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| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 33 | |||||||||
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new station in Los Chiles By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The nation's fire fighters will begin construction this month of the first fire station to be financed by a new tax. The station will be in Los Chiles in northern Costa Rica. The municipality there has donated the land not far from the Hospital de Los Chiles, said the Cuerpo de Bomberos. Lawmakers recently passed a new tax on electrical bills that will generate funds so that the fire fighting agency can build a handful of new stations a year and staff them. Other stations are proposed this year for Puerto Jiménez, Talamanca, Cariari, Monteverde and Nandayure. The fire fighting agency said that the new station will be inaugurated in April if construction is on schedule. Woman's death is called accidental due to a fall By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Investigators are classifying a Canadian woman's death at her home in Playa de Cocos as an accident. The woman, 79-year-old Lorraine Nadon, was found dead at the foot of her stairs in her Las Begonias condominiums where she lived with her husband, the Judicial Investigating Organization reported. Rescue responders said they received the call at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday from the husband. He said he awoke to find his wife dead in the apartment, they said. Officials presume that she fell down the stairs. When investigators arrived, they said they found no signs of foul play or marks on the body indicating a bullet or knife wound. They say no one has been detained in relation to the case and an autopsy will determine the exact cause of death.
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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, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 33 | |
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Jo Stuart |
| Study to be launched to seek cause of
mystery kidney disease |
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By
Andrew Rulseh Kasper
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Costa Rican government is launching the region's first in-depth study into the mysterious epidemic of kidney failure which has claimed the lives of thousands of sugar cane workers in Central America. Since it was first identified that high rates of kidney failure exist in the young, male, working populations along the Pacific coast of Central America, many theories have surfaced as to the root of the problem. Although prolonged dehydration is agreed upon in the scientific community as a likely candidate, many others have been proposed. Some of the others include: exposure to pesticides, from the sugar cane work many of the afflicted participate in, consumption of a homemade liquor that is popular in the rural regions where the problem is most prevalent and chronic consumption of pain medications possibly linked to the aches and pains of a manual labor workforce. Genetics could also play a part, but researchers seem to agree that environmental factors are most likely to blame. What the Costa Rican study hopes to draw is a more concrete link between one of the possible culprits, or a combination of several, and the affected population. Ray Wong, a health expert based in Liberia, which is directing the study, said other descriptive studies have been done in the region but no associative ones. He said if everything goes as planned, the pilot study could begin as soon as late March, after it is approved by an ethics committee. It will be conducted through eight clinics in the Guanacaste region, where researchers have determined the biggest problem exists. Guanacaste in northwest Costa Rica is mostly a rural region where many participate in hard labor, especially harvesting of sugar cane. According to Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social statistics, over the last several years the Guanacaste region has accounted for about 12 percent of the nation's documented kidney failures while it only represents 6 percent of the countries population. In other words, Wong said, that province is very high-risk in terms of a resident developing a chronic kidney disease. Wong, himself a Caja physician, said the study will be conducted by doctors in each of the participating clinics who will survey patients with chronic kidney problems with a host |
of labor and lifestyle related
questions. For every person surveyed with a chronic kidney illness, two
healthy patients will also be surveyed. The healthy patients will be similar in age, sex, nationality and location, he said. More than 800 people will be surveyed in total over about 10 months in total, Wong said, adding that he hopes the results will either determine a common thread among the sick or point researchers in the right direction for another study. Roberto Castro, who works with the Ministerio de Salud and specializes in occupational health, said if conclusive evidence is found, the results could have a direct affect on workplace practices. Castro, also a physician, said he believes the problem is most likely linked to chronic dehydration. He said the disease has been identified in laborers outside of the sugar cane industry such as construction, possibly ruling out the link to pesticides. Homemade alcohol consumption more commonly causes neurological effects, he added. Castro described the kidney as a filter that needs to be purged frequently with an intake of water to remove the toxins. He said a laborer working in the sun can expel two kilograms or 4.4 pounds of water in a day, all which needs to be replaced promptly. Often it is not. He said sugar cane workers also frequently burn the fields before harvest, doubly exposing them to high temperatures inducing dehydration. Weeks and years of this type of work can have a cumulative affect, he said. Castro said concrete evidence may result in widespread mandatory changes in labor practices. In the example of chronic dehydration, he said it may mean outdoor work schedules will have to be altered with a mandatory break between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun is the hottest. Fluids may be more readily available to employees and specific clothing to keep cool may be required, he said. An analysis of global health data showed that from 2005 to 2009, kidney failure has killed more than 2,800 men a year in the region, according to the Center for Public Integrity, which first reported on the issue in December. In Costa Rica, death from the disease is up 16 percent from 2005. In El Salvador and Nicaragua over the last two decades, the number of men dying from kidney disease has risen fivefold, according to the report. Now more men are dying from the ailment than from HIV/AIDS, diabetes and leukemia combined, the U.S.-based center added. |
| Public employees say they plan to stage a
general strike today |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country's public employees are poised to go out on strike today, although the percentage that will participate is uncertain. The so-called general strike is being initiated by the nation's teachers. The Asociación Nacional de Educadores put a litany of demands on its Web site, including the statement that “the fiscal crisis is the responsbility of the politicians and poor fiscal administration that complacently have permitted evasion and excessive exemptions for the most powerful and rich sectors that voraciously accumulate wealth.” The teachers organization and other union groups have said that they are being penalized because the central government has decreed a 5,000-colon monthly raise for public employees. That's about $10. The union members are upset that the amount is not larger and that negotiations were not allowed to continue. Those who participate today are expected to assemble in front of the Ministerio de Hacienda, the budgetary agency, on Avenida Segunda before 10 a.m. From there they plan to march to Casa Presidencial in Zapote. |
The salary protest has not generated
the same fervor among public
employees as other issues, but police and telecom workers are likely to
join in. They are members of unions affiliated with the
Asociación
Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados, which is supporting
the
strike. The strike also is a challenge to President Laura Chinchilla Miranda. Already, one of her ministers, Mario Zamora Cordero, has warned Fuerza Pública officers not to participate in the strike if they are on duty. He is the security minister. Lately the central government has declined to pay workers for the time they are on strike. That has limited participation. For expats with children in public schools, there is uncertainty. If enough teachers participate, schools may not function. Some are considering keeping their children home. Other expats who have reasons to visit public offices might find them well under staffed. Workers at the public hospitals have had a series of protests and strikes, so their participation today is uncertain. Naturally strike organizers say they have the full support of most public workers. |
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
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A.M.
Costa Rica's
Fourth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 33 | |||||
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| Judiciary expresses pleasure at
conviction of one of its own |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The judiciary issued congratulatory statements Tuesday after an employee in the anti-drug prosecutor's office was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The man, Walter Valverde Fernández, was convicted of leaking inside information to two groups of drug traffickers. The Poder Judicial issued a long press release along with a photo of the convicted man. However, they also said that a Colombian man tried with Valverde was acquitted of drug charges. Prosecutors will appeal that acquittal, they said. The man who was acquitted is Ricardo Vallejo. He was accused of the same crimes that Valverde faced. Valverde also faced a drug trafficking charge, but the trial tribunal decided that there was insufficient evidence that he was involved in such acts. The evidence came mainly from an email record and conversations on cellular telephones. Prosecutors said that Valverde leaked confidential information contained in files relating to six cases. The court also concluded that he put in jeopardy the lives of judicial employees. Valverde was ordered held in preventative detention for six months while the appeals are processed. That is typical in court cases here where a trial court's decision usually has to be ratified by an appeals panel. The case was in the Tribunal de Juicio de San José. |
 Poder Judicial photo
Walter Valverde discusses his
case after conviction |
| U.S. Embassy here joins Washington's
defense of drug policies |
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Embassy here is joining the effort to defend Washington's drug policy. The embassy will bring two U.S. experts here by electronic means to discuss the situation with Spanish-language reporters. They are Eric Siervo, manager for International Programs with Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America in Alexandria, Virginia, and L. Bradley Hittle of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy. Washington is going on the offensive after Otto Pérez, the new president of Guatemala, suggested over the weekend that the United States might consider decriminalizing drugs as a way to reduce violence in Central America. The U.S. Embassy there quickly issued a statement that said such an action was not a good idea, and now the embassy in Costa Rica is joining in the public relations effort to defend the war on drug. |
Pérez heads a country
that has been torn apart by violence and drug
cartels. Honduras and El Salvador also are highly violent countries
due, in part, to drug gangs. Although criminality is still on the
increase in Costa Rica, it has not reached the level of other
countries. Much of the violence is due to drug use and gangs. The U.S. Embassy in Guatemala said that even if gangs did not deal in drugs they would deal in other types of criminality that would continue to cause violence. Washington clams that U.S. Drug use has decreased significantly. Many Latin leaders have urged the United States to do something about the consumption of drugs that is the end market for traffickers. The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions also studies teenage drinking, marijuana use and tobacco use, according to its Web site. |
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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, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 33 | |||||||||
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| Fake
Marine brings case on Valor Act to High Court By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to throw out the Stolen Valor Act because it violates free speech. This is the law that penalizes those who claim falsely that they hold U.S. military decorations. The appeal against the law came from a man named Xavier Alvarez, an elected official holding a water board post in California, according to the the Legal Information Institute at the Cornell University Law School. Alvarez claimed during a public meeting that he had been a Marine and had been awarded the Medal of Honor. This is the United State's highest award for valor. He was never a Marine. According to the institute's summary Alvarez challenged the act in U.S. district court, but he received three years probation, community service and a fine anyway. However, the Ninth Circuit court reversed the conviction and held that the Stolen Valor Act is contrary to the free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court set oral arguments for a week from today. Alvarez is being supported by the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and a host of organizations that are First Amendment advocates. U.N.'s Ban praises treaty for nuclear-free Latin zone Special
to A.M. Costa Rica
On the 45th anniversary of the treaty that created a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Tuesday hailed the pact as an example of how regional initiatives can advance global norms on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of atomic energy. “The Treaty of Tlatelolco has earned international recognition as one of the most historic achievements in the history of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament efforts,” said Ban in a message delivered on his behalf in Mexico City by Sergio Duarte, the U. N. high representative for disarmament affairs. Latin America and the Caribbean was the first region in the world to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone with the Treaty of Tlatelolco – named for an area within Mexico City – in 1967. Ban said the treaty also broke new ground by establishing the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean as a regional nuclear verification agency with the unique mandate to verify compliance with the obligations of the pact. “Even more remarkably, it achieved all of this at the height of the Cold War, thereby challenging the notion that nuclear weapons were indispensable in maintaining security,” he said. “These great achievements were the result of unprecedented cooperation among States at the regional level, reinforced by support they received from the world community, in particular the United Nations.” Building on the success of Treaty of Tlatelolco, the U.N. has actively promoted the establishment of other such regional nuclear-weapon-free zones around the world, the secretary general noted. Pekingese is best of show at Westminster competition By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A 4-year-old Pekingese named Malachy has won best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club canine competition in New York City. Malachy defeated six other dogs to take the top prize Tuesday night at the prestigious annual event for pure bred dogs, a year after finishing in second place. He is the fourth Pekingese to win best in show at Westminster. Malachy, who won as best toy dog for the second straight year, took home his 115th overall best of show title, and his last. His handler and co-owner David Fitzpatrick says the dog will retire from competition and live out his days chasing squirrels. More than 2,000 purebred dogs were entered in the two-day Westminster show. Loan planned for Cachi By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica says it is loaning the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad $140 million to enlarge the Cachi hydro plant in Cartago. The funds will be distributed annually with $42.4 million disbursed each year. The term of the loan is for 16 years. |
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Jo
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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 sixth news page |
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| San
José,
Costa Rica, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 33 |
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Latin America news |
Guide
to 1,300 tropical fish
now an iTunes application By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Now there is no excuse not to know those fish. In both languages. A Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute expert has created an iPhone application that contains bilingual species identifications, the institute said. The potential users are divers, scientists and tour guides, the institute said. The electronic application contains information on about 1,300 fish species. The institute said that is about 10 percent of the world's tropical fish. The area covered by the application is from Baja California to Ecuador and the Galapagos. The application by D. Ross Robertson is based on the 1994 book “Fishes of the Tropical Eastern Pacific,” by Gerald R. Allen and Robertson. The application is available through iTunes as “Fishes: East Pacific. An identification guide for the shorefish fauna of the tropical eastern Pacific,” the Panamá-based institute said. Agents search an office at Municipalidad de Escazú By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial agents searched an office of the Municipalidad de Escazú Tuesday as part of an investigation into the issuance of construction permits. The investigation began in August and involves nine employees of the municipality, said the Judicial Investigating Organization. There have been no arrests. The case is being handled by the fraud investigators. The case involves the issuance of permits that involve the Area de Protección Quebrada Jaboncillo, said the judicial agency. Construction expo to open By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Expo Construcción y Vivienda 2012 begins this evening at the Centro de Eventos Pedregal in Belén, Heredia. The expo is sponsored by the Cámera Costarricense de Construcción. Organizers said that there will be 570 separate exhibits. The expo runs through Sunday, and Saturday and Sunday are days with paid admission. Animal adoptions offered By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Asociacion Animales de Asis will hold an adoption fair for cats and dogs Saturday at the Automercado in Heredia from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
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James
DeRoy
