because it could be bypassed by holding static photos up to the phone or tablet’s camera.
HOW DOES GOOGLE’S LATEST FACIAL RECOGNITION PLANS WORK?
To get access to a device the user would have to pull a specific predetermined facial expression.
The expression would then be scanned and compared to a previously captured photo to confirm the user’s identity.
Facial expressions listed include blinking, frowning, smiling, sticking out a tongue, wrinkling a nose and raising an eyebrow.
The patent explains there would be a small margin of error but the user’s expression would have to match the original photo as closely as possible.
The technology would then check for ‘liveness’ – a signal that shows the user is alive and moving and not a static image.
It would scan for changes in pixels and light to monitor and recognise the changes in the location of the facial features.
For example, if a blink is used to gain access the technology would record the light from the eye and then monitor if this light changes, suggesting the eye has been closed.
This ‘live’ movement is then given a score based on how similar it is to the original image. If the score reaches the minimum security threshold, the phone is unlocked. If it doesn’t the user is denied access and has to try again. The expression would then be scanned and compared to a previously captured photo to confirm the user’s identity.
The patent said: ‘The anti-spoofing techniques herein may use facial gestures such as blinks, winks, and other gestures that may be performed within the confines of a human face.
‘[The device] may detect facial gestures associated with various facial features.
Examples include one or both eyes (e.g., for blinks, winks, etc.), the mouth area (e.g., for gestures including smiling, frowning, displaying a user’s teeth, extending a user’s tongue, etc.), the nose (e.g., for a nose wrinkle gesture, etc.), the forehead (e.g., for a forehead wrinkle gesture, etc.), one or both eyebrows (for eyebrow raise and compression gestures, etc.), and various others.’
Barrio Chino or Chinatown, a commercial area created by the Municipalidadde San José in the PaseodelosEstudiantes, has proven to be a bust, every day less of the financial boom that been the expectation of many.
In fact, many of the area retailers today are fearful of losing their source of income, forced with closure, mainly due to the scarcity of passersby.
Merchants say that none wanted the Chinatown, a project forced on them by the municipality.
Stories of these merchants reveal an uncertain future, a pedestrian boulevard which is seeing fewer stores and the remaining see little or no profit in their venture.
Local merchants recall the political promises made by the by municipal authorities headed by long time San José mayor Johnny Araya, who at the end of the month will be leaving the mayoral chair behind to run the presidency in 2014.
The negative business climate has led a number of merchants to close their doors and many of the remaining say they don’t see lasting past December. If they make it that far. An option for some is to move their business a block or two, pay a lower rent, and maintain some semblance of a hope and not lose their business license altogether.
The exodus of merchants is directly related to the elimination of vehicular traffic. With the creation of the Chinatown, the calle (street) was closed off completely to vehicles and became a pedestrian boulevard. This also meant the moving of bus stops, stops that would be crowded with potential customers headed for the south side of San José, to places like Acosta, Aserri and Desamparados, the most densely populated area of Costa Rica. Passengers are now lining up in the adjacent blocks, providing a financial boom to those merchants.
The reality is that every day there is less reason for consumers to head to Chinatown. Local merchants have banded together, forming group to jointly hold discussions with the municipality, which so far has not come up with any solutions to help maintain Chinatown alive.
Wilberth Villalobos, Vozdeguanacaste.com / If the Coastal Communities Territories (Tecocos) Law Project isn’t approved in the second debate by the legislators of the Legislative Assembly, the coastal communities of the nation will hold an unprecedented march and even impede the arrival of President Laura Chinchilla to Guanacaste.
The protest would take place if the project doesn’t receive definite approval by the majority of the legislators before July 25.
With this conviction, the community of Samara was the site of the fifth annual congress of the nation’s coastal communities on Friday, June 14th and Saturday, the 15th.
The activity took place in the community hall of Samara, with more than 100 people in attendance, the majority of whom live in areas close to the beach like: Punta Barco, Golfito, the Osa Peninsula, the Nicoya Peninsula, the islands of the Gulf of Nicoya, Samara, Nosara, Ostional, the Papagayo Peninsula and Santa Elena in La Cruz.
For this congress, the presence of at least seven legislators from the Legislative Assembly was expected; however only Jose Maria Villalta of the Frente Amplio party showed up. None of the four legislators from Guanacaste attended.
The meeting started with some motivational words and gratitude expressed to those present for attending the congress, especially since some guests like the delegates from Punta Barco, a southern community near Panama, had to wake up very early and leave at 1 a.m. on Friday in order to attend the event.
Wilmar Matarrita, coordinator of Tecocos, highlighted the progress achieved to date such as the approval of the project in the first debate on April 30. Currently it is being reviewed by the Constitutional Court at the request of 19 legislators.
Matarrita, in addition, highlighted the coordination that has existed between members of the movement to mobilize people and put into motion the execution of objectives.
During the two days of the meeting, the members of Tecocos made clear their stance toward the approval of the law project during the second debate, since they consider this “nonnegotiable” and say it has to be fully approved in the legislative session before July 25.
Marcos Jimenez, mayor of the municipality of Nicoya, who was present during the opening of the congress on Friday, reaffirmed his support of the Tecocos project and regarding the possible demonstration, he declared, “It is an alternative that the government should pay attention to,” and added, “One should support the communities and I am in favor of their development.”
For his part, Jose Maria Villalta classified the congress as successful and showed himself to be satisfied by the gathering of representatives of Tecocos from the entire country. However, in light of the absence of his fellow legislators, he mentioned that he didn’t know why they didn’t attend and said, “Not coming here today shows that they (the legislators) aren’t really interested in the project,” and he pointed out, “If they are invited to go to a luxury hotel, there they would attend.”
When consulted as to whether there is political will from the legislators to approve the project soon in second debate, Villalta explained, “I believe that the political will is built,” and added, “with work, effort but also with pressure, popular pressure,” so he does consider it necessary to continue with the mobilization work that has been done up until now.
The congress allowed those present to get updated with the project, clarify doubts and offer suggestions.
Magdalena Vega, president of the Ostional Development Association, expressed, “I am satisfied with the attendance of those who came to the congress. The fight continues. We should keep working.”
La Sele, Costa Rica’s national soccer team, is back home Tuesday night to take on Panama at the national stadium in San José. The Ticos put in a gritty performance against Mexico last time out, their organized rearguard leading the way to a 0-0 draw at the fabled Estadio Azteca.
The Central American giants, and three-time FIFA World Cup participants, are deadly at home, amassing six of their eight points. Led by the sturdiest backline in all of CONCACAF at the moment – they’ve not conceded in their last three outings – the silky playmaking of captain Brian Ruiz, and the goal-getting potential of young ace Joel Campbell, the Costa Ricans will expect nothing less than a win.
It wasn’t long ago that Panama, who have never reached a FIFA World Cup, were on top of the six-team qualifying group. But the Hexagonal is a marathon and not a sprint, as any coach will eagerly remind you. Away from their fortress of the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City, Julio Dely Valdes’s men will have to put their recent loss to USA, as well as their lowly status of fifth, behind them.
Also on tap Tuesday is the US and Honduras meet that will have special meaning for Jurgen Klinsmann. The German was heavily criticized after his Americans lost their Hexagonal opener to Los Catrachos back in February, but they have since rebounded in style.
Last week’s 2-0 win over Panama was US’s best performance so far. From Tim Howard in goal, through a gritty midfield, marshalled by Jermaine Jones and Michael Bradley, the States are very much on the rise. And in Jozy Altidore, who’s scored three times in his last three games, they now have a consistent scorer to partner Clint Dempsey.
Both the US and Costa Rica are aiming to put further distance between themselves and foundering Mexico for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.
Getting obscene gestures from bus drivers tops the list of complaints by seniors who take public transportation, according to the Consejo Nacional de la Persona Adulta Mayor (CONAPAM).
Seniors get a discount on all public buses and routes. Some bus drivers don’t like it and make it clear to the elderly, some with just a bad look, but others go the extra punch.
Abadonment and neglect, are also on the list of complaints of abuse of seniors.
Saturday, many communities across the country celebrated the day against abuse and neglect of senior citizens. The aim was to raise awareness and propose actions to stop this social problem.
Amid the activities, signatures were collected in the Heredia central park.
The CONAPRAM says that from January to May this year it has received 484 complains of violence against senior citizens.
Desamparados is one of the most densely populated area of San José. As such the Policia de Tránsito often set up their spotchecks or “operativos” in the area of Parque de la Paz, on the Circunvalacion, one of the main access to the south side of San José.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, more than 20 officials were on hand to check on drivers, with focus on drunking and driving.
Despite the tough transit law that went into effect last October, many drivers continue to driver while under the influnce.
The end result in the wee hours of this morning were three drivers caught driving under the influence, two vehicles confiscated and another seven had their plates confiscated.
The chief of the traffic police, German Marín, tells th Q that “operativos” will be intensified and spread out across the city, part of plan to reduce bad driving.
Drugs themselves are crazy enough, but what they’re called can sometimes make them (or at least make them seem) even more insane. Drug producers, dealers and users are increasingly creative in both the manufacturing and naming of drugs.
Die Welt reported last month on the growing concern over the use of crystal methamphetamine, which in Germany is called “Hitler Speed”.
Europe’s Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) recently reported that Europeans are using more and more new synthetic drugs, often with inventive names divided by different countries and languages.
Some of these substances are perfectly legal, some are not. Some you have probably already heard of, but not under that name. Here’s just a sampling of the odd and often dangerous entries in the global lexicon of drugs.
Hitler Speed (Germany)
“Hitler speed” is one of the names used for crystal methamphetamine in Germany, a reference to the fact that soldiers of the Wehrmacht allegedly took it to gain courage on the World War II battlefield.
Benzo Fury (Great Britain)
6-APB is a synthetic stimulant is legal in countries such as the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands. Known as ‘Benzo Fury,’ it’s an empathogen, like ecstasy. It was linked to several deaths at music festivals. The danger comes from the fact that this stimulant is qualified as a “research drug,” and therefore not tested by the labs.
Meduna’s Mixture (Hungary)
Carbogen is referred to as Meduna’s mixture, named after Hungarian inventor Ladislas Meduns. It’s actually just oxygen and carbon dioxide mixed together to give you a feeling of suffocation. While it isn’t a very dangerous drug -it used to be given to people to see if they could handle stronger psychotropic drugs- the users tend to see waves of colors and gains a sense of inner peace.
Bath Salts (United States)
Mephedrone, known as bath salts became popular in the UK before even bigger success in the US and Canada in 2010. It can induce paranoia, hallucinations and suicidal behavior among other things. These were legal for the most part until the DEA outlawed its use in 2012.
The Devil’s Breath (Colombia)
Scopolamine, also called the “burundanga“, is still on the market as it treats motion sickness (astronauts tend to use it), and is harmless in small doses. However regular usage can bring on apathy. Colombian scammers are known to use it on their victims who lose their will and leave them exposed to robbery.
Vine of the Dead (Peru)
Ayahuasca is a herbal mixture that is part of a religious, often shamanic, practice cooked from a South American vine. The vine is brewed into a tea with leaves from plants that contain the psychedelic component DMT. It creates hallucinations and makes you question your own identity, according to some testimonies.
Ya Ba – the crazy drug (Thailand)
This derivative of methamphetamine and caffeine produced in Southeast Asia’s Golden triangle, one of the world’s biggest drug production area, was declared a national emergency in Thailand in the early 2000s. Users were found running in the street assaulting bystanders for no reason.
Arabian Tea (Yemen)
Catha edulis, or “Khat,” is a plant most found on the horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula. It is usually chewed and creates psychological dependence, as well as euphoria, loss of appetite and excitement. It is legal in some Middle Eastern countries and Africa, but not in the Us or Canada anymore.
Krokodil (Russia)
Desomorphine, known as the Krokodil drug, is a cheaper substitute for heroin, very popular in Siberia, for it’s on the path of the heroin traffic produced in Afghanistan. It takes its name from the fact that it eats at the user’s flesh, giving it scale-like appearance which eventually leads to death within a year or two of usage.
Spurred on by globalization, the legal high and synthetic drug market is causing a “fundamental shift” in consumption patterns, an EU agency has warned.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction released a report Tuesday which says consumers in Europe are turning to legal highs and synthetic alternatives to more “traditional” illegal drugs. The market is expanding rapidly, and pushed on by globalization, technological advances and the ease of which drugs can be purchased, the agency says that public health and law enforcement will be badly affected.
Legal highs have been linked to deaths in the U.K. and Europe. The problem lies within legally enforcing bans before new drugs enter the market; changing chemical compositions even slightly can negate any rule which declares them illegal. This way, the moment one drug is taken off the market — such as methadrone — similar but not identical types of legal high can take its place.
In addition, legal highs can be sold in stores or online. As long as they are labelled “not for human consumption” or “sold for research purposes” there is no legal barrier to selling legal party pills or powders.
The market continues to expand in other regions of the world such as the Americas.
Over 280 new drugs are now being monitored by the European agency — which is a steep jump from only 49 in 2011. In 2012, 73 new psychoactive substances were recorded in continental European countries and the same are being “exported” to America by trafficking networks.
Among the best known drugs are cocaine, heroin and LSD. However, the emergence of new substances worries authorities, since many of these are not known at present, nor are they prohibited.
Costa Rica and Central America are sore points for the trafficking and consumption of all drugs.
Elena Ramírez, specialist with Costa Rica’s Instituto Costarricense sobre Drogas (ICD), says, officialy no clandestine laboratory dedicated to the manufacture of these substances has been detected. But, the expert assures that Costa Rica meets the conditins to develop synthetic drugs.
Of concern is that countries no longer be classified as “producing”, “consuming” and “transit”, since any country can now develop drug production.
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit on Saturday off the Pacific coast of the central American nation of Nicaragua, the U.S. geological survey said.
The quake was recorded at 11:34am local time. The USGS reported the quake’s location as about 50 KM west of Masachapa, in Nicaragua. At 11:59am a 4.5 magnitude quake was recorded, this time 45 KM west of Masachapa.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre, based in Hawaii, issued a tsunami warning for Nicaragua after the earthquake.
Nicaragua’s first lady and Cabinet Communication coordinator, Rosario Murillo, confirmed the warning, but that it is “an informational alert.”
Reports indicate the tremor was felt in Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.
There was a time that if you didn’t have a car, a mule would do. This photo was shared on Facebook, a glimpse of Paseo de los Estudiantes (now Chinatown) circa 1948.
Wow! If you think that being a teacher may be hazardous to your health (see: Paid Teachers Sick for Decades), it’s a vacation compared with being an insurance agent — or so it would seem from the figures from the universal health care system (Caja).
More than half of the National Insurance Institute (INS) personnel were off work last year with some sort of illness that kept them home. Of the 2,198 employees of the government owned insurance company, 1,209 were home (55%) with illness some time during 2012.
In all, last year the Caja issued 2,986 medical permissions in its clinics and public hospitals for 14,741 days off, most of them (57%) to women. The cost to the Caja was 388 million colons but that was just 60% of the salaries of sick INS employees — INS paid the other 40%.
The sick time was monitored by a study by a special Caja commission. Right behind INS for least healthy employees is the San Jose Municipality with 59% nearly exactly the same number. (La Nacion received a copy of the report.)
But another figure also is an eye opener: the entity with the longest sick time off among employees is the workforce at the Limon docks — averaging 10.5 days per illness. The Municipality has only an average of 9.5 days off per sickness.
Ironically, right behind them comes the Caja itself with 8.7 days per incapacity. But the Limon port carried the day in number of days off per sick time permits — 29 days to recuperate at home.The Ministry of Education and the courts follow with more than 20 days off work for illness permission to stay home.
Personal Note: This reporter does not wish to be thought to be throwing stones. After nearly 20 years of working at the newspaper The Tico Times without a single sick day, he broke a vertebrae in 1997 and was out of action under INS workplace accident injury treatment for nine months before doctors cleared him to return to work.
Perhaps the only difference from the majority of the illness time off recipients above is that he was overjoyed to get back in the saddle.
Several months back it was learned that the Legislative Assembly had more than 1,000 bottles of liquor in its stores, a stash worth over ¢7 million colones.
Earlier reports said that Victor Emilio Granados, then president of the Legislative Assembly, would be donating the bottles of liquor to the IMAS, the same state agency that runs the duty free shops at the airports.
And although the current Assembly president, Luis Fernando Mendoza, assures that they are getting rid of the bottles, no one seems to know how to go about doing it.
In fact, Mendoza and his buddies have not touched on the subject since the beginning of May, when elected president.
In the Assembly stores are bottles of expensive whiskey, creams, vodka and rum. Bottles that have been gathering dust for a number of years.
Cost of renewalRenewing your Costa Rican drivers license has been streamlined, depending on the time and day, you can be in and out in less than two hours.
1. The first step in the process is the medical exam. The exam is quick and reported electronically, meaning the doctor enters the “dictamen medico” into the system and no need for paperwork.
There is no longer the required blood test. Giving the doctor your blood type is enough. In the past, even if you had clinical proof of your blood type, a blood test was required. The point of the blood test was to ensure the blood type in the event of an accident requiring a transfusion. The medical society has rejected the blood type indicated in the drivers license, thus rendering the physical blood test at renewal time pointless.
2. Make sure you do not have any outstanding (unpaid) traffic violations. If you do, visit a Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) or Banco Nacional (BN) branch, using your drivers license pay the outstanding fines. Skipping this step will add more than an hour to the process.
3. If a foreigner and you have not updated your information, if in San José, you will need to visit the driving centre located in Paso Ancho. In the provinces, there is a similar office in or near the drivers license centre.
4. Purchase an “entero”. This is the cost of the license renewal, which is now ¢5.000 colones (reduced in May from ¢10.000) for up to six years. The entero can be paid at the BCR and BN.
5. Having gotten all the ducks in a row, you can now visit the drivers license issuing office. If you are in San José, the drivers licensing office is in La Uruca.
For readers of the Q, here is time saving and less stressful solution to the above. Immediately west of the drivers licensing office there is a parking lot, where you can park your car (¢800 colones for the hour), get your medical exam, check on unpaid traffic tickets and buy your entero.
The cost of the medical exam is ¢18.000 colones, the typical cost. For the “entero” you will pay a commission of ¢1.000 colones (so the renewal will cost you ¢6.000 instead of ¢5.000, but think of all the time and frustration you save in locating a bank and then standing in line). The process is about 15 minutes.
At the drivers licensing centre, the office is way in the back. From the main entrance, you keep to your left, past the police repair centre and the Cosevi parking lot.
Once at the door, you will need to present all your documents (including the form from Paso Ancho if you have to complete that step), get in line and depending on the day and time, you can be out of there in less than an hour. If you have a “Cuidadano de Oro” (gold old age card), you will be there less than five minutes!
Traffic police operations like this are common in the downtown core (only during the day), as many new recruits are posted to their first detail.
Traffic police operations like this are common in the San José downtown core (only during the day), as many new recruits are posted to their first detail.
Here is a different kind of story, a story you rarely read about, but may become a common practice, that of a traffic official turning down a bribe and also charging the driver for offering a bribe.
Typically these – the officials who turn down a bribe – are recently graduated officials who still have that zealous drive to uphold the law. With time, unfortunately, that zeal turns into reality, a reality that means filling one’s pocket without getting caught.
In the past corrupt traffic officials in Costa Rica were as common as potholes. Anyone who has driven for some time in the country will have either been asked to pay a bribe or have offered one. In the old days it was a few “rojos” (a couple thousand colones).
Today, however, it is a different story. I am not saying there are no corrupt traffic officials, just fewer and then a bribe will not do with anything less than ¢20.000.
Facing a ticket of ¢280.000 colones and six points a corrupt official knows he or she has the upper hand. The offending driver is negotiating from a point of weakness, thus needing deeper pockets.
I personally know of drivers who, in the past would keep a “tucan” (the old ¢5.000 colones) bill tucked in the special corner of the wallet or in the glove box, mixed in with the vehicle’s papers.
Today, a careless driver (not to say driving carelessly), needs to use a different approach. One, is to establish if the traffic official pulling you over is corrupt or not. And second, if he or she is, how much to offer. And most important, the way to offer it.
Foreigners have the advantage, they can always play stupid of not knowing the rules of where to pay a traffic ticket. “Do I pay you for this?’, usually opens the pockets of corrupt officials. Pulling out your Costa Rican driver’s license works in your favour, the corrupt official knows that all he or she really can do (unless you are drunk driving, for example), issue you a ticket which can be appealed and paid, if the appeal is rejected, in a year or more.
The best way to avoid all the foregoing is drive respectfully and obey the rules of the road.
It’s been six weeks since the new ‘paqruimetros’- electronic parking meters – went into use in San José. And already 38 complaints by drivers have been filed with Municipalidad de San José, despite assurances by city officials that only two of the 60 meters are with problems.
Marcelo Solano, chief of the Policía Municipal de San José (metrotopolitan police), the one of the meters is located near the hospital Calderón Guardia and the other by the Corte Suprema de Justicia.
However, users continue to file complaints, the most common problem is the meter deducting the amount from the registered bank account, but failing to provide the time on the meter.
As a result drivers are getting ticketed.
Solano admitted that several drivers have received fines even though they had paid for the time on the meter.
The only solution the police official can provide for now is the affected file a complaint at the Oficina de Control Vial, located by the Mercado Central in downtown San José or call 800 800 7275.
Numbers provided by the city is that so far a total 43.000 users have used the new meters.
The meters were installed by a Canadian company. They went into effect on May 1, replacing the paper ticket system for all street public spots in San José.
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – is predicting that the “Veranillo de San Juan” (Indian Summer) will only occur in Guanacaste this year, this beacuse the trade winds do not favour the presence of the phenomenon in the rest of the country.
According to IMN meteorologist Juan Diego Naranjo, the Veranillo, that usually occurs between June 21 and 25 each year, will be felt mainly in the northern zone and possibly in some parts of the Central area.
Historically, the “veranillo” appears near June to mark the birth of San Juan Bautista (John the Baptist).
Weather experts assure that the possibility of the phenomenon spreading to the entire country this year, is neglible.
The Veranillo of San Juan occurs in South America and Central America during what is traditionally known as the “green season” or “rainy season” (“invierno” or “winter”, locally here in Costa Rica). It is basically an interruption of the rainy season.
El Veranillo de San Juan manifests itself south of the Tropic of Capricorn not only in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, but in the South American countries of Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay, where colder winter temperatures abruptly rise for a month, then fall back to their chilly regularity.
In Costa Rica, it’s less about temperature than it is about precipitation, when suddenly the skies turn blue, the rain abates and the humidity drops.
The White House recently chose Costa Rican John Herrera from thousands of entrepreneurs and innovators immigrants living in the United States as a Champion of Change.
John Herrera is an immigrant from Costa Rica and the Co-Founder of the Latino Community Credit Union, the first fully bilingual financial institution in North Carolina. A pioneering example of how businesses can creatively meet a gap in the market for the underserved, it has become the fastest growing community development credit union in the nation and a model for banking for new immigrants.
U.S. President Barack Obama has challenged Americans to help win the future by out-educating, out-innovating, and out-building our competitors in the 21st century. The White House website describes the Champions of Change as “the best ideas come from the American people. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone has a part to play. All across the country, ordinary Americans are doing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.”
On the White House blog, Herrera posed on June 4 2013, “I am honored to be named a White House Champion of Change. I am an immigrant from Costa Rica and like so many people around the world, I have always admired the spirit of Americans. I also know from experience that Latinos possess a strong entrepreneurial spirit. So, when I become a U.S. citizen on July 4, 1999, I felt it was my civic duty to help other immigrant families succeed and to help further strengthen this great country.
My work to foster entrepreneurship and greater economic opportunity for Latino families in North Carolina dates to the mid-1990s. While at the Duke Center for International Studies, I observed first-hand the rapid growth of the immigrant population in North Carolina, especially among working-class, low-income Latinos. This new and largely unbanked population experienced cultural and language barriers to accessing financial services. Most mainstream financial institutions did not view Latino immigrants as promising potential clients due to lack of credit history and low account balances. This fed a reliance on cash that resulted in increased crime against Latinos, as they were viewed as “walking banks.” I began looking for a grassroots response to the problem, gathering state and local leaders, community advocates, and the credit union community.
The outcome of these collaborations was the creation of the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU), a full service, bilingual financial institution. Starting with one branch in Durham, LCCU has become a trusted and safe place for Latinos to save money, access affordable credit, buy homes, start businesses, and build wealth for the future. We provide a full range of affordable and innovative products and services typically unavailable to low-income immigrants, such as bilingual staff, deposit and transaction accounts, loans, remittance services to Latin America, and a comprehensive financial literacy program.
The need for our services has been demonstrated by our growth. LCCU is now the largest Latino-focused credit union in the country with 55,000 member-owners and ten branches across North Carolina. We positively impact individuals and families and help create safer and more economically stable communities—a recent University of Virginia Darden School of Business study attributed a 3.8% increase in property taxes, a 4.2% overall decrease in crime, and the appreciation of $9.8 billion in taxable real estate value to the presence of LCCU branches. With LCCU’s proven record of maintaining very low delinquency rates as compared to its peers, we have become a national model for financial institutions seeking to serve unbanked, immigrant communities. Now we have begun serving immigrants and refugees from more countries, such as Myanmar, Bhutan, and Kenya, who encounter similar issues integrating into the U.S. financial system.
In my role as Vice President of Latino/Hispanic Affairs for the Center for Community Self-Help, I am well situated to explore new financial strategies to help low income families become more financially stable. Self-Help is a family of nonprofit organizations whose mission is to create and protect ownership and economic opportunity for all, and is one of the largest Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) in the country. Self-Help is a highly successful innovator, and our entrepreneurial culture has continued to inspire me to push LCCU to greater heights. My passion is to positively engage with people in all walks of life so that we can better understand and help each other.
In addition to my work at LCCU and Self-Help, I served for two terms on the Town of Carrboro’s Board of Aldermen, and I was the first immigrant to win a municipal election in North Carolina. I also helped found El Pueblo, Inc., a statewide Latino policy organization; El Centro Latino, a community-based organization; and the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders, a coalition of over 90 organizations operating in 32 states to help build community assets and family wealth in immigrant communities. I also am forever grateful for the superb education I’ve received here—an M.S. from North Carolina State University and a B.S. from the University of Delaware.
My parents taught me that we need to help others with whatever talents God gave us. I think my talent lies in my desire to help people and to bring people together to figure out how to effect meaningful change. As a naturalized U.S. citizen, I am proud of both my heritage and my U.S. citizenship as I work to help effect positive change that helps all of our families and communities.”
Foreigners like Arthur Budovsky, the suspect in the largest money-laundering scandal in history, use “marriage of convenience” to a Costa Rican national to obtain citizenship in the country.
A marriage of convenience is where one party pays another to contract marriage for the sole purpose of obtaining residency and/or citizenship, then divorce once obtained.
In the case of Budovsky, it is believed that he paid a vendor outside the immigration offices in La Uruca the sum of US$600 to use her name on the marriage certificate. Most marriages of convenience in Costa Rica cost much less, generally not more than US$100.
The Registro Civil (Civil Registry) has recently filed 221 cases of marriages of convenience with the Attorney General’s office. These are marriages in which the Registro believes the union was a sham and is taking action to have the marriage annulled.
The Procuradora General (Attorney General), Ana Lorena Brenes, confirms that so far 80 cases have been brought before the courts and 8 marriages of convenience have been annulled.
However, the process takes time.
The process of annulling marriages of convenience falls on the Juzgado Primero y Segundo de Familia de San José (San José Family Court), which has the authority to nullify the marriage and cancel naturalization of the foreigner. If the notifications occur without a hitch, the process is between 5 and 6 months. However, if the parties do not respond to the notices, the time extends to a year and possible more.
In the case of Budovsky, the Registro has moved quickly with the annulment. Chinchilla says that on Thursday the Registro had received the last legal opinion and all that is left, before filing a complaint with the Attorney General, is whether they require to take the statement of Valeria Vargas, the woman who married Budovsky.
In recent years the Codigo de Familia (Family Code) was reformed to define a marriage of convenience and become void under law.
Furthermore, Article 181bis of the Codigo Penal (Penal Code) punishes with 2 to 5 years in prison for anyone consenting to a marriage of convenience if and when they knew that the marriage was for obtaining immigration benefits or if they receive a benefit (payment) for entering into the marriage.
The same Article also penalizes Public Notaries who participate in the sham.
Next time you decide to eat out or get a quick bite at the local soda, keep in mind that restaurant workers in the Gran Área Metropolitana (GAM) – San José metropolitan area – do not wash their hands very well, this according to a study about the practices and attitudes in hygiene and food handling by the School of Nutrition at the University of Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Chamber of Restaurants (Cacore).
The investigation evaluated evelen CACORE member restaurants in the GAM, of which two are independents, three are franchises and six food service chains.
The coordinator of the study, Paola Páez, reveals that only 12% (1 in 8) of the total times did restaurant employees handling food wash well their hands (follow correct procedures) during the course of the day.
Páez added that the lack of necessary equipment in restaurants and bad habits of workers as the main causes.
The investigation also revealed another problem area is in the food production process, where only 36% complied with the correct procedures for proper food handling.
The study used took in three areas: food storage, food production and customer service.
The criteria used to establish correct procedures are based on the Regulations for Food Services of the Ministry of Health.
This is the first evaluation in the country on the hygiene practices in restaurants.
A cause and effect of the decrease of used car imports in Costa Rica, threatens businesses and will probably hike used car prices. Costa Rica is one of the few countries were used cars appreciate in value.
According to the Cámara Costarricense Automotriz (Automobile Association of importers and exporters), used car imports fell 40% this year, threatening some 2.000 local importers having to close down their business, resulting in the loss of some 50.000 jobs.
The decrease is measured against imports for the same five month period in 2012.
The reduction in imports also affects the government coffers, as the Ministerio de Hacienda (Finance Ministry) stands to lose some ¢48 billion colones (US$96 million dollars) in tax revenue.
Businesses say the decrease in imports is directly a result of a recent government policies that include an increase in the taxable value of vehicles , approved at the end of last year. Owners of new cars currently pay a 53% tax, while owners of used cars pay a 79% tax.
Another measure affecting used car imports are changes to the Traffic Law that went into effect last October. The new traffic law prohibits the import of vehicles totalled in accidents. In the past, importers would visit car auctions in Florida, for example, buy clunkers, damaged cars and cars written off by insurance companies in the United States, import them into Costa Rica and fix them and resell them or used for spare parts.
The cost of labour to repair a vehicle is much lower in Costa Rica and since car prices are high, the business of importing wrecks was a viable one.
Other problems facing used car imports are red tape. The Vehicle Association says new processing procedures have caused delays, up to two weeks or more, for owners to retrieve the vehicles from customs. Meanwhile, processing procedures for new cars takes only a few days.
It is expected that representatives of the Association and Hacienda will meet later this month to evaluate possible solutions.
Deiby Aju es un homosexual que vive en Nicoya y trabaja en una peluqueriaPhoto by Pinar Istek
Perspective of homosexuality in the communities of Nicoya and Nosara make the discrimination of homosexuality invisible in the area
Deiby Aju es un homosexual que vive en Nicoya y trabaja en una peluqueriaPhoto by Pinar Istek
By: Oriana Sujey Ortiz Vindas/ VozdeGuanacaste – “Not everyone can come out into the sunlight,” said Deiby Aju, referring to the double standard that exists, influenced by strong family, religious and social pressures. Aju is a homosexual who lives in Nicoya and related that he is happy for having respected himself, his personality and openly declaring himself homosexual, although it wasn’t at all easy.
The perspective of homosexuality in the communities of Nicoya and Nosara are permeated by religious beliefs and social rules of what “is accepted and what is not” and consequently make the discrimination of homosexuality invisible in the area.
Overall, the opinions collected among neighbors of these two locations about their perception of homosexuality indicated that they don’t agree with it for religious reasons. Some indicated that if their children had an unconventional sexual preference, they would accept them, but on the contrary, others indicated that they would reject them.
There aren’t any studies that typify or quantify the homosexual population of Costa Rica but during a mapping conducted in 2007 by the Center of Investigation and Promotion of Human Rights for Central America (Cipacdh) in socializing centers for the bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender population, they tabulated that in the meeting places for this population living in the greater metropolitan area, there is a regular attendance of 7000 gay men in a single day.
For Aju, living the process of the assimilation of his sexual inclination by his family and classmates was very difficult. He suffered a very marked rejection from his father, “who represents the typical role of the manly womanizer,” and his high school classmates would even leave when he arrived because of this belief that “this could be contagious,” the 19-year-old youth recalled.
Aju realized that he had homosexual inclinations in school. He said he was always very feminine. When he gave the news of his homosexuality to his family, his uncles reacted by not speaking to him for a while. He even received criticisms like, “Aren’t you ashamed to walk around dressed this way?” This period of “acceptance” in his family environment took between four and five years.
Aju concluded that “you can’t change people’s perception, but you should generate an environment of respect.” Adding to this, he thinks there is a greater rejection of more effeminate homosexuals.
Currently, Aju works as a stylist and studies psychology, with the desire of understanding people and he indicated that he is very interested in focusing on collaborating with the theme of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movements.
For his part, Jordan Baltodano, from Corralillo of Nicoya, a homosexual of 18 years of age, had strong family pressure to bring home a girlfriend, so he went out with four women before completely accepting his real sexual inclination.
Regarding his personal story, Baltodano at age 12 felt different from others and from conventional sexual preferences, but it wasn’t until he was 15 that he completely accepted his homosexuality.
His mother found out about his homosexuality in the middle of an argument with her son, and her reaction was to not speak to him for three days.
The mother, after getting the news, acted with indifference, fear and insecurity and restricted when he could go out but as time passed her attitude changed and now she supports him. His mother doesn’t agree with his homosexuality but she respects it and never asked him to try to change, expressed Baltodano.
It was a different case with his sisters, as girls and adolescents, who accepted their brother’s inclination from the beginning, an indicator of a more tolerant perception open to diversity in the younger generations.
For Baltodano, the process of assimilation of his preference has been complicated. On one occasion he tried to commit suicide by overdosing on pills, and at times he wants to change, to not accept his homosexuality.
The social pressure causes homosexuals to feel totally excluded. “You get to feel like a bug due to the constant comments and looks; it’s a daily struggle that tires you out,” emphasized Aju.
Does Gay Love Exist?
Regarding the existence of gay love, both Aju and Baltodano consider homosexual relationships to be more promiscuous. They are motivated primarily by the sexual desire and later by sentiments. They link it to human nature, which is more inclined to the fleshly.
In contrast with this previous affirmation, an anonymously-interviewed lesbian woman in her 40s who lives in a coastal town in the Canton of Nicoya, whom we will call Judy, affirmed that gay love is real, that she has been and is in love in this moment.
The Concept of Life Based on Religion
Referring to the theme of religion, Aju and Baltodano feel like sinners, influenced by their upbringing based on beliefs that God punishes homosexuality and on ideas of the collective social image of what is “accepted” in sexual preferences.
Regarding his religious experience, Aju attended a church and didn’t return because of indirect remarks of rejection and discrimination by the pastor. Nonetheless, he affirms that he believes in God and this gives him a sense of living in sin.
For his part, Baltodano is evangelical and decided not to return to the church because he questions why God permitted him to be this way.
Judy made reference to the persecution of insults and harassment she lived on behalf of a religious group that her mother attended after the family found out that she was a lesbian.
For Nosara’s Catholic priest, Juan Galindo, homosexuality is a sickness with psychological and social causes that principally affects men at young ages.
For his part, the pastor of the Iglesia de Dios del Evangelio Completo (Church of God of the Complete Gospel) of Nosara, Henry Matarrita, homosexuality can be seen in two stages, the spiritual side based on the disobedience of man, and in the sense that it is a sickness. He clarified that God did not create people with this condition.
These two religious authorities agreed that sexual preferences different from heterosexuality is considered a sickness for the groups that they represent, based on Bible teachings, although neither could site specifically in which part of the Scriptures such an assertion is made.
Regarding the emotional effects that homosexuals experience, Galindo assured that, after practicing homosexuality, they suffer remorse, for their principles, they have an emotional clash. Both religious leaders mentioned that the people with unconventional sexual preferences should submit themselves to processes to change.
Matarrita commented on the experience of a friend of his who was a homosexual and is now married and has a daughter, and right now he is a preacher. “God made an agreement with him,” he remarked.
If homosexual couples approach the congregations, both Galindo and Matarrita expressed that there would be no problem for them to attend but they could not be actively involved in the groups’ activities.
The Rights of Cohabitation
For Aju and Baltodano, the Sociedades de Convivencia (Societies of Cohabitation) law project is necessary, although they don’t know all its details. The initiative looks to create and regulate a new figure called “society of cohabitation” with the purpose of protecting the personal and patrimonial rights of couples composed of people of the same sex, for example benefits of the social security system, the national financial system for housing, legal inheritance and special visits in case of hospitalization or imprisonment of the domestic partner.
For both, Costa Rica is still not prepared to make changes like accepting gay marriage, approving the Societies of Cohabitation law project or permitting people of the same sex to raise children.
Both of the interviewees do not support children being raised by parents of the same sex. Aju believes that they will be influences by the homosexual patterns and in addition that it would be difficult socially for the children to be questioned about their parents.
To the contrary, Judy testified to an experience of childrearing by a homosexual couple that she knows and mentioned that this child is a person that is growing up in an integral way and with excellent values and attitudes.
Regarding the approval of this law project, the priest Galindo expressed the opinion that we all have rights but that there are certain institutions that have specific rights, like the family. Adding to the aforementioned, he highlighted that politicians should stop to reflect on the possible consequences of giving the rights that families have to homosexuals, and he mentioned that “if they manifest abnormal behaviors, they should receive a different treatment.”
The Voice interviewed seven residents of Nosara and Nicoya. A member of the community of Nosara, Stephanie Artavia, thinks that on the one hand the Societies of Cohabitation law project should pass since a couple that lives together, no matter if it is man-man, woman-woman or man-woman, is forging a social structure, and on the other hand she believes that for social reasons it shouldn’t pass since homosexuality should not be seen as natural and it would be giving them a sort of push.
The above opinion and several of those provided by neighbors show a clear synchronism between religious beliefs, the concept of civil rights and the social standards that propitiate a mixed perception of the rights that all citizens should be able to access without exceptions of ideological, political, religious or, in this case, sexual preferences.
In addition, it must be clarified that the concept of homosexuality is tinted by a vision of “sexual illness” amplified by the taboo that normally represents sexuality in our society since those interviewed have definite opinions over homosexual sexual preferences; however this certainty is diluted when the person is asked the same thing but in the case that their children were the homosexuals. This fact also reflects a sense of distance from unconventional sexual preferences.
What Do You Think About Homosexuality?
“Homosexuality is abnormal; what God made is husband and wife. If I had a homosexual child I would leave it in God’s hands. I would ask him to change and if he doesn’t change I wouldn’t accept it.” Lubiz Pichardo of Nicoya
“I respect and love any person. If I had a homosexual child, I would treat him with love, without despising or isolating him. Science has told us that it is possible for someone to have a different preference, so I would have to accept it.” Stephanie Artavia of Nosara
“If homosexuals are happy as they are, they should be respected. If the Societies of Cohabitation law project makes them happy, let it pass. If I had a homosexual child, I would support him; I would help him; I wouldn’t treat him differently because of his preference.” José Zúñiga of Nicoya
“We are Christian and we don’t accept homosexuality. God made us man and woman. If I had a homosexual child, I would try to teach him, to educate him so he would change, but I wouldn’t reject him. Yes, they should have civil rights like the ones outlined in the Societies of Cohabitation law project, but it shouldn’t be accepted that they live together as a couple.” Isabel Umaña of Nosara
Eleven earthquakes, four of which were greater than 3.0 on the Richeter Scale, shook Costa Rica in the past week. The quakes were in different areas, mainly concentrated in the middle and south of the country.
According to the Red Sismológica Nacional (RSN) -National Seismological Network – of the University of Costa Rica, the first quake was on June 8 at 1:50am, a quake registering 3.5, located 2km southwest of Paraiso de Cartago. A minute later, twelve hours later, at 1:51pm, a 2.8 quake was registered 3km northeast of Orosi de Paraiso de Cartago.
On the same day (June 8), the ground shook again at 3:28pm, registering 3.7 some 19km southwest of Jacó; and at 5:58pm, a 4.8 some 48 km west of Cabo Velas de Santa Cruz, Guanacaste.
On June 9, a 4.1 quake hit 1km northeast of Zarcero de Alajuela at 3:18pm; and again at 6.57pm, a 4.3 magnitude quake 17 km southeast of Luarel de Corredores.
On June 10, a 3.37 magnitude quake was registered at 12:30m, located 32 km northeast of Samara de Nicoya.
On June 12, the ground shook again, the first at 12:48am, a 3.2 in Cerro Uran; and at 8:59am a 4.5 magnitude quake hit 5km east of Quepos.
On June 13, at 11:11am, a 3.8 quake was felt some 30 km southeast of Sixaola.
The RSN readings differ some from the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica, Universidad Nacional (OVISCORI). Click here the OVISCORI readings.
Seismological activity is normal in Costa Rica. Experts tell us there is nothing to be alarmed.
At theatres across San José the ‘Man of Steel’, the New Superma movie, makes its debut this Thursday afternoon, – in both dubbed and subtitled, 2D and 3D versions – ahead of the June 14 release date in the U.S.
It’s really hard to make a good Superman movie. The bar is high, and well-established: Richard Donner’s 1979 Superman the Movie and its 1981 follow-up have, thus far, proven timelessly definitive in a way no other Superman film has been able to touch.
But the biggest problem with tackling such an iconic character–especially when he’s been around for almost a century in countless iterations–is that you will never ever be able to capture everything that makes him resonate with your audience, because my definitive Superman is not necessarily your definitive Superman. Still, there are consistent threads that have defined the character throughout that time, things Superman represents in the larger superhero landscape that matter.
Jerry Siegel initially conceived Superman as a Nietzschean über-mensch with telepathic powers who was bent on world domination. He was a ruthless, terribly bald villain whose first appearance came in the short story “The Reign of the Superman” in January 1933.
Later, with the help of artist Joe Shuster, Superman was reimagined as a dashing hero with superhuman strength and abilities. His looks were modeled after Douglas Fairbanks, the actor best known for playing Robin Hood and Zorro during the silent era. In June 1938, Superman—as we know him—debuted in Action Comics No. 1.
The children of Jewish immigrants, Siegel and Shuster are believed to have fashioned their tale as a cultural-assimilation saga modeled after the plight of the American Jew (which may help explain Jerry Seinfeld’s extreme fandom). Man of Steel, the latest cinematic take on Superman, helmed by Zack Snyder, portrays the “last son of Krypton” as Christ.
Gasoline prices should be coming down next month, not by much, but still a drop.
The Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (Recope) calculates that the price of litre of super gasoline should drop ¢5 colones, regular gasoline ¢1, however, diesel fuel will increase ¢2 colones.
Although the final decision rests with the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresept), Recope authorities consider that the international market conditions point to a decline.
If approved by the Aresep, the price of litre of super would drop to ¢737 from the ¢742 colones per litre, regular would drop to ¢701 from the current ¢702 and diesel would increase to ¢621 from the current ¢619.
