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| A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, March 28, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 62 | |||||||||
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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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Focus
groups will be used to get perceptions of crime By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The idea is used to sell beer and cosmetics, why not security? That is the concept of a proposal that will cause Universidad de Costa Rica academics to set up focus groups to tap the perceptions of the citizenry on matters of security. The work will be done by the Centro de Investigación y Capacitación en Administración Pública at the university. The university project, approved by the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública, is designed to generate a national dialog "in the context of our civil tradition of the culture of peace, of the abolition of the army and of human rights," according to a university summary. The focus groups will seek to determine what kind of police structure is needed in the country and to construct a system that will improve the indexes of security in the country, said the university. Fernando Berrocal was shy about giving his views when he spoke at a session outlining the university plans. He said there were problems in the way justice is administered. As an example he correctly pointed out that a Fuerza Pública officer cannot become involved in an automobile accident. That is the domain of the transit police, he said. Because the country has no army, Berrocal said the police should be the best of all. He repeated his concern that minor crimes are not punished. He said now was the time to discuss this issue and suggested the solution was more police, more agents for the Judicial Investigating Organization and more prosecutors. He also said that the police along the borders will get 19 new Land Rovers with $120,000 being invested toward that goal this year. Citizen security has been in the news since four men invaded the Rohrmoser home of Ricardo Toledo, a former presidential candidate. That happened March 21, and a maid and a neighbor died. Toledo's wife was roughed up and her arm broken in three places. Home invasion in Jacó hidden to remain a secret By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A North American woman was assaulted in her Jacó home by invaders last week, but little information is available because the woman put a lid on her case. The crime took place on Calle Vieja a Punta Leona. The woman, who was described as older, did not file a complaint until several days later and told investigators that she wanted no publicity over her case. Informal sources said that two or more criminals invaded the home, beat the woman brutally and left her for dead. The crime was attributed to a gang of robbers who are working the Jacó area. The crime is in contrast to the highly publicized home invasion and double murder that took place at the home of Ricardo Toledo March 21 in Rohrmoser. That crime received widespread publicity and generated a public outcry. He is a former presidential candidate. In a discussion with reporters Friday, Francisco Dall'Anese, the nation's chief prosecutor, said that similar crimes happen nearly every day. Response by law enforcement agencies frequently is hampered by victims who fear for their lives or shun publicity. Many do not even make a police report. Model forests are the topic By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Indians from the Brokenhead Ojibways Nation in Manitoba, Canada, are in Costa Rica meeting with the Cabécar community. Friday they will be visiting Nairí Awarí and the Parque Nacional Barbilla. The Brokenhead Ojibways manage the Manitoba model forest. The Cabécars have the Bosque Modelo Reventazón, and the discussions centered on generating cultural tourism, according to the Centro Agronómico de Investigación y Enseñanza, which hosted some of the sessions.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, March 28, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 62 | |||||||||
| Center
of nation's art world is Ciudad Quesada for now |
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By Donna Lynn Norton
Special to A.M. Costa Rica Huge, old central park trees. Large metal oil cans stacked in three’s to look like evolved totem poles painted with a variety of artwork, and used to wire special lighting and decorations by the people of the city. Makeshift tents for handicrafts, artwork and food. Children’s fair rides, dance theater demonstrations. Late night rock, jazz, or other concerts, every day, all day for six days, And there you have the Ciudad Quesada de San Carlos Arts festival, and it doesn’t happen every year. One individual, crystal-glass jewelry design artist Delta Javier, stands out for creativity in his hand-made work, including accessories for leather hats, belts and purses. His time is divided between making his creations and selling them, whether it’s going to El Salvador, Nicaragua and Panamá each four or five times a year or attending the various Costa Rica arts festivals about six times a year. He is one of the army of crafts people who display their skills at such events. Javier has seven years of experience experimenting with vivid color mixtures and jewelry creations with his high-tech oven, equipment and tools, some of which he makes himself. He knows similar artists, but none of whom makes items exactly like his, and he has developed his own formulas and processes. To get the elegant bubble effects he must mix the crystal and glass with a special formula, plus he must obtain these high quality materials of crystal and glass from special sources. It takes him approximately 10 hours to make each piece, and he usually makes a maximum of 20. But if an item is really popular, he may make a few more. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Donna Lynn Norton
Delta Javier, quality crystal-glass jewelry artist, at the San
Carlos/Ciudad Quesada Arts Festival.His most popular jewelry is rings and earrings, and the most popular jewelry colors are rose, followed by turquoise, orange, blue, red, and lastly black and white. His three main types of customers are people who like to stand out with a highly fashionable costume for horse parades, tourists, and men who purchase gifts for their wife, daughter or friends. He says he wants to beautify the world by beautifying women. His rings and earrings go for $7, bracelets $16, and he has necklaces and matching sets as well. His hat accessories go for $6-$8, and if you want the hat included, $20-$40 total, depending if you want leather or ute, adult or child size. He even provides nylon gift bags. For $8-$10 someone can give Delta Javier an ordinary bottle, for example a beer bottle. He can heat it up, iron it flat and install a hook for hanging on the wall. He sells many of these to restaurants as ornaments. He can put the label on too. |
| New
form of visa provides greater security, say officials |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
High-security visas have been introduced by the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería. And the project is being lauded as another advance in the government's effort to go digital. The new multiple entry visas are produced by computer on sticky-backed paper and are pasted into passports. They replace the stamp and ink pad. The visas are not for everyone. They will be used in Costa Rican consulates in foreign countries where visits by residents there are restricted. They also will be used for certain businessmen, sports figures and others, according to Mario Zamora, the immigration director. The first such visa went to Natalia Decastro González, a Colombian biologist who has worked to protect turtles in Costa Rica. Her visa included a digital photo taken at the time the visa was produced. Zamora said there were at least six levels of security in the visas. One goal is to reduce corruption. However, the special visas will not go into general use for some time. Kevin Casa, the nation's second vice president, said this was another step in making the government digital. He said that a digital government would cut down on the expense of time and money for citizens, reduce corruption and increase transparency. |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Saray Ramírez
Vindas
Mario Zamora shows off the new style of visa |
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Are you considering doing
business with a burglar alarm company?
2970-2/8/07If so, you should contact me first for my opinion prometheusthegreek@gmail.com |
From a hotel owner: 'At this time we have a deposit and all looks good!! Thank you for your help, and I must say your paper is impressive, and I had no idea you had such a circulation around the world. Received many inquiries for our hotel for that reason.' She used our classifieds! |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
| A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, March 28, 2007, Vol. 7, No. 62 | |||||||||
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Around
Costa Rica
Paso Ancho youngster
learns English mostly on his own
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By Saray Ramírez Vindas
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Esteban Jiménez Palacios, 12, of Paso Ancho has had an uphill fight because he was born 10 weeks premature. Now he is showing a highly developed ability in English. The diminutive boy speaks fluent English with a native accent. He says he picked the language up in school and by watching U.S. television. He also shows a mature interest in social problems. His abilities in English far outstrip the skills of many Costa Rican English teachers. In fact, he says he has lost some of his English since he changed schools. No one else in his home speaks English. Like many others of his age, he dreams to be a professional soccer or basketball player and wants to go to the United States to hone his language or to go to Brazil to get a start on a third language. He has dedicated parents and a younger sister, who, too, are surprised and pleased at his language skills. A brief essay shown to a reporter contains a few spelling errors but is at least equal to work that might be produced by a U.S. eighth-grader or high school freshman. A.M. Costa Rica is proud to present his essay, his first published work, spelling slips and all: When God created me, he did it for a purpose that he knows but I don't know it. And he knew when to create me, why, where and at wich hour that I was going to be born when he said it. He created me for a purpose in the world maybe to be a diciple for him, a sports player, an artist and all the other things that a person can be. I also think that he made me special because I think he had |
 A.M. Costa Rica/Saray Ramírez
Vindas
Esteban Jiménez Palacios
compassion on me and let me be born healthy and good. I thank him for giving me a mother and father that love me and to my sister and a good school to be in to study and prepare for a life for the, future to have a good wife and for my parents see their grand children when I get maried and have sons, and God in my heart. — Esteban Jiménez Palacios
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| It's
Oswaldo's trial, but the witnesses support his brother |
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By Dennis Rogers
A.M. Costa Rica special correspondent Three people who testified at the Oswaldo Villalobos trial Tuesday turned out to be character witnesses for his brother Enrique, and only discussed Oswaldo in the context of his ownership of the Ofinter S.A. exchange house. One, Elmer Weber is a Canadian miner who ultimately invested $192,000 with Enrique Villalobos. Hotel owner Tomas Schytt said he had $580,000 invested. Michale Nasso said he had about $30,000 with Enrique Villalobos at the time of the July 4, 2002, law enforcement raid that closed the lending operation. Nasso mentioned that Canadian ambassador at the time, Louise Léger apologized to those present at a meeting of the Canadian Club and said the Canadian government did not realize that a request for information about money laundering would have such far-reaching implications for so many Canadian citizens. |
The
Costa Rican government used the request for information on a
drug-smuggling group as a reason to raid the Oswaldo and Luis Enrique
Villalobos operations. The first was the Ofinter firm that exchanged
currencies. The adjacent
office occupied by Enrique and his workers borrowed money from
individuals with the promise of returns reaching 3 percent a month. The prosecution in the Oswaldo Villalobos trial is trying to connect him to the high-interest operation to substantiate fraud, money laundering and illegal banking charges. Enrique Villalobos continues to be a fugitive. Both men closed up their operations the October following the raid, saying that they could not continue because the Costa Rican government had frozen their bank accounts. Earlier testimony by agents for the Judicial Investigating Organization disclosed that members of the Canadian drug ring had visited the Ofinter offices in Mall San Pedro but the purpose of the visit was not known. Enrique Villalobos aggressively sought more investments between the time of the raid and his departure. |
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| San
José,
Costa Rica, Wednesday, March 28,
2007, Vol. 7, No. 62 |
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