Arriving and departing passengers at the Juan Santamaria (SJO) airport in San José will no longer bump into each other in the corridors of the terminal.
The changes, that were never incorporated into the airport’s original design, were made to meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
Now arriving passengers are ushered into the arrivals area on the lower floor of the terminal. This also means no stopping at the duty free shop (at last for now) before checking with immigration. Connecting passengers will be guided to the departures area.
Sciencemag.org/QCostarica – If Costa Rican trees could speak, perhaps they’d ask for a cool glass of fog. A number of plant species in the country’s tropical cloud forests quench their thirst by slurping up fog droplets through their leaves, a new study shows. The forests are already in danger from the changing climate, and the finding raises concerns that they’re even more fragile than thought.
For 9 months of the year, the lush, mountainside cloud forest of Monteverde in Costa Rica gets plenty of rain to support its roughly 2000 plant species. During the other 3 months, February through April, precipitation is scarce. But even during this dry spell, some of the region’s forests average 13 hours of fog each day from moisture that drifts in from the Caribbean Sea and condenses under the forest’s canopy, forming milky-white threads that weave through the greenery.
Monteverde’s cloud forest is also home to a wealth of amphibians and migratory birds. But in 1989, conservationists were alarmed when a renowned bright-orange amphibian called the golden toad went extinct. Whether the animal died out because of climate change has been a source of debate. But its demise served as a bad omen because a cascade of other amphibians, which are especially sensitive to moisture changes and diseases spread by climate change, disappeared from Monteverde in the following years.
Researchers interested in conserving the cloud forest species have studied the region’s animals intensely, but they know much less about the ecosystem’s habitat-providing plants, says Greg Goldsmith, a plant ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley. Because climate change has also been projected to influence where the fog forms, Goldsmith and his colleagues hunted for clues to how the dry season fog influenced the trees by looking for a rarely studied talent among plants called foliar uptake—the ability to absorb water through leaves in addition to the roots. Since 1950, scientists have discovered 40 species that absorb water through their leaves. “I think what we’re going to see,” Goldsmith says, “is the more we look for it the more we’ll find it.”
And indeed, the researchers found no shortage of foliar uptake in Monteverde. They picked out the 12 most common tree species in the cloud forest and the 12 most common trees in a far less foggy forest just 2 kilometers downhill. They determined how often the leaves got damp by placing fake, plastic leaves on the tree branches, each with an incomplete electrical circuit that conducted electricity when wet. They also determined how much the plants drink through their leaves by heating a spot on each plant’s branches during clear and foggy days. By measuring the warmth along the branch, they could track the water moving inside. If the water traveled toward the leaf, it came from the roots. If it traveled toward the trunk, it came from the leaves.
Goldsmith’s team found that all of the trees inside and outside the cloud forest use foliar uptake. But analyses of dehydration levels in the leaves revealed that trees in the cloud forest had a higher capacity to draw water in through their leaves, storing 20% more water for growth and survival using foliar uptake than their downhill counterparts, the researchers report online this month in Ecology Letters.
This is one of the first ecosystems in which scientists have observed the trees drawing in fog water through their leaves, Goldsmith says. The very first was the giant coastal redwood forest of California.
The new study makes a “pretty conclusive case” that cloud forest trees do indeed hydrate using the clouds, says forest ecologist Christopher Still of Oregon State University, Corvallis who was not involved with the study. “There’s always been this notion that this [ecosystem] is tied to the clouds, but it’s hard to really show that.”
This finding means that a warming climate presents a whole new problem for anyone seeking to preserve cloud forests. If the moisture from the Caribbean Sea is warmer, Goldsmith says, it takes longer to cool off enough to condense into fog, which means the fog would not appear until the wind has pushed the moisture to a higher elevation than the cloud forest. If the plant population doesn’t migrate fast enough to keep pace, this would leave the trees awfully thirsty. “The textbooks tell us that plants get their water from their roots,” he says, “and here’s this system where there’s an obvious means that plants can get water from another source: the fog. They’re doing it, but that fog is going away.”
Burglary is a concern for both Costa Ricans and foreign residents. Everybody has heard of someone who has been victimized by this crime but not everyone has been affected by it. No society in crime free. Although burglary may be an issue, fortunately Costa Rica has been spared from horribly violent rampages like the ones that occurred in Connecticut, Portland or the Colorado movie theater.
Anyway burglary is a concern here and people should be proactive and take the correct measures to try and prevent it. What we do here is try to put as many barriers and deterrents between our homes and the bad guys as possible. For example, burglar alarms like ADT, cameras, gates, bars on windows, dogs and neighborhood watchman. One of the most effective means of keeping the bad guys at bay is an electrified fence. More and more families are choosing this option to have peace of mind and protect their valuables.
Most electrified fences include a battery back up in case the power goes out. The wires can be placed on roofs or on walls just like razor wire. These systems are very effective. If anyone comes into contact with one of the wires the person will receive an electric shock of between 6,000 to 13,000 volts of electricity, will be jolted, will experience a muscular contraction and “get the message.” If installed property by a professional you will not die from receiving a shock from this device. My former home had electric fences and one of my Costa Rican neighbors once joked, “If you smell meat cooking, then you know you have caught someone trying to break in.” This scenario is highly unlikely since a person is usually thrown backwards and cannot stick to the wire.
IMPORTANT: Electrical fences must have visible signs that say Alto Voltaje (High Voltage) in Spanish.
An alarm can be incorporated into this system as well as a device that automatically notifies the owners, neighbors or police by telephone when someone tries to beak into your home.
When choosing a company to install an electrified fence be sure it offers the following services:
Permanent technical support
Guarantee
Protectors so that the system won’t be damaged by lightening or power surges
Offer other security devices and replacement parts
Lack of base in remaining kilometer made it impossible to continue work
Photo credit Asociacion Desarrollo Integral de Nosara
By Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo, Voice of Nosara/QCostarica
The desire of Nosarans to see the two kilometers of the center of the community paved came up against a new obstacle, so they were only able to pave 900 meters of what they hoped to do. The reason was that the remaining kilometer didn’t have a base prepared that would permit pavement.
This means that they won’t be able to pave the remaining portion until they have the minimum base of cement required by the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT).
Julio Viales, Regional Director of MOPT, said that “it’s a shame that the base wasn’t prepared with cement.” What was there, according to him, was “a treatment of stone impregnated with emulsion.”
According to Viales, they must remove 50 centimeters of the current base, which is very claylike, and proceed to put down material from the Nosara River, together with cement, to be able to continue with the pavement.
Viales explained that a channel and gutter also need to be built, as well as sidewalks along the trajectory. In addition, he confirmed that the total amount for the works surpassed 160 million colones ($320,000).
According to Viales, the cost of the works increased because the pavement had to be brought from Tajo El Chopo, located in Cañas.
New Roads Committee Created to Speed Up Final Pavement
Meanwhile, Marcos Avila, president of the Nosara Integral Development Association (ADIN), explained that on December 16th the Roads Committee was formed, which will have the objective of looking for funds and labor for the project of the cement base and thereby achieve the longed-for pavement, especially during dry season when the dust makes an average of 186 Nosarans sick per month, as reported by Lisany Mejia, in charge of the Nosara EBAIS clinic.
Avila assured that the ADIN granted the horse parade of the fiestas in Nosara in January to the committee so they can administer it and raise funds. In addition, he commented that they hope the meet again with MOPT during the first weeks of January to sign a cooperation agreement to carry out the work.
On the other hand, Viales denied the rumors of pavement of the national route 160 that connects Samara with Nosara for next year, since, according to him, at this time the job isn’t even up for bid, and the process moves at a slow speed.
Not so many years ago, readers of the more serious national news outlets, especially La Nación, La Prensa, Universidad and La Republica always concluded, “The thought, even the premise of each story makes sense, but where are the numbers to back them up?”
I, unfortunately, recall being chastised by Ted Koppel on Nightline along with my partner, Alex Dreshler. Koppel asked, in his dry monotone, “What do you define as a massacre? How many people need to be injured or killed?”
This was in reference to a video news story we produced crossing a river bordering El Salvador into Guatemala and the U.S. snet Huey Helicopters that were chopping down peasants trying to escape the in- country terror resulting from Salvador’s famous 12 year war. More than journalists, we took sides and helped transport people from one border to the other amidst a river of bodies and blood.
Then Costa Rica got the idea they should stick numbers into their stories to better clarify events. Never mind if those numbers are or were correct or even within reason. If they made the story, on the front page and looked relatively supportive, stick them in.
Would all those expats out there raise their pinky finger if they honestly believe that Tico inflation is below 6% for 2012?
However, what is being reported and represent a percentage and those who do not drive, eat meat/poultry (God forbid fish), always eat at home, do not use electricity except on occasion, hang wet clothes out to dry on a line, consume contaminated pineapple tap water, eat a lot of beans cooked (Not canned), pasta is a favorite and reasonable not to mention the cost of water itself in a country loaded down with alternative energy resources.
Even now those who take buses, (we do not have street cars) have been paying, on average 14% more in fairs in 2012 over 2011.
When I go to San José and walk the streets meeting homeless, prostitutes whose last bath was also last Christmas season and call living under bridges, sleeping on cardboard boxes “Home”, it is hard for me to think of Costa Rica as the “Happiest Country on the Planet” and no way in hell, is poverty only20% of our population while unemployment is a measly 10.2%.
On the brighter side, let’s look at the numbers on tourism, a vital if not critical source of income to the country.
Who do you want to believe? All must be correct because the numbers and percentage come from equally important ministries and institutions of similarly intelligent experts.
However, keep in mind that each has its own axe to grind, so to speak. There is CANATUR, PROTUR , PROMED and let us never forget the always high on business, ICT.
They all three pretty much do the same job except ICT which has the money and can say what they want because….well, they have the money. In one week I have read our hotel occupancy is anywhere from 38% to 78%. The 78% is a hard sell to the boutique owners of hotel sor spas in Nicoya, Central Pacific or the OSA Peninsula. However, send that percent off to the Wyndham, Papagayo, Riu, etc, and they are closer to the 78% mark but only by a few points as they are now offering, during this very high season, discounts to us locals. (Just say you are a Tico when making a reservation and things look cheaper.)
Thousands, (Well more like hundreds) protested the healthcare system to cut back. Again, hundreds and not thousand of motorcycles jammed the streets of San Jose to protest a significant raise in this year’s insurance premiums by the government which were not factored into the national “inflation” figures.
In journalism and for the readers, you must look past the hyperbole to sell advertising and look more towards logical reality in order to seek truth.
Trying to understand such a very complicated culture which is not typical of Central America can bring havoc to tourists, investors and worst those who plan to live here.
In short, costing more of losing money is pretty common when you believe the numbers.
There are some very fine organizations that really care about those coming to CR and will tell or demonstrate what is real and what myth is. Most published that proliferate Costa Rica are self promoting and are simply questionable in just about every aspect.
As most teachers often advise on final exams; If you don’t know the answer, rely on intuition.
As we said he would, he did. This morning, former minister of the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT), Francisco Jiménez, arrived at the San José airport saying he is back to clarify everything in the case of the trail border road known as La Trocha.
Jiménez, in a statement to the press, said he left the country on a planned vacation with his family. He had left for Mexico last Tuesday, one day ahead of the arrest of six, including CONAVI officials (a division of the MOPT), on corruption charges.
Jiménez is not considered as suspect in the corruption case. Howver, Attorney General, Jorge Chavarria, was adamant to know the whereabouts of the former minister and had asked INTERPOL (see story) to locate him and ordered his officials not to take action until today, awaiting the return of Jiménez.
The trail road was built along the border with Nicaragua in response to the alleged invasion by Nicaragua of the Isla Calero, a piece of land Costa Rica considers hers.
The road construction sparked controversy when it became public that millions of dollars of tax money went to line the pockets of government offcials and private contractors. Last week were the first arrests in the case after months of investigations.
The illusion of thousands of winning the “Gordo” vanished in a second, when it was confirmed by the Junta de Protección Social (JPS) – the state lottery operator – that the winning number and series never went out.
The JPS assures that the jackpot first prize will be shared by hospitals, nursing homes, child care centres and other charities.
However, many lottery players feel cheated.
This is the second time in the history of the lottery that there has not been a winner. What irks people is the manner they lost out, since the number never went out, the feeling expressed to the media is that the JPS should hold a consolation draw.
In some countries, if there is no winner, the jackpot rolls over into the next. Costa Rica’s lottery officials say that will not be the case. “The lottery (Gordo Navideño) is done”, said Franciso Ibarra, general manager of the JPS, this morning.
Some lottery vendors expressed concern for the public may see this is a fraud and stop buying the lottery.
An advocacy group said that since the JPS knew the numbers were not out – officials confirmed that vendors had been purchasing the lower numbers (under 50) and that the higher numbers were still in – they should have drawn again.
Milton Vargas, sales manager for the Junta explained that the rules of the lottery sets out how to calculate the net profits that will go to the aforementioned institutions, and that the prize money is not being kept by the lottery even though it is not paid out to the consumer.
Vargas guarantees that the draw was transparent and it was a due to a marketing issue for the numbers from 51 and up not selling.
Lottery players in Costa Rica use a variety of ways to pick numbers, birthdays, anniversaries, numbers coming to them in dreams, as a few. Another factor is buying low (00 to 50) or high (51 to 99). This year the trend was on low.
About 20 species of birds that left the La Sabana have come back, says the Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (INBio) after monitoring birds in the city park.
INBio’s Armand Soto exxplained “We divided La Sabana into six monitoring sectors, investigated one by one by a pair of researchers, one noting data while ther other making observations”.
From January to December INBio researches said they counted 8.500 birds. Soto explained that it is a very positive result, “in the beginnin we recorded 13 species of birs, while today there are 56”.
Even endangered species, like the the case of the “loca nuca amarilla”, are now visiting the park researchers found.
In Costa Rica, coffee is always fresh, passers-by smile and wave to visitors, and the colorful views of the mountains seem to come straight from a storybook. But what was most refreshing was the time that I spent learning about Costa Rican hospitals and care facilities — most of which are built without full exterior walls, allowing fresh air and a calm breeze to reach those inside.
Nine students and two professors toured the country for a week to experience and evaluate its health care system first-hand. It was the first of its kind. The trip was sponsored by Penn State’s health policy and administration undergraduate department as an extension of the current comparative health systems course. The course helps students compare and analyze differences in health systems across varying levels of developed countries.
Penn State instructor and trip coordinator Celeste Newcomb said she was excited to offer the opportunity to her students.
“Shadowing community health workers in rural Costa Rica, seeing public health in action and talking with health administrators and providers in a variety of health care settings allows students the chance to broaden their horizons as well as their understanding of Global Health issues,” she said.
It was easy to see how different it is from our service here in the United States when experiencing the Costa Rican health care system up close. At the public hospitals and clinics that we visited, we saw the stark needs of the facilities — flaking paint on the walls, outdated furniture, lack of strict
privacy regulations, and limited use of electronic medical records.
But, despite the outward differences, this developing country has impressive health outcomes that are comparable to those in the United States.
The CIA World Factbook reports the 2012 life expectancy at birth in Costa Rica to be 77.89 years, which isn’t far behind the 2012 rate in the United States of 78.49 years. Furthermore, Costa Rica sustains a very low infant mortality rate for a developing country: 9.2 deaths for every 1,000 babies born. This number is only slightly higher than the current infant mortality rate in the United States of 6 out of 1,000.
Additionally, Costa Rica also spends a much smaller percent of GDP and has fewer physicians per population than the United States.
Looking beyond outward appearances and statistics, the roots of the Costa Rican health care system are much different than our own. The country operates under a universal system where health care funds are handled via a third-party (non-government and non-health delivery) organization called “La Caja,” which translates to “The Cashier.”
All funds are paid through direct taxes on payroll, and taxes are paid out by both the employee and the employer. Under this universal system, no person can be refused health care or forced to pay out of pocket. Citizens may purchase private insurance and use private hospitals if they are able, which is a growing trend within the past five years.
We spoke with patients, providers and administrators who all felt it was essential that everyone in Costa Rica have access to health care.
Although there are many differences between the Costa Rican health care system and ours, one of the most influential differences can be found in Costa Rica’s empowering emphasis on preventative care and promotion. This ideal is embodied in the unique health care workers known as ATAPs, who are trained with basic nursing and social work skills.
Part of our time in Costa Rica was spent accompanying the ATAPs on their “rounds” — people in rural communities are visited at their homes at least once per year by an ATAP. While there, the ATAP provides any routine vaccinations, dietary tips or basic medicationsmembers of the family might need.
In addition to checking on basic health, the ATAPs also check each home for running water, electricity, and good treatment of any pets. If there are any social counseling needs, the ATAP will visit up to six times per year to accommodate these families.
Visiting the ATAPs, hospitals and clinics, and learning about the Costa Rican healthcare system was an amazing experience for myself and all of the students involved. The trip gave us the opportunity to see community care on a whole new level, and opened our eyes to the vast array of approaches to improving overall health.
The Gordo Navideño is the lottery with the biggest prize of the year offered by the Junta de Protección Social (JPS) every December. This year the winner numbers of 70 with series 726 did not have a buyer, so the ¢1.2 billion prize money stays with the lottery.
JPS director, Francisco Ibarra said that vendors only purchased tickets in the low numbers (under 50), thus the number 70 went unpurchased, that the entire number and series is the hands of the JPS.
The is the secong time it has happened, the first time was back in 1988, when the number 59 with series 525 did not make anyone a “millionario”.
The question by many is, what happens to the prize money? Ibarra explained that the money does not get pooled and added to future draws, rather it will be used for social programs.
The Second prize of ¢100 million colones number 01 with series 678 was sold in El Guarco, Goicoechea, Moravia, Naranjo de Alajuela and San José centre, while the third prize of ¢50 million colones will be shared holders of ticket number 44 with series 242 in Pococí, Nicoya, Curridabat, Goicoechea, Alajuela, Tibás and Liberia.
Nicaragua proposed again to Costa Rica to talk about the area disputed by the two countries in the Caribbean, confirmed visiting Costa Rican Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo. “Costa Rica has not proposed any dialogue; in fact, it is Nicaragua the one which has suggested negotiations several times,” he admitted prior to the 40th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System (SICA).
Castillo is the one appointed by President Laura Chinchilla to receive today the pro tempore presidency of the regional mechanism from Nicaragua.
Reports by Television Channel 63 in Nicaragua recalled that the two governments maintain a dispute for a 2.5 km swamp near the Harbour Head Lake in the Caribbean.
The dispute gained impetus when Costa Rica filed a suit against its neighbor before the International Court of Justice in The Hague in Nov. 2010 for dredging the mouth of its San Juan River into the Atlantic.
San Jose argued that the maneuver was covering an alleged military invasion and would cause environmental damages to biodiversity in the common area, which Nicaragua denied.
The court in The Hague ruled in March 2011 that none of the two parties can maintain armed forces, public security or other agents in the disputed area.
Costa Rica then started to construct a road parallel to San Juan River, generating damages to the river and encouraged Nicaraguan environmental activists to complain before the Central American Court of Justice.
Then in Dec. 2011, Nicaragua filed another complaint to the ICJ, which has yet to rule on the issue.
The power transfer within SICA will make both parties to step up exchanges to respond to the demands of the pro-integration process, according to officials from SICA member countries.
SICA groups Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama as full members.
The Dominican Republic participates as associate and Haiti as regional observer along with Mexico, Brazil and Chile.
The Russian Federation, the United States, Spain, Germany, Japan and Taiwan are extrarregional observers in the meeting today, attended by Presidents Otto Perez Molina (Guatemala), Mauricio Funes (El Salvador), Porfirio Lobo (Honduras) and Ricardo Martinelli (Panama).
Oh, what a terrible burden modern technology and the social media places on the backs of modern politicians!
A Channel 9 TV video caught President Laura Chinchilla summarily breaking off a conversation with a constituent and leaving him talking to empty air. For shame! In record time, the brief incident was uploaded and splattered on YouTube because, in Costa Rica, that just isn’t done, you know?
It appears that Marcelo Ramirez, an Alajuelita resident, stopped Chinchilla to complain that “things just aren’t getting done” in his town while the President was on her way to hand out presents to poor children at the National Children’s Museum.
After a brief exchange, Chinchilla marched onward, leaving Ramirez sputtering. It was not long before the incident was all over Facebook and Twitter.
Usually, the President is gracious, even when pressed — at least in public — and in Costa Rica leaving someone abruptly in the middle of a conversation brands one as a “grosero,” i.e., rude, crude and unrefined.
As usual, the national paper La Nacion checked with Francisco Chacon, Minister of Information or what would be in the White House, the press secretary. He allowed that he hadn’t been there, but assumed that it went down that way because Ramirez showed “disrespect.”
(This shows how things are in this friendly, informal republic. Bodyguards would have not allowed an irate citizen within artillery range of a president of the United States or of a European country, let alone close enough to be disrespectful.)
Chacon (who has had to answer some pretty uncomfortable questions in this Administration) said he was told that Ramirez “used some bad terms with a degree of disrepect. And because it was not an opportune time nor the right form, she decided to stick to her agenda.”
He added that he had heard that the Alajuela resident had not only shown disrespect for doña Laura the person but for the office of the presidency. “It’s time people learned that there are manners and forms to address Madam President,” he said.
Commentary: It reminds this reporter of the shock expressed by a BBC cameraman after he had seen President Oscar Arias at lunch with a TV reporter during his first term — sitting, without bodyguards in a snack bar near the Casa Presidencial with his back to a window!
Yet, this country has never had a sitting chief executive assassinated. However, it is the only country on earth that has had a chief executive hit by a boy on a delivery bike!
It happened during the presidency of Otilio Ulate in the late 1940s. El Sr. Presidente as crossing the street in front of the old presidential offices near the Legislative Assembly. At that time, it was quite common for stores to employ bicycles with a small front wheel and an over-sized iron basket for deliveries.
These bikes were often ignored by the owner and brakes were not considered worth maintaining. President Ulate was crossing the street, engrossed in the cares of state, and failed to see the oncoming vehicle.
He was taken to nearby Calderon Guardia Hospital but was found to be only bruised. (When this reporter came to Costa Rica in 1970, these bikes were still in use — he remembers because he, too, was hit by one, the only thing he has ever had in common with a high personage here.)
In fact, it could have been the same bike, brakes still defective!
President Laura Chinchilla’s cabinet pardoned farmer/veterinarian Bernal Arias, now 47, last week. It has raised a firestorm within two political parties as well a harsh criticism among citizens.
Arias was condemned in court in 2011 for the wounding of a 13-year-old boy who entered his San Carlos farm on March 30, 2009, apparently to steal lemons. A court sentenced Arias to 20 years in prison.
According to court testimony, Arias shot at the boy several times and hit him in the back. The court found Arias guilty of attempted murder. His sentence would have run until 2027.
But the veterinarian’s friend, Citizen Action Party (PAC) lawmaker Manrique Oviedo, came forward with a letter and a petition with 800 local residents’ signatures on behalf of Arias, presented to the cabinet a plea for pardon.
Oviedo’s successful plea got himself in hot water with his own party and a PAC inquiry attended by seven of the 11 PAC lawmakers was called. PAC founder Otton Solis, party founder, stood behind Oviedo, saying that if he had been president he would have pardoned Arias.
But Chinchilla herself termed the Oviedo move “irrelevant” in the cabinet deliberations. In all, nine prisoners received a pardon but public opinion focused on Arias. Costa Rica has no “stand your ground” law such as the one that has raised such a furor in Florida in the Trevin Martin case.
Self defense is of course recognized but is usually applied to clear cut cases of home invasions or equal force against armed assailants. Rather, the principle of “excessive force” is applied to cases of guns turned on an unarmed person.
But Minister of Justice Fernando Ferraro broke with the President in one aspect. The Oviedo letter was delivered directly to him and he said the letter had a large impact on the pardon consideration.
“What’s exceptional,” he said, “that I’ve only seen in this case is a note from the community with pages of of neighbors’ signatures.”
Chinchilla admitted that the history of Arias had a great deal to do with the pardon. “He lost his wife, his mother and is raising his children. And he was the sole support of the family,” she said.
Both Chinchilla and Communications Minister Francisco Chacon emphasized Aria’s state of mind. He was at work in the farm, they said, when he received a phone call that someone was attempting to break into his home at a time when his daughter was due home from school.
That the call was mistaken and the boy was merely stealing lemons was noted by both government officials. Chacon said he felt that, under the circumstances, “it was logical that he would try to defend his family and property.”
The fact is that defense of property is not a part of Costa Rican law when it comes to the doctrine of “excessive force” and that taking a life in defense of property is not legally justifiable.
But it is also a legal privilege of the Cabinet, meeting as the “Consejo del Gobierno” to grant a pardon where it considers that extenuating circumstances are present. Curiously, absent from the public debate has been the point of view of the boy’s family.
It is obvious that the lamentable incident will be a matter of public debate for a long time to come, with charges of political interference with justice on one side against sympathy with a father on the other.
One factor may have weighed against Arias during his trial: he attempted to leave the country before trial. Although there was no legal impediment, prosecutors scrambled to block his departure.
La Nacion interviewed the boy, Berney Araya, now 17, at work and found that surgeons did not remove the bullet from his body due to the risk of the operation.
Young Araya expressed disappointment with the President. “The resolution disrespects me,” he said, “offends me and ignores all the suffering I’ve experienced these years.” He said at times he feels that he is suffocating and finds it difficult to breathe.
The boy testified in court that he pleaded with Arias not to shoot him. Arias, the boy said, replied coldly, “Today you die,” and shot again. He said the Arias family knows of his physical plight but has never attempted to aid him in any way.
“In Costa Rica we can do things right, live with home and optimism”, were the words of San José mayor, Johnny Araya, at the start of the 17th edition of the Festival de la Luz in the nation’s capital.
The mayor, looking very ‘presidential’ told Josefinos (residents of San José) gathered in front of the main stage and the rest of the nation watching on television, that this is San José’s gift to them before handing over the microphone to Olympic triathlete, Leonardo Chacón, the festival’s Marshal who gave the go ahead for the floats and bands to start.
But before all eyes were up, as for more than ten minutes fireworks in La Sabana and rooftops of buildings like the Purdy Motors, the Banco Nacional and Museo de los Niños, among others, illuminated the early evening sky and the eyes of children and adults alike.
Headlining the parade this year was the bold and furiristic design of the Municipalidad de San José float, with its Greek/Roman design featuring the hosting of the 2013 games in San José.
The other floats were by the deparment store Universal, who has yet to miss one year since the first festival 17 years ago, Movistar, Banco Nacional and Samsung among others.
In total 11 floats and 14 marching bands made their way from La Sabana park to the Paseo de los Estudiantes, as several hundred thousand people line the parade route along Paseo Colon and Avenida 2. Many more saw the parade from their television set, with Repretel’c chanel 6 having the best coverage in terms of sound, lighting and ferver. At Teletica’s channel 7 the mood was somber, more of a wake than a festival, despite the attempts by humourists and television personalities.
The winning float this year went to FEMSA, the local bottled and distributor of Coca Cola products, taking a 7.9 score overall.
While the United States stares into the abyss of the fiscal cliff Jan. 1, the Social Security universal health care system (Caja) faces another chasm — a medical one.
The University of Costa Rica (UCR) has given the Caja notice this month that, due to a ¢5.3 billion colon deficit in the past several years, it will terminate its contract to run 45 routine medical treatment centers in three of the most populous cantons the the Central Valley.
The closures will not only strain the resources of the Caja, just recovering through strenuous administrative reorganization and careful austerity measures to bring its house in order.
The EBAIS are contracted out and serve as special clinics. They serve such illnesses as diabetes that need routine treatment. The more complicated ills are taken on in Caja clinics.
The idea is surprisingly creative for a large bureaucracy — EBAIS serve to keep clinics from being overwhelmed with routine patients, leaving those clinics free to treat more challenging conditions.
Also, the EBAIS tend to be placed closer to their patients, cutting down travel time and serious hardship in transportation. In some rural areas, clinics for most patients are a long, hard trek on foot or, if they are lucky enough to have livestock, on horseback.
This does not mean that EBAIS are either primitive or that their medical help is in any way less competent. It is a different structure for a specific need.
The EBAIS that UCR rector Hennings Jensen would close are located in Montes de Oca, Curridabat and La Union. Jensen calls them “unsustainable.”
The Caja is pleading with UCR to give the health care system a chance to plan for a smooth transition — they are asking eight months, not just a matter of days. They have three choices: take the EBAIS over themselves, contract them to a cooperative or to private enterprise.
The crisis is more than just for patients. Although no one openly acknowledges it, Costa Rica has an overabundance of doctors, especially general practitioners. The EBAIS employ a great number of them and closing them would mean an even greater glut in the field,
Right now a mixed committee of various disciplines is trying to wrap a collective head around the problem. But Miguel Guzman, UCR coordinator, says that if the university extends its supervision “we must know the actual costs with zero deficit of running them.”
Meanwhile, EBAIS medical staffs are caught in a web of uncertainty. “Nobody knows anything, there are fellow staff members who cry every day,” nurse Nidia Sanabria told the national newspaper La Nacion, “Most of us haven’t even bought Christmas presents with our holiday bonuses for fear of being jobless.”
(There is no ready safety net of unemployment insurance in Costa Rica. Only savings, severance pay and the alguinaldo (Christmas bonus) stands between them and ruin. Closure would mean throwing 400 medical staff into the street.)
At that, Sanabria may be in better position than the more highly trained doctors. A trained nurse with experience is in higher demand often than a less experienced physician unless he or she is a specialist.
Some staff members mounted a protest against the closures last Monday, but “We can’t stop giving patents basic service when they’ve waited up to a year for an appointment,” nurse Olga Quiros told La Nacion.
Besides providing thousands a patients with care, the EBAIS serve a valuable service not often seen in Western medicine — prevention of illness. They handle obesity, alcoholism, mental health and treat more minor illnesses that might well turn vicious with neglect.
The country has 991 Ebais and each one treats an average of 4,000 patients. In the three cantons mentioned above, more than 166,000 persons know that medical aid is close — until Dec. 31.
Each year we look forward to getting together with family and friends to celebrate the Holidays. Yet, sometimes these parties start to look and feel the same year after year. So this year, why not make your Holiday party super special by trying something a little different, like a recipe contest?
It’s simple to organize, a lot of fun AND you’ll end up with recipes from many of the dishes you only get to enjoy on special occasions. This is also an excellent way to document your family’s recipes and food history. Sadly, one of the treasures we lose as our family grows older and the matriarchs pass on are our family’s food traditions If you don’t get Tia Mercedes empanada recipe or learn how-to make abuelitas amazing mole you may lose it forever. So a recipe contest is a fun way to add a little spice to your celebration and to document your family and friends food history for the next generation.
All you have to do is ask each person coming to the party to cook their favorite dish – or the one they are most famous for – and bring several copies of the recipe to share. Then, when it’s time to eat, each person votes for his or her favorite which they write on a piece of paper. After dinner, the hostess counts up the votes and declares the winner. The recipes are then shared with the family and friends present.
TIP: We suggest you have some sort of token prize to reward the winner, such as a ribbon that you have customized with some glitter or a small trinket. You can even make a first, second and third place winner so that there are no hard feelings and more than one person is recognized.
In addition, don’t forget to take plenty of pictures of the food and everyone enjoying it! And if you really want to make it memorable, start an online scrapbook to share with everyone who attended the party. This scrapbook can grow as the years pass and it is an excellent way to create a family history that you can share with the younger members of your family as the years pass.
It may sound out of the ordinary but I promise that it will make for an unforgettable Holiday this year!
The best seat for the Festival de la Luz is in your living room, in front of your big screen television and with the remote in hand. All national television stations will be carrying the parade live and from “their” point of view, vantage location and commentary.
However, if you feel the need to take in the festival live, here are a few Qtips:
1. Make sure you have an exit strategy. The moment the feeling the parade is over, the mad dash home occurs. And without an exit strategy, it could be hours before you are home.
2. Make you way to the parade route early to get a good seat. Stands have cost associated and you have a ticket to get a seat. The street curbs already have (at 7am) the first line of spectators. Getting there at parade time means you will be 5 or 10 deep.
3. Scout out public toilets just in case the urge overcomes you.
4. Wear warm clothing. It will be cold tonight, the temperature in San José is expected to dip to the mid teens (Celsius). Jackets, scarves and gloves will do.
5. Bring an umbrella. Rain is forecast for the weekend.
6. Have earplugs handy. The music and the crowds can get pretty loud.
7. DON’T CARRY MORE CASH THAT YOU NEED TO GET HOME. Don’t carry or wear valuables. Keep your cell phone well protected, pockets zipped, purses under lock and key and with a chain tied to your wrist . I am exaggerating, but making the point that the festival is a boom for petty theft.
8. Once you’ve staked your spot stay firm. Moving around the crowd may mean losing you place and you won’t go far. Stands have been erected on both sides of the parade route and many are with dead ends. That is an open path may lead to a no exit and no return to your original spot.
9. If you have friends who own/live in one of the new condos on the route, this is a good time to ask for a favour. The few hotels along the route, and the only – The Ambassador – with a few rooms with a view to the road reports sold out for months and at prices of over $300.
10. Most important of all is ENJOY! Although the parade has become more commercial each year, it is still one of the best and illuminating (pun intended) events of the year.
The Festial de la Luz is tonight, Saturday. It is the popular Christmas festival in San José, that includes parades, masquerades, lives music, fireworks and more.
Each year the Festival, held some 10 days before Christmas attracts hundreds of thousands who line the parade route along Paseo Colon from La Sabana park, Avenida Segunda and ending at the Paseo de los Estudiantes (now Chinatown), and many more for the live broadcasts on television and the internet.
The Festival de la Luz kicks off at the Gimnasion Nacional (National Gymnasium) at 6pm with fireworks set off in La Sabana and dowtown San José, a couple of kilometres away.
Leonardo Chacon the Costa Rican triathlete who participated in the 2012 London Olympics
The parade marshal this year will be Leonardo Chacon the Costa Rican triathlete who participated in the 2012 London Olympics. Marshals in the past included other notable Costa Ricans like scientist and astronaut, Franklin Chang Díaz, Maribel Guardia, Glenda Umaña (CNN en Español anchor) and Nery Brenes, who has won several medals for Costa Rica in world competitions.
During a pre-parade walk through La Sabana this morning I spotted many, with makeshit bed, blanket, pillows, chairs and food, already taking up space along the parade route. Several we talk to said “it is for the children”.
All employers know that December 20 is the last day to pay their employees the Aguinaldo. But, in the case of the Aguinaldo of those who pay alimony/child support, the last day is today, December 15.
Before you ask, Aguinaldo on alimony/child support, let me answer yes, payments are subject to the annual December bonus that is equivalent to the average of one month’s payment during the past 12 months.
If the payment is not made, on Monday, December 17, the person not making the payment is exposed to an ARREST WARRANT, according to Family Court judge, Elizabeth Picado.
Picado said that although the person may not be working, they should alway pay their alimony/child support. And the Aguinaldo. The judge noted also that the school allowance is due on January and non payment means exposure to the same measures (arrest).
The Poder Judicial reported 17.756 of cases filed for non payment of alimony/child support during the first half of 2012, while in 2011 there were a total of 30.366 cases.
In the photo, fomer MOPT minister Francisco Jiménez (middle) and exDirector Ejecutivo del CONAVI, Carlos Acosta, (left) and thela exviceministra, Ana Lorena López (ight). Photo CRH.
Although he is not wanted, no charges have been laid against him and will not be arrested on his return, former ministro de Obras Publicas y Transportes (MOPT), Francisco Jiménez, is a person of interest and Costa Rica’s Judicial authorities want to know where is.
Vinicio Zamora, lawyer for Jiménez, assures that his client left Costa Rica earlier this week on a planned family vacation and will be back in Ticolandia on Sunday (tomorrow).
The lawyer made the statement on Friday following accusations in the media and by Legislators that Jiménez fled the coop after the arrests of six involved in the corruption scandal with respect to the La Trocha, the border trail road along the south side of the San Juan river.
On Wednesday three businessmen and three former officials of the CONAVI (Consejo Nacional de Vialidad), including Carlos Acosta, former head of that institution.
The six have spent the clast couple of nights in the jail cells of the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ) while the courts sort out the precautionary measures, that include up to six months of preventive detention.
If you will recall Jiménez stepped down – rather was asked to step down, ie fired, by Presidenta Laura Chinchilla – following the robbery of the weapons storage at the CONAVI offices earlier this year.
Although Jiménez has never directly accused of being part of what is called the biggest fraud against the state, the spending of millions on a trail road that was built without the appropriate environmental studies and proper road construction methods, a road that is already falling apart and practically useless for the small communities that it was supposed to serve, there have been rumours of his possible involvement.
The trail road was in direct response to the skirmish with Nicaragua over the ownerhsip of the Isla Calero, that put into question the navigation rights of the San Juan river that clearly belongs to Nicaragua, cutting off dozens of communities in the area. That case is before the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Judicial officials are emphatic that the request made to the International Police (INTERPOL) is solely to locate the whereabouts of the former minister Jiménez and that he is not to be detained in any way.
However, Jiménez may know best the workings of the county’s Judicial system and decided he would be better off out of the country, as it will be known tomorrow, Sunday, if in fact he does return from his “family vacation” or not.
Here in Tamarindo, on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, everybody knows everybody. Long-term expats number in the hundreds.
It’s a walkable little ‘burg—we can’t stroll through town without stopping several times to talk with friends—and the “Main Street” is lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants run by Costa Ricans, Israelis, Argentinians, Italians, Americans, Canadians, and a dozen other nationalities.
Tamarindo is in the middle of one of the most popular tourist destinations in Costa Rica—but despite that I’m living a quiet, small-town life.
Shopping day is our favorite day of the week. And forget the drudgery of walking up and down the aisles of grocery stores full of expensive, processed and preservative-filled food. Side by side with the souvenir shops downtown are the small businesses frequented by locals. That’s where we buy our essentials.
You can’t buy everything in one place. And we’re on foot. So you’re forced to slow down and enjoy the place you live.
First stop is La Bodega—owned by Joey from New Jersey and his Costa Rican wife, Carolina. This friendly couple has a passion for healthy foods and helping the community. They have a young son, too, so we always end up talking about baby stuff.
We go for free range eggs, cheese, goat’s milk, honey, raw yogurt, and more. Everything is locally sourced, supporting local farmers and food producers. And it’s the only place in town to get health foods like spirulina and chia seeds.
(You can also get a killer balsamic portobello mushroom sandwich, by the way, washed down with fresh passion fruit juice. Just $6.)
If we’re lucky, the mariscos (seafood) truck will be parked across the street. It’s making deliveries to local restaurants but the vendor will sell to anybody. A kilo (that’s 2.2 pounds) of sushi-grade tuna—$10. Same for a kilo of mahi-mahi (or dorado, as it’s also known).
The fruit truck is down the street, at the corner. Juicy golden pineapple: $1. Watermelons: $3 or $4, depending on the weight. We usually stop here on the way back home—otherwise it’d be too heavy a load.
The local supermarket, called Super 2001, is run by Italians so there’s prosciutto, Parmesan, and ciabatta. Plus, they stock two imports I can’t live without: sriracha chili hot sauce and Belgian beer.
If it’s mid-morning, we visit with Heloisa at Cafe Tico. She’s lived here nearly 20 years and makes a mean espresso.
If it’s lunchtime we hit hole-in-the-wall cevicheria Ricante, which has great ceviche (raw fish marinated in lime juice) with plantain chips. Just $3.
If it’s happy hour, Wild Panda has the best cocktails in town. The sunbaked bartender makes them with fresh fruit only. May take a while to get that pineapple and rum drink, but it’s worth it.
Having lived in suburbia for much of my life, I never thought I could be a small-town guy. But we’ve come to love the sense of community.
And you know what? Even though this region, the Gold Coast, has a reputation for expensive real estate, you can live here quite inexpensively—for small-town prices.
You’ll find affordable condos within a few minutes’ walk of the beach.
And because everything is so close, they’d also be near Tamarindo’s center. Prices start at $77,000 for a two-bedroom condo, and $140,000 for a three-bedroom condo. And I recently saw a two-bedroom townhouse for $85,000.
Local agents tell me that prices are very negotiable. Sellers bought many of these properties at the height of the bubble and they’re eager to unload, even at a loss to themselves.
On this stretch of the Pacific, you get a great location for a great price.
Infosurhoy/QCostarica News – Though Costa Rica has 14,000 police officers, 35% have not completed the basic police training course, which serves as an introduction to police work and teaches officers the basic skills to do their jobs.
The Police School wasn’t created until 1995, meaning officers who have been on the force for longer than 17 years never had to pass a single test to earn their badges, said Ricardo González, a press officer for the Ministry of Public Safety.
The institution will meet the police department’s demands for the next 30 to 40 years.
The lack of education and training among those veteran officers has hindered the Central American nation from having a highly efficient police force.
“It’s important for people to know many of the police officers who are currently on the street are poorly trained in handling weapons, preparing police reports and using personal defense techniques. They also are in poor physical shape,” former Minister of Public Safety José María Tijerino said in May 2010. “This leaves us defenseless, but it must be discussed in order to raise awareness about the current needs.”
Tijerino’s words spurred change throughout the country’s National Police Force, as veteran officers started attending courses to match the training that younger officers received at the National Police School.
The school, however, has become outdated and too small, which is why the Ministry of Public Safety will break ground on a new National Police Academy in March 2013. The facility will be able to house 800 prospective officers, who will take college-level courses and receive a bachelor’s degree in police science upon graduation, González said. The current academy has a maximum enrollment of 240.
“We’re going to sign an agreement with the National University of Distance Education (UNED) to provide police officers with an opportunity to earn their college degree and take continuing education courses in the field of police work,” Deputy Minister of Interior and the Police Marcela Chacón said. “[This is not] just a question of building new facilities and equipping them with cutting-edge technology. It’s also about updating the curriculum of the core courses regarding the basics of police work and new laws.”
The academy, which will feature 250 acres of facilities, will be built in the city of Guápiles in Costa Rica’s Atlantic region, about 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) from the capital city of San José.
“I don’t think the school we have now is big enough – it was time for us to consider something bigger,” said Public Force Officer Luis Martínez, who graduated in 2011. “As police officers, we have to know a lot of things and we spend very little time in the classroom. I think it’s great that they’re building the academy because it will give us more space to train.”
Commander Erick Lacayo, the director of the National Police Academy, said the curriculum would focus on teaching officers techniques to combat narco-trafficking and engage in civic initiatives and community policing.
“The idea is to professionalize the police so we are on the same level as other countries in the region when it comes to security,” Lacayo said. “The curriculum will be tailored to address organized crime and be extended to other police forces in Central America and the Caribbean as needed.”
The academy will have dormitories, 30 classrooms, pools, gymnasiums, tracks, shooting ranges, auditoriums and a technical training area for police officers that will feature a lifelike city so trainees can participate in drills in a realistic environment.
The academy will cost between US$40 million and US$50 million, which the government is funding through cooperation agreements with the European Union and China.
“The aim of these agreements is to ensure the promotion of security and social peace under a framework of respect for human rights and the fundamental freedoms of individuals,” Security Minister Mario Zamora said. “We’ll also strengthen the institutional capacity for prevention, police training and response to crimes.”
The EU contributed approximately US$17 million toward purchasing the equipment needed to train police officers.
“We share the view that insecurity has now become one of the most severe threats to the coexistence and welfare of citizens, and that it suppresses the growth and development of the country,” José Luis Martínez, the European Union’s Chargé d’Affaires to Costa Rica and Panama said in June.
González said he expects construction to be completed by December 2013, with the facility operational by early 2014.
Authorities estimate that Costa Rica’s population of 4.7 million requires 18,000 police officers; about 383 for every 100,000 inhabitants. Currently, Costa Rica’s Public Force has 14,000 officers, approximately 298 for every 100,000 inhabitants.
Officials said the academy should satisfy all of the country’s law enforcement personnel issues for the next three or four decades.
Breast implants stuffed with cocaine are seen in this handout picture released by Spain's Police December 12, 2012. Spanish police arrested a Panamanian woman on Wednesday who landed in Barcelona from Bogota, Colombia with cocaine stuffed inside her breast implants.
Breast implants stuffed with cocaine are seen in this handout picture released by Spain’s Police December 12, 2012. Spanish police arrested a Panamanian woman on Wednesday who landed in Barcelona from Bogota, Colombia with cocaine stuffed inside her breast implants.
(CNN) — She arrived on a suspicious flight. Her story didn’t sound right. And then there was the blood … under her breasts.
An airport security check in Spain led to an operating table for a passenger — where, authorities said, they found she had tucked packs of cocaine in her breast implants.
The Panamanian citizen landed at Barcelona’s Prat airport on a so-called “hot flight,” one that came from a destination known for drug trafficking — in this case Bogota, Colombia.
Ninety percent of cocaine trafficked into the United States, for example, comes from Colombia, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The passenger came under the scrutiny of security agents, who weren’t satisfied with the vague answers she kept giving about why she was in town, Spain’s interior ministry said.
Her behavior aroused the suspicion of officers that she might be carrying drugs either in her luggage or on her.
When a female officer patted down the woman, she found bloodied bandage material under the passenger’s breasts. The gauze, the officer found, was covering incisions. And the breasts were hiding “a white foreign material.”
Fresh breast implants, the suspect mustered an explanation. Must not have healed up right.
The story didn’t convince police, who hauled her off to a hospital.
“There, a medical team extracted a bag-shaped prosthesis from each breast containing a white pasty substance,” the ministry said.
Cocaine. Nearly 1.4 kilograms (3 lbs) of it.
Pure cocaine goes for about $35,000 a pound, according to the DEA.
TACA, which is now owned by the Colombian airline, Avianca will soon be getting new airplanes for service in Central America that includes the San José and Liberia in Costa Rica.
The holding group AviancaTACA announced the purchase of 15 ATR72-600’s from the French-Italian manufacturer ATR for use in Central America and Colombia.
The cost of each aircraft is US$700 million dollars for the initial order, with the airline making a commitment for a similar number of units in the future.
The new aircraft, capable of carrying up to 72 passengers, are to be purchased in a bid to make the airlines short-haul flights more efficient.
AviancaTACA is one of the largest and fastest growing aviation groups in Latin America. It currently operates a combined fleet of more than 150 aircraft, the second largest fleet in Latin America. The group serves more than 100 destinations in Latin America, US, Canada, Caribbean region and Europe, and has 4 major hubs in Bogota, San Salvador, Lima, and San José, Costa Rica.
Under the name Taca the airline will fly the aircraft to Guatemala city and Flores (Guatemala), Tegucigalpa, Roatán and San Pedro Sula (Honduras), San Salvador (El Salvador), Managua (Nicaragua), and San José and Liberia (Costa Rica). The ATR 72-600s will also provide passengers with stylish cabin interior designs and the most modern standards of comfort.
Commenting on the deal, Mr. Fabio Villegas Ramirez, Chief Executive Officer of AviancaTACA, declared: “With the introduction of these new 72-seat ATR 72-600s, we reemphasize our commitment to the connectivity within the regions in Colombia and Central America. The selected aircraft will enable us to increase our capacity in regional routes, further enhance our network and propose the highest standards of comfort to our passengers”.
Mr. Filippo Bagnato, Chief Executive Officer of ATR, declared: “This is indeed a major contract for ATR as we are signing with a well-reputed and leading-edge air transportation provider in the Americas. We are proud to be a part of the expansion of Avianca. At the same time, we are pleased of renewing a longstanding relationship that dates back over 15 years with TACA Regional, and to further increase the presence of the new ATR 72-600s in the whole of Latin America. Our aircraft have experienced an outstanding success in this region in recent years due to their flexibility and low operating costs”.
ATR has some 150 aircraft currently flying with Latin American airlines’ liveries, plus some 50 additional aircraft to be delivered in the region. ATR is experiencing an outstanding success in Latin America. This success highlights the suitability of the ATR aircraft for the regional operations in a very dynamic market with still strong untapped potential.
Although the official release in Costa Rica is Friday, Kolbi – ICE’s mobile operator – will start selling the iPhone 5 at 10pm tonight (Thursday).
In a full page ad in the La Nacion today, Kolbi will open its doors at 10pm tonight in select stores in Alajuela, Perez Zeledon, Cartago, Liberia, Heredia, Cuidad Quesada, Guapiles, Puntarenas, Jacó and in San José in Multiplaza Escazú, Terramall, Sabana Sur and Balmoral, among others.
This is the first time the iPhone 5 is being made available in Costa Rica “officially”.
In October an “importadora” (retail chain store) offered the 50 iPhone 5’s and in Mall San Pedro a kiosk offers both the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini to anyone will to hand over US$1.000 and US$750, respectively.
Claro and Movistar will be offering the iPhone 5 starting early Friday morning.
ICE has not announced prices, only saying it will be offered on outright purchases and with “new” Kolbi plans.
A 51 year old agriculture teacher in both Costa Rica’s high school and primary school, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for paying students between ¢15,000 and ¢20,000 colones (US$30 and $40) to have sex with him.
The sentence was handed down in a Bribri, Talamanca, court in Limon province. The judges extended defendant Jorge Alberto Conejo’s preventive detention for another six months while his sentence is automatically given a review by an appeals court.
The panel of judges dismissed several serious charges but found Conejo guilty of two counts of rape, one of sexual relations with minors, three counts of sexual acts for money with minors and two counts of sexual abuse of minors.
According to court testimony, the crimes occurred in 2010, involving victims between the ages of 10 and 16 years old. Among 17 witnesses testifying in the trial were fellow teachers and persons close to the victims.
But Conejo is not the only teacher abusing his position of confidence. Under investigation is another teacher in a Puntarenas high school who is accused of raping a 15-year-old student. The professor is a neighbor of the girl and is accused of raping her during a home visit.
Still another case surfaced last June when the principal and a teacher at San Marcos Scientific Institute at El Llano in Alajuela province were accused of sexually abusing a 14-year-old student.
La Nacion reported that authorities have warned parents to keep watch on their school-age children and to report suspicious activities in the teacher-student relationship.
By Nina Arias and Arianna McKinney, Voice of Nosara/QCostarica
Photos by Giordano Campini
Summer is here! Along with the clear blue skies comes an ardent desire to get outside and enjoy. Of course, being outside here in the jungle has its challenges: dust, heat, sweat, rough terrain. But living in the jungle doesn’t mean you have to lose your sense of glamour.
Arianna & Alexa — vestido largo Maxi/long Maxi dress: Gonca Gul, Bazaar, $120; collar de concha/shell necklace: Nosara Dreams, $32; anillo de cuero de mantaraya/mantaray skin ring: Costa Barroco, $8; vestido corto/short dress: Desi Morphe, Desi’s Bikini Boutique, $50; anillo de abulón/abalone ring, The Silver Tree, $30.
That’s why VON has prepared a special series of articles about how to be a lady (or gentleman) in the jungle. We’ve searched around for the best styles and fashions for this climate, as well as special ways to pamper yourself so you look and feel like a lady!
You’ve heard of rainforests and maybe even remember hearing a few other types of forests from your 7th grade science class. Do you remember learning about cloud forests? I had never heard of these before moving to Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has 12 micro-climates. In a few highland areas you can find cloud forests. A cloud forest’s unique feature is 100% humidity. They are rare and attract scientists and nature lovers because of the immense amount of wildlife that can flourish in this cool humid jungle.
These special forests are worth a visit to! You will be surrounded by clouds and mist and maybe even a rainbow or two! Imagine walking across a bridge through the sky, looking down on clouds below you!
You will want to come prepared. This is nothing like being at the beach. It will be very cold so bring a jacket. I’d also suggest hiking boots and a hat. Of course come with a camera, too.
There are a number of cloud forests inCosta Rica, most notably Monteverde and San Gerardo de Dota. Some people like the cloud forests so much that they live in the closest one to San Jose and commute 1.5 hours each way for work!
Pumas are among Costa Rica’s most treasured species. Photograph: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images
Ban does not affect Sport Fishing
Costa Rica on Monday became the first Latin American country to ban hunting as a sport, after an unanimous and final vote from the Legislative Assembly. The bill now awaits the signature by presidenta Laura Chinchilla, who has said she will sign it.
Lawmakers had provisionally approved a reform to its Wildlife Conservation law back in October. With a population of 4.5 million people, Costa Rica is one of the world’s most biodiverse nations.
Under the new law, those caught hunting can face up to four months in prison or fines of up to $3,000.
The law, however, permits hunting for personal consumption and does not affect sports fishing, a big tourist industry in the country. The ban is hunting for sport.
The new law, once it goes into effect, calls for smaller penalties for people who steal wild animals or keep them as pets. Jaguars, pumas and sea turtles are among Costa Rica’s most treasured species.
“There is no data on how much money hunting generates in the country, but we do know there are currently clandestine hunting tours that go for about $5,000 per person,” said Arturo Carballo, deputy director at Apreflofas, an environmentalist organization who spearheaded the reform.
Foreign hunters come to Costa Rica in search of exotic felines while others look to obtain rare and colorful parrots as pets.
This is also Costa Rica’s first proposal that came to Congress by popular initiative, with 177,000 signatures calling for the ban submitted two years ago.
Pumas are among Costa Rica's most treasured species. Photograph: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images
Pumas are among Costa Rica’s most treasured species. Photograph: Raul Arboleda/AFP/Getty Images
Ban does not affect Sport Fishing
Costa Rica on Monday became the first Latin American country to ban hunting as a sport, after an unanimous and final vote from the Legislative Assembly. The bill now awaits the signature by presidenta Laura Chinchilla, who has said she will sign it.
Lawmakers had provisionally approved a reform to its Wildlife Conservation law back in October. With a population of 4.5 million people, Costa Rica is one of the world’s most biodiverse nations.
Under the new law, those caught hunting can face up to four months in prison or fines of up to $3,000.
The law, however, permits hunting for personal consumption and does not affect sports fishing, a big tourist industry in the country. The ban is hunting for sport.
The new law, once it goes into effect, calls for smaller penalties for people who steal wild animals or keep them as pets. Jaguars, pumas and sea turtles are among Costa Rica’s most treasured species.
“There is no data on how much money hunting generates in the country, but we do know there are currently clandestine hunting tours that go for about $5,000 per person,” said Arturo Carballo, deputy director at Apreflofas, an environmentalist organization who spearheaded the reform.
Foreign hunters come to Costa Rica in search of exotic felines while others look to obtain rare and colorful parrots as pets.
This is also Costa Rica’s first proposal that came to Congress by popular initiative, with 177,000 signatures calling for the ban submitted two years ago.
Tammy and Ron Snell visited Costa Rica last year and liked it so much they decided to move there. The North Platte couple has purchased 12 acres of jungle, with plans to build a resort.
Lush green jungle, white sandy beaches, roaring waterfalls – they are sights many people can only dream about. But they’re about to become home for Ron and Tammy Snell.
Tammy and Ron Snell visited Costa Rica last year and liked it so much they decided to move there. The North Platte couple has purchased 12 acres of jungle, with plans to build a resort.
The Snells packed up their personal possessions on Monday – including their car – and shipped them to Costa Rica, where they plan to start a resort. It’s a venture that’s been a year in the making.
“We had been telling people for months, ‘We have this impossible dream,'” Ron said. “Then we said, ‘We have this dream.’ Now we say, ‘Wow. This dream came true.'”
Ron first visited Costa Rica in 1998 when he took his son there for a post-high school graduation trip.
“That began the dream,” Ron said. “Last year Tammy and I went back for a three-week vacation, and she fell in love with the country, too. The first place out of three that we stayed was for sale, and we thought, ‘This could be really fun.'”
On Thursday, the idea came to fruition when the Snells closed on a 12-acre parcel of jungle overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The closest town is Dominical, which is about 10 minutes away.
“At our location, there’s no indication of other habitation,” Ron said. “But, within a 15-minute drive, there are beautiful, uncrowded tropical beaches with an ocean warm enough to swim in and surf in without a wet or dry suit. Our site is also close to activities like zip-lining and waterfall rappelling.”
An engineer is drafting plans for 10-15 cabins. The Snells will stay in a rental house while the buildings are constructed.
“We want to create a gathering place for active, inquisitive, adventuresome travelers who like being around kindred spirits,” Ron said. “The clientele we’re focusing on are lively, engaging people who want comfort and class at night, but during the day, seek a large variety of things to do.”
At the Snells’ resort, visitors will be able to walk jungle paths, stretch on yoga mats in a secluded, natural world and dine alfresco, surrounded by monkeys, toucans and other exotic species. The couple’s long-range goal is to construct a pool big enough for scuba diving, water polo and kayaking. They will also add an event hall for weddings and other social gatherings.
“We would like to have several cabins ready by the end of 2013, and over the next three years, develop the rest,” Ron said.
But for the Snells, who depart on Jan. 10, leaving North Platte will be hard. The couple has a lot of ties to the community. Ron was the director of the homeless shelter for 12 years, and both he and Tammy were instrumental in raising money and awareness for a new shelter building. Tammy has also been serving as the patient and family services coordinator at Great Plains Regional Medical Center.
“We haven’t started saying goodbyes,” Ron said. “But we’re hoping there won’t have to be any. We’re hoping people will come down and visit us.”
Ron said he’s never lived in another place where he’s felt so attached to the people and contacts he’s made. Yet, he’s looking forward to the opportunities to serve and the people he and Tammy will get to know and enjoy in Costa Rica.
“That’s what’s waiting to be discovered,” Ron said. “It’s part of the adventure. I guess that’s my message to North Platte. Don’t be limited by what you can see, because when you commit to something new, what you haven’t seen can be amazing.”
Other than the arch that told me I was in “Barrio Chino”, the only difference of the area known as Paseo de los Estudiantes was that I was walking the Calle instead of driving on it.
Barrio Chino cost ¢800 million colones (US$1.6 million dollars), of which ¢500 million was donated by the government of China. And the only thing I could see for my share of US$1.1 million dollar contribution was a paved walkway and the mounds.
It did not feel, look and smell like a Chinatown. Nothing like the Chinatown I know on Spadina Avenue in Toronto. Or the Chintawon in Hong Kong I visited some years back.
No chickens hanging in the store windows. No dried snakes and other exotic animals. No Orientals all over. In fact, the only Chinese stores in San José’s Chinatown are the same ones that have been on Calle 7 forever, before it was inaugurated as Chinatown.
To quote my long time friend and long time resident of Costa Rica who accompanied me on my walk to Chinatown, “yet another disillusionment”.
I suppose we have to give it some time!
Enrico Cacciatore, Chief cook and bottle washer at the Q!
Nine students and two professors toured the country for a week to experience and evaluate its health care system first-hand. It was the first of its kind. The trip was sponsored by Penn State’s health policy and administration undergraduate department as an extension of the current comparative health systems course. The course helps students compare and analyze differences in health systems across varying levels of developed countries.
Castillo is the one appointed by President Laura Chinchilla to receive today the pro tempore presidency of the regional mechanism from Nicaragua.
