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A.M.
Costa Rica
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Published Monday, April 3, 2017, in
Vol. 17, No.
66
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 3,
2017, Vol. 17,
No. 66
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Border police
have seized 47 horses
By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Border police announced that they had seized over 47 horses since the beginning of the year. The number represents more than double the amount seized for 2016 and it is only three months in. Most of these horses are confiscated due to their obvious malnourishment, ulcers and presence of ticks on their bodies, officials said. These animals are not for riding, however. They are meant to be eaten. The Policía de Fronteras were conducting a routine patrol along the Nicaraguan border when they spotted a group of nine horses corralled together and being led by several unidentified individuals. Those individuals escaped when they heard commands from the police, according to a report. Officials said that the horses were in a deplorable condition. Some were blind, some were limping and others had wounds on their bodies, according to police. Many also showed infections by ticks and other parasites, police said. The animals were handed over to the Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal of the agricultural ministry. Border police said that the increase in horse seizures along the Nicaraguan border are due to increased patrols particularly in the Los Chiles sector. Woman found dead in hotel on Saturday By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
A woman was discovered dead in a hotel room in San José Centro Saturday morning as the result of an apparent strangulation. Agents of the Judicial Investigating Organization report that the woman entered the hotel with an unidentified adult male around 2:30 in the morning Saturday. According to a preliminary report, the man apparently left the premises of the hotel around a half hour after arriving. Witnesses told investigators that the man said the victim was bathing and that he would return to the room shortly. When he did not return, people within the hotel went looking for the woman and heard no response from the room, according to investigators. That was when they discovered her dead in the room. Officers were alerted and a preliminary investigation discovered marks on the neck of the victim. The woman has not been identified and is believed to be between 30 and 35 years old, according to officials. Security guard
arrested on rape charge
By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Judicial Investigating Organization announced the arrest of a 54-year old man Sunday on suspicion of rape. The man arrested works as a private security guard in downtown San José, according to officials. A preliminary report indicates that man offered a 23-year old woman a job at a clinic. Agents said that the woman gathered together the different requirements necessary for the job. One of those was apparently a medical examination. Investigators then said that the victim’s rapist took her to a place that he claimed would charge a very cheap price for that examination. The place was really a hotel in San José, according to officials, where the rape occurred. The 54 year old was arrested and charged with the rape and is currently in custody for two months while awaiting for the trial to begin, according to the Judicial Investigating Organization. Man found dead and burnt in Heredia By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The Judicial Investigating Organization is investigating the circumstances leading to the cause of death of a man whose body was found burnt Saturday at San Rafael in Heredia. According to the initial report from agents, the body was found by cyclists passing by on their route. Preliminary investigations discovered that the body was burnt and missing parts apparently as a result of animal bites, agents said. Agents believe the man is somewhere between 20 and 30 years old. There was no mention as to motive and the body was taken to the Morgue Judicial to determine if there were any gunshot wounds on the body. Embassy gives millions toward openness By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Embassy provided more than 50 million colons, or around $90,000, towards initiatives in Costa Rica fostering open government and transparency within the public record. The project had two components, according to embassy officials. The first consisted of what the embassy defined as capacity building in civil servants and the civil society organizations. These were conducted through workshops, conferences and exchanges with so-called experts on open government, according to officials. Additionally, around $60,000 was invested into 12 donations to organizations with initiatives promoting public access to information and more openness in government data. The embassy desired the end goals to be greater civil participation in government as much as accountability. Among the different initiatives that received donated grants, were smartphone apps, websites, digital guides, data journalism and self-proclaimed citizen empowerment programs, according to a statement from the embassy. Each project was grouped into three areas: open data, access to information and citizen participation. Media organizations such as the Voz de Guanacaste benefited from this along with the Asociación Abriendo Datos Costa Rica, Universidad de Costa Rica and the ombudsman’s office among others.
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 3,
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| Costa Rican ballplayer wins training
contract with Houston Astros |
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By Rommel
Téllez
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Last Thursday, Bryan Solano lived a life changing moment at Antonio Escarré baseball park in Barrio San Cayetano, San José. That day, he sign up his training contract with the Houston Astros, an absolute milestone for any Central American baseball player seeking to play in the big leagues. His two trainers, Carlos Leyva and Álvaro Montalván had long prepared the 19-year old ballplayer for this moment. In fact they took him to Nicaragua for the last year and a half in order to improve his pitching skills. Under their guidance, Solano was able to throw a ball from 87 miles per hour to at least 92. An achievement that was possible thanks to his hard work in the Major League Baseball Developing Academy based in Nicaragua. As of now, Solano will move to the Dominican Republic. He should start his training there on April 15 and then continue his practice with the local summer team. He has to pass three different training stages before playing under the lights at Minute Maid Park, the Astros official stadium. "Contracts do not have a specific expiration date. It will depend on the player if he stays or not, his training could be terminated for poor performance, bad behavior or other reasons." said Montálvan. Solano was born and raised in Cieneguita, one of the most violent cities in Limón. Growing up, he lost his father at the age of 14. After witnessing the struggles of his single mother to raise him and his three brothers, he realized that success was not an option but a requirement. He started in the world of baseball at the age of 11, coached by a man named Ricky Lacwood. Lacwood allowed the kid to play in several positions until Solano figured out that he wanted to be a pitcher. "It's not easy, but if you want to go far in life, you have to sacrifice yourself and work hard," he said in an interview to the Federación Costarricense de Baseball. "The signing of Bryan Solano, a young player who started from a very young age in this exciting sport, is the prize he deserves for his efforts while playing for the national baseball selection in the national games,”said Vladimir Murillo, president of the Federación Costarricense de Baseball. |
 Federación
Costarricense de Béisbol photo
Bryan Solano
and his mother celebrate the agreement.
“We
feel proud and the whole country too. This
will make more organizations pay attention
to our country because there is so much
talent here," Murillo added.
The Astros did not make the decision overnight, they followed Solano’s performance for several months, when he finally convinced the scouts. "Bryan is a right-handed pitcher who throws many strikes and keeps low balls. He has good speed, keeps a line that oscillates between 90 and 92 miles. His slider moves between the 79 and 80 miles with good rotation," said Locadio Guevara, the baseball scout that promoted the hiring of Solano. "The key to success is to persevere and excel in what I do. This is a job and you have to take it seriously and responsibly,” Solano said during an interview with the baseball federation. According to records from the Federación, a total of 14 Costa Ricans have played in major league baseball in the past 57 years. The first one was Danny Hayling, who made it into the L.A. Dodgers back in the 50s, then Huey Howden, who was signed by the Cleveland Indians in the 60s helped clear the path for younger generations. Those players
included: Antonio Paddyfoot and Alex Torres
for the Cleveland Indians, Manuel Zúñiga for
the Boston Red Sox, Juan Villalobos for the
Pittsburgh Pirates, Alejandro Hueda and
Alexander Flores for the Toronto Blue Jays,
Harry Fernández who played for Toronto and
Seattle, Jeffrey Spencer for the Atlanta
Braves, Berny Granados for the Colorado
Rockies, Antony Fage for the New York Mets,
and Erick Zamora and Sebastián Martínez for
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
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| Casa
Presidencial seeks to pass its two new open
government bills |
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By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
Casa Presidencial is calling for the public to review its bill proposals on public information and transparency until Apr. 18. These efforts are part of a wider wave in attempted reform that the executive branch claims to want to introduce in terms of access to public information from the state and open data. The proposal on access to public information merely establishes that the state must be proactive in fulfilling its duties to inform and that all public entities must have a website with information that is easily accessible. Additionally, the bill seeks to speed up the request process for the public to receive, as quickly as possible, the information that someone or a group may request. One of the ways Casa Presidencial wants to achieve this is by designating someone as an Oficialía de Acceso a la Información. The position is similar to public information officers in many government agencies. This would more than likely be the comptroller in each government office. The proposal is good in theory but the application, if passed through the legislature and signed as a law, could prove difficult. Frequently it can be difficult for someone to access what is the public record. The bureaucratic nets to jump through can sometimes be so extensive that it is near impossible to cut through the tape. |
Many
reporters and journalists often complain as to
the difficulty in getting information through
any medium. The other proposal that
the administration wants to see become law is
one that seeks to provide greater freedom of
expression. Some expats are fully aware that defamation is a criminal offense in Costa Rica and accusing someone or attacking their reputation may not always be safeguarded by the defense of truth. This bill seeks to drop the penalization of defamatory statements if it is in response to something of the public interest. In other words, this is very similar to U.S. libel laws regarding public officials or persons considered to be in the public spotlight. Accordingly, a public figure or public official needs to prove that, not only was the statement false, but there must also be a high degree of fault to the publisher of the alleged defamatory statement. Casa Presidencial’s bill also reduces the sentence from two years to one for the period of prescribing the alleged libel crime and extends the response time for a complaint by the people accused of such cases. To emphasize the point, the executive branch posted both proposals on its website for all to examine. |
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page |
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San José, Costa Rica, Monday, April 3,
2017, Vol. 17,
No. 66
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Next Page |
| Research shows infants can become
bilingual through simple hearing |
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By Naja Ferjan
Ramirez*
Research scientist at University of Washington Any adult who has attempted to learn a foreign language can attest to how difficult and confusing it can be. So when a 3 year old growing up in a bilingual household inserts Spanish words into his English sentences, conventional wisdom assumes that he is confusing the two languages. Research shows that this is not the case. In fact, early childhood is the best possible time to learn a second language. Children who experience two languages from birth typically become native speakers of both, while adults often struggle with second language learning and rarely attain native-like fluency. But the question remains: Is it confusing for babies to learn two languages simultaneously? Research shows babies begin to learn language sounds before they are even born. In the womb, a mother’s voice is one of the most prominent sounds an unborn baby hears. By the time they’re born, newborns cannot only tell the difference between their mother’s language and another language, but also show a capability of distinguishing between languages. Language learning depends on the processing of sounds. All the world’s languages put together comprise about 800 or so sounds. Each language uses only about 40 language sounds, or phonemes, which distinguish one language from another. At birth, the baby brain has an unusual gift: it can tell the difference between all 800 sounds. This means that at this stage infants can learn any language that they’re exposed to. Gradually babies figure out which sounds they are hearing the most. Babies learn to recognize their mother’s voice even before they are born. Between 6 and 12 months, infants who grow up in monolingual households become more specialized in the subset of sounds in their native language. In other words, they become native language specialists. And, by their first birthdays, monolingual infants begin to lose their ability to hear the differences between foreign language sounds. What about those babies who hear two languages from birth? Can a baby brain specialize in two languages? If so, how is this process different then specializing in a single language? Knowing how the baby brain learns one versus two languages is important for understanding the developmental milestones in learning to speak. For example, parents of bilingual children often wonder what is and isn’t typical or expected, or how their child will differ from those children who are learning a single language. My collaborators and I recently studied the brain processing of language sounds in 11-month-old babies from monolingual (English only) and bilingual (Spanish-English) homes. We used a completely noninvasive technology called magnetoencephalography, which precisely pinpointed the timing and the location of activity in the brain as the babies listened to Spanish and English syllables. We found some key differences between infants raised in monolingual versus bilingual homes. At 11 months of age, just before most babies begin to say their first words, the brain recordings revealed that: * Babies from monolingual English households are specialized to process the sounds of English, and not the sounds of Spanish, an unfamiliar language. * Babies from bilingual Spanish-English households are specialized to process the sounds of both languages, Spanish and English. Our findings show that babies’ brains become tuned to whatever language or languages they hear from their caregivers. A monolingual brain becomes tuned to the sounds of one language, and a bilingual brain becomes tuned to the sounds of two languages. By 11 months of age, the activity in the baby brain reflects the language or languages that they have been exposed to. Parents of monolingual and bilingual children alike are eager for their little ones to utter the first words. It’s an exciting time to learn more about what the baby is thinking. However, a common concern, especially for bilingual parents, is that their child is not learning fast enough. We found that the bilingual babies showed an equally strong |
 Institute for
Learning & Brain Science photo
Babies can
learn any language they're exposed to.
brain response
to English sounds as the monolingual babies.
This suggests that bilingual babies were learning English at the same rate as the monolingual babies. Parents of bilingual children also worry that their children will not know as many words as children who are raised with one language. To some extent, this concern is valid. Bilingual infants split their time between two languages, and thus, on average, hear fewer words in each. However, studies consistently show that bilingual children do not lag behind when both languages are considered. Vocabulary sizes of bilingual children, when combined across both languages, have been found to be equal to or greater than those of monolingual children. Another common concern is that bilingualism causes confusion. Part of this concern arises due to code switching, a speaking behavior in which bilinguals combine both languages. For example, my 4-year-old son, who speaks English, Spanish, and Slovene, goes as far as using the Slovene endings on Spanish and English words. Research shows bilingual children code-switch because bilingual adults around them do too. Code-switching in bilingual adults and children is rule-governed, not haphazard. Unlike monolingual children, bilingual children have another language from which they can easily borrow if they can’t quickly retrieve the appropriate word in one language. Even 2 year olds modulate their language to match the language used by their interlocutor. Researchers have shown code switching to be part of a bilingual child’s normal language development. And it could even be the beginning of what gives them the extra cognitive prowess known as the bilingual advantage. The good news is young children all around the world can and do acquire two languages simultaneously. In fact, in many parts of the world, being bilingual is the norm rather than an exception. It is now understood that the constant need to shift attention between languages leads to several cognitive advantages. Research has found that bilingual adults and children show an improved executive functioning of the brain, that is, they are able to shift attention, switch between tasks and solve problems more easily. Bilinguals have also been found to have increased metalinguistic skills (the ability to think about language per se, and understand how it works). There is evidence that being bilingual makes the learning of a third language easier. Further, the accumulating effect of dual language experience is thought to translate into protective effects against cognitive decline with aging and the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. So, if you want your child to know more than one language, it’s best to start at an early age, before she even starts speaking her first language. It won’t confuse your child, and it could even give her a boost in other forms of cognition. * Dr.
Ferjan Ramirez is with the university’s
Institute for Learning & Brain Study.
The article is used with permission by
https://theconversation.com/.
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A.M. Costa Rica's Fifth news page |
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Venezuela’s
court abandons
control of legislative power By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
Venezuela's supreme court said Saturday that it would abandon measures to strengthen President Nicolas Maduro's grip on power after it was widely and harshly criticized. In a ruling posted on its website, the supreme court said it was overturning its decision to diminish the legislative powers of the general assembly, which opponents called a coup d'etat. Luisa Ortega, the powerful attorney general for the country, denounced two rulings announced late Wednesday, which effectively dissolved the opposition-majority legislature and revoked lawmakers' immunity from prosecution. "It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," Ortega said in a speech on state television. "It's my obligation to express my great concern to the country." A defiant Maduro defended the supreme court in an appearance Friday on state television and vowed to resolve the impasse between the attorney general and the court through dialogue and the constitution. Maduro said he called upon the national security council on Saturday night, to deliberate and draw a resolution that will strengthen the Venezuelan constitution and give peace and tranquility to Venezuela. He said in a speech to cheering supporters late Friday: "In Venezuela, the constitution, civil, political and human rights and people power are in full force." Maduro's opponents and international powers, including the United States and governments across Latin America, condemned the Venezuelan Supreme Court rulings. The United Nations' top human rights official expressed grave concern and called on the high court to reverse its decision. The head of the Organization of American States compared it to a self-inflicted coup by the leftist Maduro. The organization announced that it would hold an emergency meeting at its Washington headquarters Monday to discuss the situation in Venezuela. Massive wall of water kills more than 200 in Colombia By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
Rescuers are sorting through mounds of debris and mud Sunday in search of missing people after a massive wall of water from three overflowing rivers in Colombia swept through the region overnight Friday, destroying homes and infrastructure, and killing more than 200 people. Shortly after the banks of the rivers burst, a landslide devastated the southwestern town of Mocoa. President Juan Manuel Santos visited the wrecked town of 40,000 near the border with Ecuador on Saturday and declared a state of public calamity. Santos warned that the death toll is likely to rise. For their part, Red Cross officials said at least 203 people were injured in the deluge and an undetermined number of people were still missing. Video from the scene showed flattened buildings, and mounds of crumpled cars and uprooted trees, as dazed residents surveyed the scene and rescuers pulled the injured and the dead from the wreckage. The catastrophe came after days of torrential rains that has left large parts of the region without electrical power or running water. President Santos blamed the avalanche on climate change, saying the amount of rain that drenched the area in one night was nearly half the amount the area receives in the month of March. In recent months, heavy rains and flooding have struck along the Pacific side of South America, killing scores of people in Peru and Ecuador. Researchers develop sponge that soaks up and saves oil By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
If you were a casual observer watching Argonne National Laboratory scientist Seth Darling work, it would be easy to miss the low-tech but groundbreaking invention he's concocted in his brightly lit workspace. It doesn't have wires or circuitry, it doesn't move, it doesn't do much of anything. It is in fact, at least at first glance, simply a sponge. "It looks real simple when you demonstrate it, right?" Darling explained as he lowered the small, dark-colored foam sponges into a bowl of water mixed with blue oil. "I mean, you just stick it down there and it works. But behind that is a lot of work." Darling explains that what we can see with the human eye, these dark-colored pieces of foam, or sponges, isn't the major breakthrough. It's what's in, and on, the sponges that is revolutionary. "After we do our treatment to it, and we create this Oleo Sponge, you put it on there and it's got a voracious appetite for oil. It just soaks that oil right up," he said. While the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory in suburban Chicago is best known for its contributions to nuclear energy development, it is also an incubator for technological innovation and discovery, the very environment where Darling created the Oleo Sponge. He explains the treatment that gives the Oleo Sponge that voracious appetite is the real innovation developed at Argonne, something Darling and his associates call Sequential Infiltration Synthesis. The synthesis works at the nano level. When hard metal oxide atoms with complicated nano-structures are infused throughout the fibers of the foam, it gives it the extremely effective quality of allowing the foam to bind with the oil in the water, essentially separating the two liquids. The breakthrough could dramatically change cleanup of oil spills, particularly the more difficult task of retrieving oil below the surface of the water. But the Oleo Sponge doesn't just clean up the oil. It saves it. Oil spilled into water is usually burned off or unusable after cleanup efforts, but the Oleo Sponge can collect, separate and deposit the oil for further use. The sponge itself can also be re-used and recycled, all qualities that have brought a flood of interest to Argonne's doors. Hemant Bhimnathwala with Argonne Laboratory's Business Development Group said that the organization has received inquiries from about 100-plus companies in the last few days who want to be partners in a slew of things from manufacturing the foam to distribution. While oil spill cleanup in bodies of water is the most clearly identifiable use for the Oleo Sponge, the SIS technology behind it could offer breakthroughs in a variety of other ways, yet to be discovered. This is like an iceberg that Seth Darling and other scientists at Argonne are still delving into, while the Oleo Sponge continues to make its journey into the wider market, and hopefully the world's bodies of water, in the coming years. Military vets called to duty again to fight child porn By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
The language at a small graduation ceremony inside a federal office building in Washington Friday morning was militaristic: Fighting. Frontlines. Enemies. War. For a fifth year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement rather quietly has trained a small team of injured, wounded or sick military veterans for a different type of deployment. This one supports the agency’s lesser-known investigative arm as analysts on child exploitation cases. These are the ones who will be able to take photos off a hard drive in a child pornography investigation, then help identify the perpetrator and build the case for an arrest. "It is a battle. It is a war. And it needs to be,” said Daniel Ragsdale, deputy director for immigration and customs. Since 2013, more than 100 veterans have learned computer forensics through the H.E.R.O. Child-Rescue Corps, an 11-week program in the nation's capital, followed by a nearly year-long internship in immigration field offices around the country. Chris Wooten, a U.S. Army ranger who was injured in a helicopter crash seven years ago while serving with a special operations regiment in Afghanistan during his fifth tour in Iraq and Afghanistan, felt like the program could return that sense of purpose and pride he felt serving in the military. It’s unpaid work that first year, working alongside agents to find suspects and build the cases, often looking at graphic, violent content for clues about the perpetrator, the victim, or even the location. But the program regularly leads to job offers from the immigration agency, according to an agency spokesman. The collaboration between the agency’s Homeland Security Investigations office, U.S. Special Operations Command, and the National Association to Protect Children builds the ranks of child sexual abuse investigators, as law enforcement across the United States scrambles to keep up with networks of elusive online suspects; the ones supplying the images and the ones demanding them. Non-profit organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that also work on these cases report that the trade in child pornography images is growing exponentially. They report receiving thousands of requests from law enforcement agencies to analyze millions of images and videos in one year. Ragsdale, the second in command at the government agency, says there aren’t enough analysts to meet the investigative demand. The agency is only one of several federal bureaus trying to dismantle the online exchange of child pornography. Chosen to speak for the class at the ceremony, Wooten’s voice faltered at the podium; he spoke about friends who died in combat or after returning home. He mentioned the veteran suicide rate in the U.S., which is about 20 a day. He talked of scars, visible and invisible. More than the adrenaline rush of military work under high stress, Wooten says with the investigatory work you get that sense of pride back. Trump says U.S. ready to act alone on North Korea issue By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
President Donald Trump says if China is not going to solve the problem of North Korea, the United States will. "China has a great influence over North Korea," Trump told London's Financial Times. "And China will either decide to help us with North Korea, or they won't and if they don't, it won't be good for anyone." Trump hosts Chinese President Xi Jinping at the U.S. leader's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida Thursday. Their two-day summit will undoubtedly focus on North Korea and its nuclear program. Threats and sanctions, including China's recent cut-off of coal imports from North Korea, have failed to deter Pyongyang's drive to become a nuclear armed power. U.S. experts warn North Korea is planning its sixth nuclear text. Tokyo called a February North Korean ballistic missile launch over the Sea of Japan intolerable. Deputy National Security Advisor K.T. McFarland told the Financial Times it is conceivable North Korea could have the ability to hit the U.S. with a nuclear-armed missile by the end of the Trump administration in 2021. Appearing on ABC television's “This Week” broadcast Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said it is time for China to act and stop making excuses that they're concerned, too. The White House is considering all options in dealing with North Korea, including military action. Former U.S. Defense secretary Ash Carter, also speaking on “This Week,” said the U.S. had a plan for a preemptive strike on North Korea's Yeonpyeong research facility in 1994 when Bill Clinton was president. Carter said the military option always has been and always should be on the table. He said a preemptive strike on a missile launch pad could trigger a North Korean invasion of South Korea and the certain defeat of the North. But, he warned the consequences of such a move would be a war that would have intensity of violence that has not been seen since the last Korean War. Carter said the North knows the U.S. is emphasizing its deterrent posture and strength on the Korean peninsula. He also said China knows that the collapse of North Korea would lead to a unified Korea allied with the U.S. right on its border. Zika vaccine trials enter next phase, officials say By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services
U.S. researchers have begun enrolling people in the next phase of testing for a vaccine to protect against zika, the mosquito-borne virus that can cause birth defects in pregnant women. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told reporters Friday that the zika vaccine had cleared preliminary safety hurdles and would now be tested on human volunteers to see whether it is effective. In the study, funded by the U.S. government, researchers aim to enroll more than 2,400 healthy volunteers from areas where mosquitoes carry the zika virus such as parts of the southern United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Perú, Costa Rica, Panamá and México. Researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health said the trial would begin with a small number of people testing different doses or strengths of vaccine. Once the dosage is decided, the larger part of the study could begin by June, when the volunteers will receive either the vaccine or a placebo. Participants will be monitored for two years to see whether the vaccine protects against Zika infection. The vaccine being tested is a new type, called a DNA vaccine. Traditionally, vaccines are made using killed or weakened viruses, which increase the recipients' ability to fight off an active infection. The DNA vaccine contains no actual virus, but has genes extracted from zika viruses. Once inside the body, the genes form particles resembling zika that cannot cause infection. If all goes well, the gene particles should induce volunteers' immune systems to produce antibodies capable of repelling the full virus. Researchers at the institute also are studying more traditional zika vaccines, but those are not yet ready for human trials. The DNA vaccine trial is expected to cost $100 million, but Fauci said the government was in talks with pharmaceutical companies to share the costs of the final stage of testing, in return for rights to manufacture the vaccine in the future. Zika typically causes no symptoms or only mild ones, such as fever and body aches. If the virus infects a pregnant woman, however, it can result in birth defects in newborns, including microcephaly, which is characterized by an abnormally small head and brain, accompanied by marked developmental disorders. Zika is primarily transmitted by mosquitoes, but it can also be transmitted via sexual contact.
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| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The
contents
of
this
Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río
Colorado S.A. 2017 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 sixth news page |
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San José,
Costa Rica, Monday, April 3, 2017, Vol.
17, No. 66
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More soil tips for
tropical newcomers Hello again to the
newly arrived who want to garden in Costa Rica.
Last week, I talked about sandy,
clayey, and black soil, so let’s move on.
Then there is volcanic ash, much lighter in color but also mineral rich. Please don’t think of it in the same vein as wood or cigarette ash. Much volcanic ash is very fine particles of silica, glass, an irritant if breathed in. Here in Costa Rica, our volcanic ash is usually well weathered and suitable for planting. Volcano Turrialba is depositing a nice new layer of ash (although current residents don’t much appreciate it) that can be worked into existing soils to renew their mineral content. If your soil is light in color and you can find clumps that can be split with a hammer, chances are you have soil of volcanic ash. Work in some organics, lime to correct the acidity, provide enough water and things should grow well. Some of the world’s best soils were formed by volcanic ash and weathered basalt. If you are looking for a soil addition with natural minerals in it, look no further than those %*#&@%* leaf cutter ants. Because they delve so deeply into the earth (up to 7-8 meters) they bring nutrient rich subsoils to the surface in small particles. Grab a shovel and a wheelbarrow and head out to one of their mounds. Then load up with all that subsoil, sprinkle something to kill the ants, and go back to the garden. Distribute the subsoil over the garden and dig it in. A natural boon from a troublesome pest. Even if you have a small property, you will likely have a mix of soils. To keep your soil rich and productive, keep adding those organics. One of the best spots for organics – other than a cow pasture – is your kitchen. Banana peels, watermelon rind, moldy stuff you forgot in the refrigerator, egg shells, everything except meats (yes that includes leftover chicken and fish), all those throwaway plant materials go to the garden. Dig a hole, dump them in, and cover them with dirt then top them with black plastic to keep things heating up. You only need to do that for a few months and you will be amazed at the quality of your soil. Your plants are
going to love you.
Plant for the Week The Costa Rican Sweet Chestnut tree, as the name suggests, is the tropical substitute for the temperate chestnut, and nuts are treated the same way. This is a fast growing tree with a full height of 35 meters (about 115 feet) so it is not for the small yard. Dropped nuts readily begin to grow if not gathered, so you can share with neighbors. Sunny location and moist soil will get you astonishing growth and great shade. No problem so far with ants, but watch out for cows! And here is the picture of my only surviving chestnut tree. Not much of a picture and not yet much of a tree, but we are working on it. If you would like to suggest a topic for this column, simply send a letter to the editor. And, for more garden tips, visit HERE! |
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| From Page 7: Sarapiquí region receives aid in development By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff
The rural territory constituting Sarapiquí is one of the least developed areas of Costa Rica based on data from the country’s human development index. In light of being in the bottom ten of 81 places examined by this index, the institute for rural development is attempting to improve the conditions for the inhabitants living down there through a series of aid programs and projects. These projects mainly focus on agriculture and infrastructure building and the group is funneling substantial amounts of money to what is considered one of the poorest regions in the country. The Instituto de Desarrollo Rural contributed to the pepper producers association increasing its total yield to 1,500 kilograms a month of the product along with an investment of at least 40 million colons. The development group has also contributed over 100 million colons for the benefit of some 28 local farmers. The Cureña district was an area that the institute said was in desperate need of improvement particularly with the local high school. The organization gave 60 million colons to build a new cafeteria, classroom and bathroom for the school. Another 100 million colons went towards improving the sewage system in the Municipalidad de Sarapiquí. The institute said it plans to help finance the construction of a dairy plant within the area as the nearest one for the milk, cheese and custard producers has to be transferred two hours away on the buses to Puerto Viejo twice a week. The organization claimed it is expanding towards fostering the investment of multiple agricultural industries with many more millions of colons on the way for projects such as banana collection to the construction of greenhouses as well. |
