The downtown San José hospital, the San Juan de Dios, is celebrating 168 years of service with the campaign “Yo amo al hospital San Juan de Dios” (I love the San Juan de Dios hospital).
The campaign includes recorded messages by doctors, nurses and patients that have passed through the hospital over the years, broadcast over the hospital’s internal sound system.
On Friday and Saturday, planned are recreational activities at the medical centred.
Costa Rica’s Foreign Trade Ministry (COMEX) has announced that its updated free trade agreement (FTA) with Mexico, and a new trade treaty with Singapore, both entered into force on July 1.
To increase further trade and investment between the two countries, Costa Rica’s FTA with Mexico improves the agreement signed in 1994. It now forms part of the Mexico-Central American FTA signed in November 2011, which consolidates the previously-separate treaties Mexico had with Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua into one agreement and, it is hoped, will also stimulate intra-regional trade.
COMEX has disclosed that, during the last decade, bilateral trade between Costa Rica and Mexico has shown an average annual rise of 12.6 percent, from USD511m in 2002 to almost USD1.5bn in 2012, although Mexico exports to Costa Rica are still more than three times as much as those in the opposite direction. In addition, at USD350m in 2012, Mexico became the second largest investor in Costa Rica.
The bilateral FTA, signed by Costa Rica and Singapore in April 2010, which also became effective on the same date, is a broad-based and comprehensive agreement, covering issues such as trade in goods, rules of origin, customs procedures, technical barriers to trade, competition policy, trade in services, investment, e-commerce, intellectual property rights and dispute settlement.
Costa Rica will eliminate import duties on 90.6 percent of its imports from Singapore, with the tariff on the remaining products to be eliminated over a period of 10 years (with a provision for acceleration, if subsequently agreed). On its part, Singapore will be granting immediate duty free access for all imports from Costa Rica.
In a statement, COMEX confirmed that Costa Rica already has a surplus in its trade balance with Singapore. During the period between 2002 and last year, Costa Rican exports to Singapore reported an average annual growth of 45.7 percent to USD746.1m, while its imports from Singapore reached only USD33m.
By Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com
By accident, Costa Rica’s lawmakers have made same-sex unions legal, approving on Monday changes to Articl22 of the “Ley de Persona Joven” (Law of Young People), that prior to change recognized unions only is between a man and a woman.
tThe new bill states, “the right to recognition without discrimination contrary to human dignity, social and economic effects of domestic partnerships that constitute publicly, notoriously unique and stable, with legal capacity for marriage for more than three years”.
Conservative lawmakers, realizing the error, are now asking Presidenta Laura Chinchilla to use her veto power. Legislators like Manrique Oviedo of the Partido Accion Cuiadana (PAC) says he “feels deceived” and accepts “making a mistake” in voting for the bill.
Legislator for the Frenta Amplio, José Maria Villalta, explains that conservative lawmakers “simply didn’t read the entire bill” before voting in approval.
The bill still requires approval in second and final vote and if it passes, Costa Rica would join the five other Latin American countries that have approved same-sex unions.
Brazil was the most recent to do so on May 14, 2013.
Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriages on July 22, 2010.
The Colombian Constitutional Court ruled in February 2007 that same-sex couples are entitled to the same inheritance rights as heterosexuals in common-law marriages. This ruling made Colombia the first South American nation to legally recognize gay couples. In January 2009, the Court ruled that same-sex couples must be extended all of the rights offered to cohabitating heterosexual couples. On July 26, 2011, the Court ordered the Congress to pass the legislation giving same-sex couples similar rights to marriage in two years (by June 20, 2013). If such a law is not passed until then, same-sex couples will be granted these rights automatically.
The 2008 new constitution made Ecuador the first country in South America where same sex civil union couples are legally recognized as a family and share all the same rights of married heterosexual couples (except for adoption).
Uruguay became the first country in South America to allow civil unions (for both opposite sex and same-sex couples) in a national platform on 1 January 2008. Children can be adopted by same-sex couples since 2009. A same-sex marriage bill passed in the Chamber of Deputies in December 2012,as well as in the Senate in April 2013 but with minor amendments. The amended bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in a 71–21 vote on April 10 and then on May 6, 2013 got the signature from the President. The marriage laws become effective from August 1, 2013.
Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83).
In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson.
The tradition of patriotic celebration became even more widespread after the War of 1812, in which the United States again faced Great Britain. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday; in 1941, the provision was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees. Over the years, the political importance of the holiday would decline, but Independence Day remained an important national holiday and a symbol of patriotism.
Falling in mid-summer, the Fourth of July has since the late 19th century become a major focus of leisure activities and a common occasion for family get-togethers, often involving fireworks and outdoor barbecues. The most common symbol of the holiday is the American flag, and a common musical accompaniment is “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the national anthem of the United States.
From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.
How are you celebrating your 4th of July? Share your stories using the comments section below.
Taxis lined up at the Juan Santamaria airport terminal.
Photo taken prior to the latest renovations.
Photo: Christian Tosso / https://www.facebook.com/ctosso
Coca-Cola has the cure for a summer meltdown — a new bottle made entirely of ice.
The ice-cold soda container is shaped just like the iconic glass bottle, with Spencerian script lettering engraved in ice. The bottle is wrapped with a red rubber band, which doubles as a bracelet, that bears the Coke logo to prevent frozen fingers.
The bottle melts when consumers are finished for easy and eco-friendly disposal, though critics mention all the excess refrigeration to keep the container from melting cancels out the environmental benefits.
The production process consists of micro-filtered water poured and frozen into silicon molds at 13 degrees Fahrenheit. The beachside beverage is then poured into the ice-cold bottle.
Beachside servers have sold 265 frozen bottles an hour on average, according to Coca-Cola’s website, which describes the new bottle as “Fria hasta la ultima gota,” or “Cold to the last drop.”
The chilly product is available exclusively in Colombia for now.
It is not confirmed if and when it might be available in Costa Rica!
Ticket scalping in Costa Rica is one of those grey areas of while not illegal, it is not tolerated, yet accepted. Case in point is the confiscation by the San José Municipal Police of tickets for the United States – Costa Rica game in September.
On Tuesday, authorities descended on the area in front of the National Stadium and confiscated 45 tickets from several resellers. Police say the confiscation was because the resellers were offering the tickets in public areas and wanted to confirm that the tickets being scalped had been bought and paid for and were not fakes.
On Wednesday, Marcelo Solano, director of the Municipal police force, said in a radio interview that the tickets would be returned to resellers if they can prove they purchased them.
There is little that we can do about tickets sold on Facebook, Twitter or Mercado Libre unless false
Talking on the Nuesta Voz radio program, Solano explained that the confiscated tickets were now in the hands of the Juzgado Contravencional de Pavas (Misdemeanor Court) and the legitimate owners could claim them.
Reselling of tickets to concerts, soccer games and other events is not illegal in Costa Rica. Solano explained that the confiscation was because it was done in a public place. The police director sad that the cops can’t do anything if the transaction is “in private”.
The police action on Tuesday followed the outcry by many who could not buy tickets at face value on Monday, forced to buy at inflated prices on the street. The sale of the tickets began at 10am Monday and by 2:30pm the say day all 28.000 tickets had been sold out.
Some believe that government spending is putting Costa Rica on the same path as Greece. The colon is expensive. Consumers are not spending. But these are only the symptoms of economic malaise in the country.
The cause is deeped, in that each year the government spends more money than it collects.
The excess spending is mostly in salaries of public sector employees who often earn twice as much as their counterparts in the private sector. And each year the government continues to accumulate debt it can never pay.
If this sounds similar that what happened in Italy and Greece, you are right.
The problems in Costa Rica are not yet as severe as of those countries, but each year it is coming closer, as the situation worsens.
A serious government would deal with the issue because of the unbearable situation.
Costa Ricans have a change to turn this around. There is a presidential election in February, a chance to elect leaders who have the will and the capacity wot deal with this critical issue.
To the contrary…who will be affected? The simple answer is “all”.
Few investors will invest, retail sales will slow down, employee wages will remain low, youth employment will be minimal, the cost of living will rise and retirement pension values will fall.
The problem at hand is that, this year the government will spend double of the revenue, just as it did last year. Excessive government spending has more than doubled in the last two years.
Each year, the government spends more than it can afford to pay, so every year the country goes into deeper debt that the year before.
The most likely scenario is to print more money. But to what point? When the new money has no value? The result, higher prices.
Borrowing money is another option. If the government were efficient in using borrowed money it would not be a problem.
Other options available to the government include increasing taxes. Force profitable businesses to pay their fair share of taxes and thus reducing unfair competition with other companies.
The criticism to increased taxes is that government reduce spending. This would mean fewer public employees with fewer benefits. Government employees must accept reasonable wages.
The saving grace, for now, is that government debt in Costa Rica is still low compared to that of Greece and Italy, so that the next crisis will not happen this year or next.
But, if the country does not change is course, inevitable it will reach the crisis point…
With notes from La Republica.net
Costa Rica’s Health Ministry on Tuesday declared a health alert due to a dengue or breakbone fever outbreak which has claimed three lives and infected about 12,000 people so far this year.
Health Minister Daisy Corrales said the infection rate was four times worse than that of 2012. Corrales also confirmed that the three deaths were from the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever.
“We have to warn the population so that they do not end up in emergency situations,” she stressed.
Corrales warned that authorities were concerned that three dengue strains were in circulation heading into the rainy season, a prime time for mosquitoes that transmit the disease.
The worst outbreaks of the disease have been in towns on the Pacific coast, popular with sun-and-sand vacationers.
In Parrita for example, there have been 525 infections in the past five weeks.
Dengue is transmitted by several species of mosquito within the genus Aedes, principally A. aegypti. The virus has four different types; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type, but only short-term immunity to the others. Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications. As there is no commercially available vaccine, prevention is sought by reducing the habitat and the number of mosquitoes and limiting exposure to bites.
Treatment of acute dengue is supportive, using either oral or intravenous rehydration for mild or moderate disease, and intravenous fluids and blood transfusion for more severe cases. The incidence of dengue fever has increased dramatically since the 1960s, with around 50–100 million people infected yearly. Early descriptions of the condition date from 1779, and its viral cause and the transmission were elucidated in the early 20th century. Dengue has become a global problem since the Second World War and is endemic in more than 110 countries. Apart from eliminating the mosquitoes, work is ongoing on a vaccine, as well as medication targeted directly at the virus.
Typically, people infected with dengue virus are asymptomatic (80%) or only have mild symptoms such as an uncomplicated fever. Others have more severe illness (5%), and in a small proportion it is life-threatening. The incubation period (time between exposure and onset of symptoms) ranges from 3–14 days, but most often it is 4–7 days. Therefore, travelers returning from endemic areas are unlikely to have dengue if fever or other symptoms start more than 14 days after arriving home. Children often experience symptoms similar to those of the common cold and gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhea) and have a greater risk of severe complications,though initial symptoms are generally mild but include high fever.
There are no approved vaccines for the dengue virus. Prevention thus depends on control of and protection from the bites of the mosquito that transmits it. The World Health Organization recommends an Integrated Vector Control program consisting of five elements: (1) Advocacy, social mobilization and legislation to ensure that public health bodies and communities are strengthened, (2) collaboration between the health and other sectors (public and private), (3) an integrated approach to disease control to maximize use of resources, (4) evidence-based decision making to ensure any interventions are targeted appropriately and (5) capacity-building to ensure an adequate response to the local situation.
The U.S. Embassy San José and the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud (Ministry of Culture and Youth) invite to the Mary McBride concert Wednesday, July 3, at the Anfiteatro del Centro Nacional de Cultura (CENAC), Antigua FANAL, San José.
The concert stars at 4pm, it is free and open to the public.
The CENAC is located diagonal to the Casa Amarilla (the Foreign Ministry) in Barrio Amón,
Mary McBride and her band have released four albums – “Everything Seemed Alright,” “By Any Other Name,” “Every Day Is a Holiday,” and “The Way Home.” In the past year, Mary and her band have performed in the US, Europe, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Pakistan, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, Afghanistan, Italy, Albania and Algeria.
Mary has most recently been touring as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. State Department, for which she is also developing versions of the “Home Tour,” which she founded to provide live music concerts for underserved communities.
Mary is the founder of the Home Tour, which brings musical concerts to the homes of people who otherwise would not have access to live music. The Home Tour travels throughout the U.S. and abroad to “places people call home,” including facilities such as long-term health care centers, homeless shelters, orphanages, prisons, homes in supported-housing communities, homes for people living with HIV/AIDS, homes for disabled veterans returning from service; and homes for people living with mental and physical disabilities.
Air Canada launched its discount service Rouge on Monday, with a flight from Toronto to Kingston, Jamaica; it was followed by a flight to Liberia, Costa Rica.
With suitcases, sunglasses and sandals in tow, customers were greeted by a veritable island party at Pearson Airport gates E70 and E71 in honour of the inaugural liftoff.
Ya Mon, no worries! CEO Michael Friisdahl, left, and VP of Customer Experience Renee Smith-Valade, right, celebrate Canada Day by announcing Air Canada rouge’s first ever flight to Kingston, Jamaica and Liberia, Costa Rica at Toronto Pearson International Airport on July 1, 2013. Air Canada rouge flies to Western Europe and the Caribbean from its Toronto hub and twice weekly flights to Athens from Montreal, with more routes coming in the fall.
Rouge is all part of a strategy by Air Canada to get a chunk of the growing leisure market. Competition will be stiff as Canada’s largest airline tries to muscle in on routes that have been dominated by charters like Air Transat and Sunwing or rival WestJet Airlines.
Air Canada Rouge president and CEO Michael Friisdahl said the key is creating an on-board experience that is different, given that Rouge’s fares will be competitive due to its new lower cost structure.
“That’s the price of entry into the leisure market,” he said. “What we will now need to ensure is when customers board our airplanes, the experience they will have for that very competitive price will be an experience that they will appreciate.”
Direct flights to Costa Rica are difficult to come by at this time of year, said Anne McFarlane of Milton, who appreciated being able to skip the layover and U.S. paperwork on the way to her condo in the Central American country.
According to the Air Canada’s timetable, effective July 11, 2013 to October 13, 2013:
Flights to Liberia (from Toronto) are once a week on Mondays.
Flights to San José (from Toronto) are twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Man: Look, two more criminals pinched!
Woman: …and from which “ministry” are they from?
‘Naked and Afraid’ is the craziest show on TV — you just have to watch – a show about the a man and a woman, strangers, stranded, buck naked in the jungles of Costa Rica, for 21 days and must survive together. Behold — the most ridiculous yet most riveting new show on TV, writes Kevin Fallon on the Daily Beast.
Two Sundays ago, TV fans and culture bloggers breathlessly tweeted the Mad Men season finale, using commercial breaks to analyze each frame, line, and drop of sweat on Don Draper’s forehead. I, on the other hand, spent commercial breaks switching channels to Discovery’s gloriously ridiculous new reality series, Naked and Afraid. It was the best decision I’ve ever made.
Kim and Shane resting in the shelter they built on Discovery’s “Naked and Afraid”.
Naked and Afraid is, in every sense of the word, an insane show. It’s also quite possibly the most riveting reality series on television. Ever.
The concept is simple, nonsensical, and utterly genius. “No food. No water. No clothes,” a booming narrator warns during the opening credits. “Can a man and woman survive alone in the wilderness naked and afraid?” It’s Man vs. Wild, but there’s a man and a woman. And they are, for no reason and every reason, buck naked. Buck naked in the jungles of Costa Rica. Bare-ass in the Tanzanian Serengeti. The goal—and it’s just that, a goal, as there is no prize for completing the mission—is to survive 21 days in the wilderness together. Naked.
It’s a terrifying prospect, really. Yes, the whole naked bit is silly and also stressful. (Think of the bug bites, the sunburns …) But perhaps better than any of the survivalist shows before it, Survivor included, Naked and Afraid manages to depict just how difficult and challenging and depressing and bleak and awe-inspiring it is to stay alive in the wild with no modern conveniences.
The “afraid” part of the title, then, really isn’t an oversell. There’s very real danger. And the “naked” half of the name, well, that’s not an oversell either.
“I’m not a kid anymore, I’m an adult now and I don’t have a problem being naked,” contestant Shane Lewis says in the opening minutes of the show’s first episode. “But I am worried about the nudity level with the predators we have out there. Every single cut is a potential serious infection.” He then nonchalantly strips off his T-shirt and shorts and waddles into the dense Costa Rican jungle naked as a jaybird, as if it’s not an absolutely ridiculous thing to do.
His female counterpart, Kim Shelton, is shown doing the same. “Should we talk about the fact that we’re both naked?” she says during their fascinating first meeting. “Maybe check each other out now?” Then they start giggling and pledge never again to address the fact that his penis is just hanging out and her boobies are out there in the sunshine.
Your heart is racing as the two survivalists attempt to save their fire from the rain so that, you know, they don’t freeze to death, but then …a butt! …
It’s understandable that they get over any insecurities associated with being naked so quickly. In the two episodes that have aired thus far, contestants become borderline hypothermic as nighttime temperatures plummet to almost unlivable numbers. The roof of one pair’s shelter is accidentally set on fire. Another pair goes more than a week without food. Hyenas swarm a camp at night. Shane encounters a snake so poisonous that a bite could render him immediately unconscious on the way to painful death within days.
“I almost died twice today,” Shane exclaims, after beheading the snake with a pointed stick he whittled to a spear. (Seriously!) “Woo! Gotta love it!” Approaching the reptile, which could kill right him there on camera, he says, “It’s all about speed and how big your balls are,” a particularly interesting turn of phrase when one considers that we can see exactly how big his balls are.
The contestants stop worrying about their nakedness so quickly because there are a hell of a lot of other things to fear. Like dying. All the time. The same can’t be said for the viewer, however. You’d think that after 42 minutes of it, you’d become desensitized to seeing the butts. But you don’t. You just don’t. (Genitals and breasts, however, are pixilated.)
It makes for a viewing experience like no other: your heart is racing as the two survivalists attempt to save their fire from the rain so that, you know, they don’t freeze to death, but then … a butt! … and you kind of giggle even as your pulse quickens in fright for these poor contestants. It’s a curious emotional experience, to say the least.
Already, as happens with hit series, a bit of controversy is swirling around Naked and Afraid. The New York Post put the show on blast after the series premiere, reporting that producers played down how much help they gave violently ill contestant Kim Shelton, apparently hydrating her off-camera through an IV. But then Episode 2 showed in great detail the lengths producers were forced to intervene on E.J.’s behalf, and, really, not losing a smidgen of the sense of danger by doing so. If anything, producer intervention raised the stakes of the show, shining a brighter spotlight on how serious and challenging it is. Producers would be wise to do it more often.
Remember on Season 2 of Survivor, when producers were shown on camera for the first time running to help contestant Mike, who passed out and fell into a fire? CBS promoted the intervention incessantly, and it was one of the most tense, dramatic moments the series has ever had. Or what about all those times producers had to step on camera to help or talk to a house member on The Real World? It never cheapened the show. It made watching more exciting.
That’s not to say Naked and Afraid is all drama. There’s as much silliness as one would expect from a show with such a campy title.
There’s the time, for example, that contestant Kellie Nightliner goes fishing with her vagina. Yep. She just sits in a pool of water and spreads her legs, using her nether regions as bait. When a fish swims toward the promised land, she clamps her legs closed and traps it. “Maybe now, [fellow contestant] E.J. will treat me as an equal,” she says, filled with pride over being the first of the two to catch a decent source of protein. And you know what? He really does.
Plus, unlike Survivor, whose cast members magically appear camera-ready with long hair billowing sexily in the wind, the Naked and Afraid contestants, as time goes on, look like crap. Kellie’s hair starts to form tangled dreadlocks, and E.J. looks so dirty you can practically smell him through the TV.
So if there’s a little bit of a hole in your life now that there’s no Don Draper existentialism to decipher for the rest of the summer, you can do worse for yourself than to tune in to Naked and Afraid Sunday nights at 10 EST on Discovery.
Source: The Daily Beast
According to the state insurer, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS), it has budgeted ¢13 billion colones for patient care resulting from traffic accidents for 2013, estimating some 2.000 more traffic accidents over last year.
The INS says it has seen an increase in traffic accidents and estimates it will pay out some ¢13.169 billion colones for the year, while in 2012 it paid out ¢11.4 billion.
Most of the money goes towards medical care, hospitalization and surgery among ohers.
In the face of the increased costs and accident rate, the state insurer will this month be sponsoring an awareness campaign.
According to INS, if the accident rate continues at the same pace as the first five months of the year (January to May), it expects a total of 26.700 traffic accidents for the year or 73 traffic accidents daily.
A sixty year old expat was murdered inside his house in San Pedro Monday night, in what appears to be a involving a woman and two assailants.
According to police, the French national, only identified by his last name Vigorett, was returning home in the company of a young woman and her two male friends.
His motive was…we can only guess. Theirs was robbery.
Police report that once at the house, the assailants beat and gagged their victim. Preliminary reports indicate that the tape suffocated the mam.
The woman and the two men fled the scene.
Commentary: This case is just one of many involving foreigners in the company of a young woman, becoming a victim of an assault and robbery, never coming to the attention of authorities. Unfortunately, last nights attack result in a death
In many such the victim (foreigner) does not report the incident for embarrassment, for fear of reprisal or the feeling that nothing will be done.
In the exapt community such stories are common. Every expat knows someone who has live through this type of ordeal, it is cannot be escaped.
Without victimizing the victim, many a male expat throws caution to the wind, puts aside common sense and becomes overcome by the very nature of the excitement of a young female companion. Only later to learn that the attraction was not his charm or wit, but rather his wallet and/or material things in his home.
“The firm complied with all its obligations as it has operations in other countries. However, since we weren’t allowed to perform washing and packing work on the farms, we did lose fruits in the field, “he said.
Despite that the game is schedule for September 6, the air of revenge took over Costa Rica’s soccer fans on Monday, buying up all 28.000 tickets in less than five hours.
For many the qualifying game, to be played in Costa Rica, is payback for the snow ridden game last March that resulted in a Tico loss.
In the end, thousands had smiles on their faces buying their tickets for the sold out game. However, many thousands more, left with nothing but a sad look on their faces, after having stood in line for up to 8 hours.
Although people lined up starting Sunday, it wasn’t until 10am Monday when the Fedefútbol – Costa Rican Soccer Federation – gave the green light to Specialticket.net to start selling.
The bad news came at 2:30pm when Fedefútbol officially announced the game was sold out.
The tickets sold like hotcakes. Rafael Vargas, head of the Fedefútbol, commented that if they had a bigger stadium, perhaps one with 50.000 seats, they would have sold at as well.
“From point of the view of the soccer association the income is important, but we have to thank the fans for being keen to take in the game with the Unites States”, said Vargas.
The Third Pollo Tropical Restaurant, the Caribbean-inspired quick-casual restaurant chain, in Costa Rica Opens in San Jose’s Exclusive Escazú District.
The newest Pollo Tropical is a free-standing unit with a drive-thru and is the third of five restaurants expected to be opened by Pollo’s Costa Rican franchisee, Chicken Tropical Service SA of Panama.
The Escazú district is an upscale enclave in Costa Rica, with some of the most exclusive shopping and dining in the country. This new location is situated on a principle traffic artery in proximity to Avenida Escazu – a modern outdoor mall with international brands such as Tiffany, Guess, Starbucks and more.
“This is among our most anticipated franchised locations opening this year,” said Marc Mushkin, Senior Vice President of International Development for Pollo Tropical. “Our brand is now the center of attention in what is considered to be one of the most vibrant and desirable commercial and residential real estate areas in Costa Rica.”
Pollo Tropical, a subsidiary of Fiesta Restaurant Group, Inc. owns and operates 96 locations in the United States (Florida, Georgia and Tennessee) plus four licensed restaurants located on college campuses in Florida. The company has 34 international franchised locations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, India, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago, Venezuela and has development agreements in place for additional franchised units in those areas.
Do you know the name (technical or slang) for a plant that grows on (and does not harm!) another plant/tree/building/etc.? ep·i·phyte (p-ft)
While for the rest of country, it is still celebrating Canada Day, it appears that in Quebec the day is “Moving Day holiday”, this to a Best Buy promotion that provoke an angry response on social media.
Best Buy is defending its decision, CBC News reports.
The retailer says July 1 is a popular moving day in Quebec, since many leases in the province terminate at the end of June.
Early Sunday afternoon, Best Buy Canada’s Facebook page had about 30 angry posts from customers, many of them threatening to boycott the store.
“You know we celebrate Canada Day in Quebec too, right?” wrote Facebook user Lori-Anne Sernoskie.
Elizabeth Henry joked, “Can anyone tell me where to find a Moving Day flag? I have a Canadian Flag that needs replacing.”
Danielle Jang, spokeswoman for Best Buy, replied to the criticism in a statement sent to CBC News.
“Like every year, we feel it is important to recognize the Moving Day holiday in Quebec because it is a significant day in this market and it’s the only place in Canada where this happens,” she said.
“We want to celebrate and recognize this as an important day.”
American professional golfer, Roberto Castro, whose father is Costa Rican, chipped in from 80 feet for par at the 18th hole to remain in a four-way tie for the lead after the third round of the $AU7 million US PGA National.
[youtube id=”veJL1tP1CzI” width=”620″ height=”360″]
Castro, whose best PGA finish is a share of seventh at the 2012 Greenbrier Classic, found the water with his approach on the final hole at Congressional Country Club but plopped the ball over a ridge and curled it into the cup.
“Saving a bogey would have been huge. Making a par is just a bonus,” Castro said. “I thought I could just tumble it over the top of the ridge there. I told myself to be aggressive and get it back in there and it came out perfect.”
The dramatic shot ended a par-71 round and kept Castro level with countrymen James Driscoll and Bill Haas and Argentina’s Andres Romero on seven-under par 206 after 54 holes on a wild day that saw leader after leader falter.
Four players are the most to share a 54-hole US PGA lead this year.
Masters champion Adam Scott was the best-placed Australian. He fired three birdies on his way to a two-under 69 round to rocket 23 places up the leaderboard into a tie for 27th place on 213.
Fellow Australian Jason Day (71) was a further shot back, eight strokes off the pace on 214.
The brainchild of Dr. Franklin Chang, Costa Rican-American astronaut and physics scientist, the engine began development years ago but gained impetus as NASA’s interest in it deepened.
The plasma engine cannot be used for liftoff to carry it into space but, once there, is cheaper to run, more flexible to use and has a longer range than traditional chemical rockets that began development in the 1930s.
Chang himself speculates that at first it may be used to stooge around in orbits closer to the earth, collecting and disposing of “space junk,” burned out rocket stages and obsolete or defective satellites that pose a hazard to the earth’s population if they are not small enough to burn up in re-entry.
This alone would be worth development costs and efforts, but bigger plans are afoot for it. The Ad Astra engine may power the first manned mission to Mars, taking explorers there much faster than with current technology, not to mention great reductions of cost.
Designated the VF200, the engine passed some 200 modifications with flying colors. The U.S. half of the bi-national company is in Houston, Texas, where it can be close to the Johnson Space Center, a technology cluster.
The Plasma engine is a bright light for NASA after severe budget cutbacks and the retirement of the headline-setting space shuttle program. The last shuttle, Atlantis, has been installed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and opened to the public on display this week.
All other surviving shuttles have been scattered around the U.S. in museums for static display. Today, all new equipment going into space and to the International Space Station must be carried aboard a Russian rocket or in privately built unmanned rockets.
When the VF200 goes into space for testing, it will be taken to the space station.
Source: iNews.co.cr
Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket
The Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) is an electro-magnetic thruster for spacecraft propulsion. It uses radio waves to ionize and heat a propellant, and magnetic fields to accelerate the resulting plasma to generate thrust. It is one of several types of spacecraft electric propulsion systems.
The method of heating plasma used in VASIMR was originally developed as a result of research into nuclear fusion. VASIMR is intended to bridge the gap between high-thrust, low-specific impulse propulsion systems and low-thrust, high-specific impulse systems. VASIMR is capable of functioning in either mode. Costa Rican scientist and former astronaut Franklin Chang-Diaz created the VASIMR concept and has been working on its development since 1977.
Artist’s impression of multi-megawatt VASIMR spacecraft
Every time you visit the supermarket, do you have the impression that prices are higher? To answer that question, Telenoticias took the challenge of comparing prices of 20 items, comparing today’s prices to that of May 2011.
The local television news team, in its report, says it took care to look for exactly the same brand of product and package size for a proper and realistic comparison.
The result? Of the 20 products in the basket, 19 had increased in price and only one stayed the same, which was a margarine product.
The report does not name brand, just the type of product and container size.
For example, it found that a 3 litre container of cooking oil, rose ¢1.346 colones. The price in 2011 was ¢3.369, today the same oil costs ¢4.985 colones. A can of tuna increased 33%, a tube of toothpaste increased in price 23%, a 4kg bag of laundry soap rose nearly 10%.
Thus the impression that living in Costa Rica has gone up is a reality, a reality backed up by a sampling of everyday products when compared to two years ago.
According to the Instituto de Estadística y Censos (INEC) – Statistics and Census Board – of the 292 goods and services that make the “canasta basica” (basic basket), between January and May of this year, on average more than half (52%) saw an increase in prices, 36.6% dropped in prices and 11.1% saw no change.
The increase can be attributed to inflation.
The question now is, are the experts measuring inflation properly? Or is still the best measure of inflation what the consumer sees at the check out counter – either paying more or less for their purchases?
A driver drove his tractor trailer cab right smack into the Juan Santamaria airport fence Sunday night. As of this morning, the truck had yet to be pulled out, leaving a sight for passing drivers.
The driver, a Salvadoran, told traffic police that he lost control of his rig dodging a motorcycle while driving in the Alajuela direction.
This is not the first time for this type of accident and at this particular location.
Immediately west of the traffic lights in the direction of the airport is the intersection coming from the north service road, where traffic is supposed to come to stop before crossing the highway.
At this intersection, many a driver comes to a rolling stop instead of a complete stop, dashing out in front of oncoming traffic. And at times likes last night, the “dashing” driver does not properly calculate the distance and speed of oncoming traffic, resulting in one or both vehicles swerving.
Big trucks, as any experienced driver can tell you, cannot stop on a dime. Add a slick road surface (like last nights rain) and speed (there is not evidence the truck last night was speeding) and you have a recipe for disaster.
Fortunately there were no fatalities in last night’s accident.
That has not been the same in each incident at this intersection.
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The typical route from the Pacific coast to the San José airport is on the Ruta 27 to Santa Ana, weaving your way through Belén, past the Marriott and Intel, onto the Autopista General Cañas and to the airport. The reverse is for those heading out from the airport.
But, there is a new route that few know about AND IT IS NOT MARKED. Here it is:
From the airport – take the Bernardo Soto, the highway headed west of the airport (in the direction of Alajuela), past the Dos Pinos plant to the Coyol intersection bridge, right, do the full turn headed south on the “radial”, which takes you to the Siquiares intersecton on the Ruta 27, right, pay the toll and in less than 30 minutes you on the Pacific coast.
From the Ruta 27 – exit at the Siquiares (the exit before La Guacima toll), up the ramp, pay the toll, make a right, do the roundabout to head north and stay to the left of the Y, this takes you the radial, to the Bernardo Soto, left (east) and within a few minutes you are at the airport. Note, there is no “airport” marking at the Siquiares exit, nor along the entire route.
At ¢300 colones at a time, users of the San José – Caldera leave behind for Autopistas del Sol some US$4 million dollars monthly.
According to figures provided by the Consejo Nacional de Concesiones (CNC), in May a total of 174.588 vehicles crossed the tolls on the concession highway.
Drivers moving between Escazú and Pozón de Ortina on the Ruta 27 face four toll stations: Escazú (¢300 colones), La Guacima (¢450), Atenas (¢600) and Orotina (¢450), for a total of ¢1.800, one way.
Based on CNC figures, most of the vehicles using the highway cross the Escazú station with a a total of 83.961 vehicles a month. The next busiest station is the La Guacima, located in San Rafeal de Alajueal with 23.517 vehicles and third is Cuidad Colon (the exit off the Ruta 27 to Santa Ana) with 17.713 vehicles.
As the numbers show, the majority of vehicles leaving the greatest income for the concessionaire are in Escazú, Santa Ana/Cuidad Colon and Alajuela.
Toll rates adjusted every quarter, based on current economic conditions and set by an agreement between the CNC and the concessionaire.
The Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Publiclos (ARESEP), the government regular of public prices and services does not take a role in the setting of the rate, as it does with other public services like gasoline prices. According to Carolina Mora, spokesperson for the ARESEP, the entity would only participate if there is a dispute between the CNC and the Concessionaire. Mora explains that the toll rate model are set out in the private contract and out of the reach of the ARESEP.
The U.S. Coast Guard reports confiscating 1,250 pounds of cocaine while in routine patrol 300 miles southwest of Isla del Coco (Cocos Island), Costa Rica.
Authorities say the haul is worth US$19 million dollars, confiscated off a go-fast vessel and detained six peple on board the boat.
The Coast Guard says the suspects were transferred to Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The drugs will be transferred to DEA agents in Miami Beach.
Paseo Colón and Avenida Segudna yesterday became a gateway of colour and politics in favour of legalizing same-sex marriage in Costa Rica.
Related: LGBT San José Parade in Photos
Costa Rica’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community insists beyond civil unions or societies of coexistence.
Inspired by the advancement of same-sex marriages in other countries, especially in the United States, organized groups used their San José parade as a statement of intent, to collect some 165.000 signatures required to present a bill for same-sex marriage in the country.
Once the signatures are obtained, the bill could be presented in the Legislature in the form of a “popular initiative”, though it is unlikely it will make during this term, according to legislator Carmen Muñoz, who lead the march Sunday, along with the Costa Rica’s Ombudswoman, Ofelia Taitelbaum.
Related: LGBT Rights in Costa Rica
“With so much negativism, the movement got tired and decided to push ahead with the concept marriage”, said Muñoz.
The word marriage could be seen on flags, printed on shirts, written in smeared sun tan lotion. Slogans for the Nuevo Partido Socialista (New Socialist Party), a party that expects to remove the Heredia legislator in the 2014 elections, were among the demonstrations.
LGBT acitivists from Nicaragua, Panama, and El Salvador helped make Sunday’s demonstration the largest, even surprising organizers.
Floats, costumes and even dancers from gay clubs all took part in a day filled with sunshine. The rains in San José on Sunday did not start until well after the sun had set on the city.
From Paseo Colon, gathered in Parque Central on Avenida 2, as the sound coming out of the U.S. Embassy sound system competed with the Metropolitan Cathedral’s bells calling for mass.
© QCostarica.com
