|
 |
Your daily
English-language |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
 |
|
Second news page |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
 |
 Agents release photo
of man sought in Quepos By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Investigators released a photo Thursday of a man they would like to interview about the death of a woman in a Quepos hotel. The man speaks perfect English and is presumed to come from a country where English is the major language. In the photo taken at a casino the man is wearing a red baseball cap with an Audi emblem on it. He also is wearing a black shirt bearing the initials "N.Y." Investigators can be reached at 777-0511 or 777-1511. Agents said the man has a technique of getting into a hotel and using tricks to avoid registering and frequently leaves without paying. They said he had short blond hair and is from 33 to 35 years of age. A worker at the Hotel el Pueblo discovered the body of a dead 24-year-old woman there Wednesday. She had checked in with the man in the photo Saturday, agents said they believe. Although the case is being treated as a murder, there is no clear indication yet of how the woman died. Hotel employees said that when the man signed up for the room he showed them a business card that identified him as a member of the U.S. Embassy staff in Nicaragua. Agents said that he is not. Limón gets more rain but conditions improving By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Limón on the Caribbean coast got hit with two more inches of rain Thursday, but predictions are for less rain today and clearing for the weekend. The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional measured 51.3 mms of rain (2.1 inches) at its Limón station with most of the rain falling in midafternoon. The northern zone and San José got rain, too, while the Pacific beaches were generally dry and party cloudy. The Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos y Atención de Emergencias maintained an alert through today, but said that the bulk of the rivers that drain into the Caribbean were cresting. Teams were sent south to Valle de la Estrella and also into Matina near Limón to evaluate damage. Matina and parts of Limón were underwater. The Caribbean coast was hit with up to 213 mms (8 inches) of rain from 7 a.m. Wednesday to 7 a.m. Thursday. Both the emergeny commission and the weather bureau predicted more stable conditions for later today and the weekend. The heavy rain was caused by a storm system in the Caribbean. English training planned for workers in tourism Special
to A.M. Cost Rica
The Amigos de los Colegios de Santa Cruz is organizing basic English courses for Costa Ricans who work in the hotel and restaurant industry. These courses will begin on Tuesday, April 18. The site will be the Colegio 27 de Abril. The class will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end at 7:30 p.m. Starting in May, there will be classes twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The cost per person for a two-hour class will be 1,000 colons. Organizers said they hope to have a maximum of 10 students. Man being investigated in Alajuela sex case By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A 45-year-old Costa Rican has been arrested in Barrio San José, Alajuela, to face charges he was paying minor and adult women to engage in sexual activities with him. Agents for the Judicial Investigation Organization conducted two raids Thursday to obtain evidence. Agents said the man videotaped his sessions without the knowledge of the women. |
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
on our real estate page HERE! |
 |
|
Third news page |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| San José,
Costa Rica, Friday, March 31, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 65 |
||||||
 |
| Airport bandits hurting tourism, police officials admit |
|
|
By Saray Ramírez Vindas
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Police officials say they are closing in on a band of robbers who prey on tourists near Juan Santamaría airport. But they also admitted for the first time that the gang of robbers has caused a panic and has had a negative impact on tourism. Thursday was the first time that police officials admitted that the robberies were taking place. Until now the story has been reported by information provided by various embassies and reports from people who have been robbed. The police officials were Jorge Rojas, director of the Judicial Investigating Organization, Rogelio Ramos Martínez, minister of Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública, and Erick Lacayo, director general of the Fuerza Pública. Rojas was asked about the situation during a press conference called to discuss new anti-crime strategies and recent successes. Rojas said investigators have formal complaints from 15 different groups of tourists who have been stopped by force and the occupants robbed. However, estimates by news organizations suggest the number might be twice that. Included are Costa Ricans as well as U.S., Canadian and German citizens. Reporters also have learned that the bandits sometimes shoot out the tires of vehicles and that the crimes usually happen at night between 10 p.m. and midnight. This usually happens on the Autopista General Cañas between the airport and San José. There are reports of bandits threatening to molest female victims. The group of robbers are violent and they block rental cars and force them off the highway. They |
order people at
gunpoint out of the vehicles, Rojas said. The bandits use ski masks and large caliber weapons and they also speak English, he added. Rojas said the tourism market had been harmed by a report from the Canadian government that warned against crime in Costa Rica. He said that he would like the Canadians to retract the warning when the highway hijackings are resolved. However, the Canadian warning was about the epidemic of petty thefts that tourists face daily here, mostly at the beach resorts. Rojas said that cameras were being erected along the highway to catch the crooks in operation. He added that the incidents seem to have diminished. The various embassies here have been generally silent on the robbery situation. The Canadian warning was about crime here in general. The U.S. Embassy inserted a few lines deep in its country summary of Costa Rica and then confirmed the robberies when asked by a reporter. An embassy spokesperson said March 17 that 12 groups of U.S. citizens had been held up from December through March 11, and that a group of Costa Ricans fell prey to the gang March 8. But no embassy official has issued a strong warning to its citizens. Fuerza Pública officers arrested four men March 19 on the highway but in daylight. There was speculation then that they might be part of the gang, but the comments by Rojas Thursday suggest that they are not. The Grupo de Apoyo Operational is being called in to support the investigation of the highway bandits. This is a group of 23 lawmen from various agencies who have been instrumental in a number of arrests in the center of San José where 70 percent of the nation's crimes happen. |
| A week full of art is just what you would expect here |
|||
| It has been a weeklong
celebration of the arts in Sabana Park. I have never seen such a
long row of white festive tents filled with tables and stands with
attentive vendors waiting to serve you. What fun it was to stroll
along between the tables feasting my eyes on every kind of art from
kitsch to fine. Because of other commitments I missed most of the
activities except the fireworks and music (which I could continue to
see and hear from my apartment after I got home). Saturday the Julia and David Artists Colony had one of its “show and tell” presentations. Artists usually come for a month’s stay and at the end of the month, the artists in residence display or read what they have done and answer questions about their work from the invited guests. Then there are usually refreshments supplied by Inez and her helpers and more casual conversation. Doss was kind enough to offer me a ride to Ciudad Colón so I invited my neighbor, Doug, and off we went in the capable hands of Miguel, Doss’ driver. It is not really that long a drive to Ciudad Colón but I have not been to the colony, except for the memorial, since my friend Bill White died. More than once I expected him to catch up with our small group as we walked from one studio to the next enjoying the artwork and trying to make knowledgeable comments or ask intelligent questions. I am so happy that Francisco and Royce have continued with the colony that Bill created. This past month there were five visual artists — painters — and two writers staying in the colony. At least three of them are repeat residents. Donna Marxer, a painter from New York, who loves and paints butterflies, is a first timer, and she said that she has been to some 11 artists’ colonies and this was the best. The others echoed her sentiments. It is the pleasure of just being in Costa Rica, they said, and the particular ambiance of the colony along with the chance to talk to and exchange ideas with other artists. For Donna, of course, it was also the fact that Costa Rica is the home of 10 percent of the world’s butterfly species. |
John Rafferty, also from New York and Donna’s husband, is a
writer. It
is a nice arrangement for the painter wife and writer husband.
She has
the upstairs studio with large windows and light suitable for an
artist, and he has the downstairs studio, just right for a
writer.
John read us the opening chapters of his book, “Shoot the Dog,” a
police procedure mystery set in New York City. I am ready to line
up
and buy it when it is off the press. |
||
 |
|
|
|
Fourth news page |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| San José,
Costa Rica, Friday, March 31, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 65 |
||||||
 |
| Defensora expresses concern over free trade treaty |
|
|
By José Pablo Ramírez Vindas
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Unless Costa Rica changes its current model of development the free trade treaty would enlarge the gap between the rich and the poor, according to the defensora de los habitantes. The concentration of wealth, the exclusion and the dehumanization brought by the treaty would increase the national social problems, she said Tuesday. The treaty also would reduce the central government's influence in the economy by eliminating tariffs, reducing subsidies and other methods used traditionally to enhance development, she said. The defensora, Lisbeth Quesada Tristan, also said that if the treaty is approved, Costa Rican producers would be subjected to unequal competition and might lose markets that now are theirs. |
The detailed report
covered a number of areas, including medicines,
labor, environment and constitutional issues. The report made some
technical suggestions for changes in Costa Rican law to compensate for
the impact of the trade treaty. In the area of telecommunications, the defensora said that foreign firms would seek out the most profitable areas and leave the current monopoly, the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad less profitable enterprises, such as fixed line telephones. The report comes at a time when an Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos study showed that between 1988 and 2004 the income of the top 20 percent of the population nearly doubled while that of the lowest 20 percent increased only 7 percent. The treaty is under study in the Asamblea Legislativa where it must be ratified to go into force. New legislators take over May 1, so nothing is certain. |
| Bush says his goal is comprehensive immigration law |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
President George Bush says he is committed to getting a comprehensive immigration reform package through the U.S. Congress — one that includes creation of a guest worker program. He spoke after talks in the Mexican resort of Cancun with President Vicente Fox. Bush went to Cancun at a time when Americans across the country are focusing on the emotional issue of illegal immigration. Polls show the public is just about split, with half wanting a crackdown on undocumented workers and others saying steps should be taken to allow many to work in the United States legally on a temporary basis. The debate followed Bush to Mexico — the homeland of many of the more than 11 million illegal immigrants now in the United States. Mexican President Vicente Fox has long called for reforms, such as implementation of the Bush administration's proposed guest worker program. As they sat down for talks in Cancun, President Bush reassured his counterpart that getting a bill with a guest worker program is a priority. He said he is optimistic a good bill will pass Congress, but made clear that given the passions on both sides, it may take time. "I told the president there is a legislative process that is going forward and that it may look |
cumbersome to some, but
that is how our democracy works," he said. The Senate started debate on immigration reform Wednesday. The House passed its version of the bill in December — one that focused solely on border security and enforcement and said illegal immigrants should be treated as felons. Immigration advocates have taken to the streets to protest the House bill and are urging the Senate to strip out the language making illegal immigration a felony and include a guest worker program. Bush left no doubt, that is his hope too. "I am optimistic we can get a bill done and I look forward to working with members of both parties to get a bill done," he said. Bush also praised Mexico for promising stronger action to police the U.S.-Mexican border. Speaking in Spanish, President Fox stressed border security is a shared responsibility. The Bush-Fox talks were a prelude to a three-way North American summit meeting today that will also include the new prime minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. Prime Minister Harper also met privately with President Bush — their first official meeting since Harper took office two months ago. Before their formal bilateral discussions got under way, the three leaders did a little sightseeing, leaving the resort town to tour some ancient Mayan ruins. |
| Battered Cancun recovering slowly but still ready for spring
break |
|
|
By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Cancun, México, is hosting both international leaders and vacationing college students this week, as the city slowly recovers from a brutal pounding by Hurricane Wilma. City officials say only about half of Cancun's 27,000 hotel rooms are open this year, after Wilma battered the resort city last October. Winds reached well past 200 kph (124 mph). |
Hotel owners say the
recovery is going slowly, as they try to meet
demands to build stronger structures that can withstand another such
storm. Meanwhile, the city has refurbished many beaches, re-planted vegetation, and repaired bike paths and walkways. Residents say the student crowds are smaller this year, but still plenty have come, determined to carry on Cancun's tradition of spring-break revelry. |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
