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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 27 | |||||||||
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 Dancesport photo
Scenes from a prior dance
competitionBallroom dancing
contest
will start Thursday By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Ballroom dancing is making a debut at the San José Palacio Friday through Sunday. The event is the Costa Rican Dancesport Competition, which will have international competitors. Participating will be some of those who participated in “Dancing with the Stars,” the U.S. television show, according to an announcement. This is the third year for the event. Friday and Saturday will be for semifinals, and the finals are Sunday. Dance couples compete in American smooth, American rhythm, international standard, international Latin, quick step and salsa. The organizer of the event is David Martínez, a well-known Costa Rica dance school owner. He has danced in theatrical productions and in similar competitions. Two-day rock festival planned for this weekend By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A two-day rock festival will take over Parque Morazán Saturday and Sunday in the “Vl Festival Rock en el Morazán” from noon until the final performance of the night. The Centro Cultural de España is hosting the event, which is part of its monthly initiative to bring rock bands to play at the park in “Rock en el Farolito.” Both nights will be free to the public. Many of the Costa Rican bands performing have previously played at the “Rock en el Farolito.” Bands from Guatemala, Honduras and Panama will join the line-up for the festival. There won't be one style of rock, but a variety of the genre from indie, punk, funk, electronica to metal, said an announcement. Parque Morazán is in north San José and south of the Holiday Inn.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
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| A.M. Costa Rica Third
News Page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 27 | |
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| Tourism chamber says it is satisfied with
a 4.6 percent increase |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The tourism chamber is putting on a happy face with the news that non-resident arrivals in 2011 were 4.6 percent higher than in 2010. The chamber, the Cámara Nacional de Turismo, was reacting to the release of final 2011 figures by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo. The tourism institute reported that Costa Rica received 2,195,960 non-resident visitors in 2011 compared to 2,099,829 in 2010. The difference is slightly more than 96,000. The chamber report also uses the term non-resident tourists to describe the arrivals. The increase of those arriving by air was 3.2 the chamber said. The tourism institute had hoped for a 5 percent increase in visitors in 2011. |
The chamber once again is urging the
country to seek tourists in
non-traditional countries, such as Russia, Brazil, China and
India. It
also urged more investment in infrastructure, such as road repairs. The chamber noted that improvements at Juan Santamaria airport and a new terminal at Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia were advances in tourism. It urged more efforts to get more air flights to the country. It also urged more emphasis on security. The tourism industry has negotiated a graduated value-added tax as part of the proposal that is being discussed in the legislature. Instead of the full 14 percent tax right away, certain tourism operations will pay just 2 percent the first year, 10 percent the second year and then 14 percent in the third year. There is no guarantee that this proposal will survive legislative debate, although it is backed by the central government. |
 Archivo
Nacional photo
Liceo de Costa Rica students
parade at graduation in 1931. |
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| Liceo de Costa Rica marks 125 years of
Costa Rican education |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
As students are poised to return to their public school classes Wednesday the Archivo Nacional noted that a significant institution in Costa Rica is celebrating 125 years. The institution is the Liceo de Costa Rica, which is located on the aptly named Paseo de los Estudiantes in San José. Many of the movers and shapers of the country's history attended this school. |
The Liceo was founded as part of the
liberal reforms at the end of the
19th century. The president who signed the decree for the Liceo and
similar institutions was Bernardo Soto Alfaro. Until 1902, the school was located on Avenida Segunda, the same spot where the towering headquarters of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social now stands. For much of its history, the Liceo was males only. The women went to the Colegio Superior de las Señoritas, which still is in operation on Calle 3. |
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| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
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A.M.
Costa Rica's
Fourth news page |
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A.M.
Costa Rica's Fourth news page
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 27 | |||||
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 Cuerpo de Bomberos photo
Smoke billows from the affected
stores at the Depósito Monday afternoon |
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| Fire reduces three stores at the Golfito
Depósito Libre to ashes |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Three stores where Costa Rican residents purchase bargain goods were reduced to ashes Monday. The blaze was at the Depósito Libre de Golfito, a place that enjoys a special tax status to encourage development in the region in southwest Costa Rica. The Cuerpo de Bomberos said the alarm came in at 2:47 p.m. The first firemen who arrived at the scene said that three stores were consumed completely by fire. The blaze was brought under control at 4:08, firemen said. Destroyed were stores 47, 48 and 49. Each is two stories. Firemen from Golfito and Ciudad Neily participated. The extent of the destruction is about 1,550 square meters or about 11,300 square feet, said a report from the bomberos. The Depósito has had blazes in 2001 and 2004. |
 Cuerpo de Bomberos photo
The structures were fully
involved in flames when firemen arrived, they said. |
| Loggerhead study shows they have favorite
feeding places |
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U.S.
Geological Survey Office of Communications
and Publishing Satellite tracking of threatened loggerhead sea turtles has revealed two previously unknown feeding hotspots in the Gulf of Mexico that are providing important habitat for at least three separate populations of the turtles, according to a study published recently in the journal Biological Conservation. The two sites, located in the open waters off the coast of Southwest Florida and the northern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula, were found by a team of scientists when they compiled and analyzed loggerhead tracking data. The researchers' goal was to synthesize tracking data from three genetically distinct loggerhead populations to learn more about how they use the Gulf of Mexico. By identifying the specific location of regularly used habitat, the results provide invaluable information for marine planning and management for this species, whose populations in the Gulf of Mexico are well below historic levels and in recent years have continued to decline drastically in some areas, said researchers. The maritime feeding grounds also hold the first clues about how loggerhead sea turtles spend time at sea – which is, in essence, most of their lives. "Up until now, management actions that affect loggerheads have often focused on their limited time at nesting beaches, or on fisheries regulations," said Kristen Hart, the U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist who led the study. "Our findings open up important new options for marine habitat conservation, and provide valuable geographic data that can be used to strategically locate marine reserves based on the best available science, as called for in the new National Ocean Policy." "The use of satellite tags for tracking marine animals has opened our eyes to the secret lives of some of nature's most |
elusive creatures," said Marcia
McNutt, director of the U.S. Geological Survey, "At first a scientific
tool to understand the life
cycle of animals, such as white sharks and leatherback turtles, who
rarely come into contact with humans, these tags may now be the main
hope for understanding what we can do, or what we should stop doing, in
order to bring them back from the road to extinction." Researchers intercepted female loggerheads after their nesting forays to beaches and outfitted them with satellite tags at study sites in the Florida Panhandle, Casey Key in southwest Florida, and Dry Tortugas National Park. They then tracked the females’ migrations and used a new method to determine precisely when they had arrived at hotspot foraging areas, in two geographically different locations. Seven female turtles migrated to foraging sites off southwest Florida, while the other three took up residence at foraging sites at the Yucatan site. Once the researchers applied the new method for synthesizing their satellite-tracking data, it became clear that these loggerhead turtles from all three populations consistently converged around two common sites. This confirmed a hunch that the researchers had developed after years of tracking turtles. At both of the feeding hotspots, turtles selected individual sites where they foraged in shallow or nearshore waters less than 50 meters deep. Turtles appeared to prefer their own distinct territories, where they tended to remain resident. This suggests that it may be possible to accurately predict where sea turtles will feed, information that will prove vital for managers looking to focus conservation efforts on prime foraging habitat. Researchers don't yet know what attracts loggerheads from around the Gulf to these specific feeding areas, although generally, loggerheads forage on the bottom of the sea floor for crustaceans such as crabs, lobsters, clams or conchs. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M.
Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 27 | |||||||||
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 Pensoft Publishers graphic
The new bamboo pest from Costa
RicaNew species of
bamboo pest
discovered in Costa Rica By
the Pensoft Publishers news staff
Several periods of field work during 2008 have led to the discovery of a new species of bamboo-feeding plant lice in Costa Rica’s high-altitude region called Cerro de la Muerte. The discovery was made thanks to molecular data analysis of mitochondrial DNA. The collected records have also increased the overall knowledge of plant lice, one of the most dangerous agricultural pests worldwide. The study was published in the open access journal ZooKeys. It is a well established fact that the arthropod fauna, to which plant lice also belong, is abundantly present in the tropical regions. Not so with plant lice, which prefer the temperate climates further north. This has been a bit of a paradox for scientists although it is also known that plant lice diversity increases in high altitude areas, such as mountains and high plateaus. Such is the sampling area visited in Costa Rica, Cerro de la Muerte, the highest point in the Costa Rican section of the Interamericana highway. Many plant lice species feed only on one type of plant. The diet of the newly described plant lice species consists solely of a type of bamboo, Chusquea tomentosa. A molecular analysis was used to determine to which taxonomic genus it belongs (Rhopalosiphum). Its description is based also on molecular information of fragments of the mitochondrial DNA and on nuclear gene coding, in addition to external characteristics. Plant lice are recognized among the biggest insect pests on agriculture and gardening. From a zoological point of view though, they are very successful organisms, which although present mainly in temperate climates, have the potential to threaten even tropical regions, dedicated to plant cultivation. Ruling Mexican political party picks woman as candidate By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Josefina Vásquez Mota has become the first female presidential candidate from any of Mexico's major political parties. Ms. Vásquez Mota won the ruling Partido Acción Nacional primary Sunday night. The 59-year-old is hoping to revitalize support for her party in a country weary of corruption and drug violence. That violence is blamed for more than 47,000 deaths since President Felipe Calderón came to office. Many in México say they are ready for a change after 12 years under the Partido Acción Nacional, and Ms. Vásquez Mota will have to convince voters her presidency would not be a continuation of Calderon's legacy. In her favor, Calderón and the party establishment had backed another candidate. Ms. Vásquez Mota, a one-time journalist and economist, has served in the government as a legislator, as education secretary, and as the country's first female social development secretary. She also was Calderon's campaign manager. She will face opposition candidate Enrique Pena Nieto, from the Partido Revolucionario Institucional. Despite holding a wide lead in polls, the 45-year-old Nieto has stumbled on the campaign trail, and some in México say they are not ready to hand power back to his party, which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years. Also running is Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from the Partido de la Revolución Democrática. The 59-year-old former Mexico City mayor finished a close second in the 2006 presidential election, just behind President Calderon. |
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Jo
Stuart |
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M.
Costa
Rica's sixth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 27 | ||||||||||
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Latin America news |
Putin
representative visits
for joint talks here By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
and wire service reports A vice minister of foreign relations of the Russian Federation is expected to be visiting the country today. The diplomat, Sergei Ryabkov, was scheduled to arrive Monday night. The announcement by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto was typically vague, but Costa Rican officials are expected to make a pitch for Russian investment in the country. The visit comes when the government of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is generating protests. Putin, who is seeking a historic third term as president, has acknowledged that Russians want more say in government and the need to renew the country's political system. In an article published Monday in the Kommersant daily newspaper, Putin admitted that the government has fallen behind the people's demands for a stronger voice in it. He said Russia's civil society has become "incomparably more mature, active and responsible" and that the government must catch up to growing public activity. But he cautioned against looking to any external model, and insisted the country needs a strong federal center. Monday's article follows a mass rally on Saturday where tens of thousands of people took to the streets behind banners reading "Russia Without Putin." Others turned out in support of the government. Polls show that Putin is likely to win the March 4 presidential election. Russians have staged mass protests since December's parliamentary elections, claiming fraud in favor of Putin's United Russia party. They also accuse President Dmitry Medvedev and Putin of hijacking the March presidential vote after Medvedev agreed not to run and allowed Putin to return to the presidency. Since then, Putin and President Medvedev have promised to allow more political parties and to reinstate direct elections of regional governors. Putin served two presidential terms from 2000 to 2008 before becoming prime minister. Moscow has since extended the presidential term to six years. If he regains the presidency, the 59-year-old leader could remain in power until 2024. One invasion suspect held after robbery in Cóbano By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Two men invaded a home in Cóbano about 9 a.m. Monday, tied up the couple there, ransacked the place and fled on a stolen motorcycle. Just 10 minutes later the stolen motorcycle suffered mechanical problems, and one of the bandits fled into the mountains. A second man, identified as a 24 year old, was detained. The home invasion was in Santa Teresa de Cobano. The Judicial Investigating Organization said that the bandits took jewelry and cash as well as the defective motorcycle. They threatened the couple after they tied them up then they pistol-whipped them, agents said. |
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| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
James
DeRoy
