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| A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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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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 A.M. Costa Rica/José Pablo
Ramírez Vindas
Karla González listens to Jeffrey Scheferman outline
his company's idea.Suitor for airport operation
would put up $25 million By José Pablo Ramírez Vindas
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff The company that wants to buy out the current operator of Juan Santamaría airport says it will inject $25 million of its own funds to finish the work that has been started. Jeffrey Scheferman, representing Houston Airport Systems, was in town Thursday to present his company's case. The plan is that Houston Airport Systems, which already operates airports in Texas and in Quito, Ecuador, will buy 95 percent of Alterra Partners and finish the airport construction projects that include new boarding areas. Scheferman discussed the project at a press conference in the presence of Karla González, the mininster of Obras Públicas y Transportes. Nothing is firm, and the Consejo Técnico de Aviación Civil is studing the Houston proposal now. Eventually, if ministry officials like the idea, it will go to the Contraloría General de la República, the financial watchdog. Alterra has been in repeated financial hot water and has been unable to perform. The company has been unable to work out a deal with its creditors for more money. In addition, the firm has been under fire by minority parties in the legislative assembly. Alterra did open some 4,400 square meters of salons as part of a $15 million update in December. However other work at the airport proceeds at a snail's pace. Scheferman heard from Ms. González that if his firm takes over, the reconstruction must be completed in 14 months. There is no indication from officials when or if the proposal will be approved or a decision made. Some politicians want the government to take over the airport again. Alterra holds a concession, and Houston Airport Systems would be bound by the clauses of that agreement, Ms. González noted. Houston administers four airports in Texas that handle 58 million passengers a year. Troubled pop star visits as guest of Mel Gibson By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The tabloids have their long-lenses trained on Costa Rica once again this weekend, as Mel Gibson flies in with a special celebrity guest: Britney Spears. The troubled pop singer arrived in Costa Rica Thursday, along with Gibson and his wife, Robin, who are two of Costa Rica's highest-profile property owners. Ms. Spears' father was the fourth person in the group. Gibson reportedly befriended Ms. Spears earlier this year, as the two used to be neighbors in California. Ms. Spears, who became famous at the tender age of 16 with her song “. . . . Baby One More Time,” has kept herself in the headlines recently with a divorce, drug abuse, an inadvisable shaved head and the loss of a custody battle for her two children to ex-husband Kevin Federline. Gibson is said to have reached out to her during her darkest hours, and is now hosting her in his recently-acquired beach home in Playa Barrigona, near Sámara on the south Guanacaste coast. The group took a private jet from the United States to San Jose's Juan Santamaría airport, arriving just after 3:15 p.m. for a connection to Carrillo airport. Parking fines a good business By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
San Jose's unusual parking system is paying off for the city. The municipality said Thursday that it has collected 115,113,750 colons (about $226,000) from parking violators in the first four months of the year. More than 30,000 drivers were caught in the business district without the required ticket on their dash. Some had overstayed their time. The tickets are available from some stores and from the parking aides that watch the vehicles.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| Three
held in scam involving ATMs and used credit cards |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Judicial agents detained three Romanians Tuesday night who they suspect ran a credit card scam and swindled thousands of dollars away from victims. Agents from the Sección de Fraudes raided a San José hotel and confiscated $22,000 and 13 million colons ($26,000) in cash along with 450 fake credit cards, said a spokeswoman. Scam operators used discarded prepaid credit cards that no longer had money on them. They then inserted new magnetic strips onto the discarded cards which were obtained from stolen credit cards. The perpetrators would withdraw sums of money from automatic tellers. Officials |
noticed something was amiss
when the names of numerous foreign companies began to appear on the
withdrawal records. No card numbers or further information appeared on
the magnetic strips, said the spokeswoman. The three individuals entered the country May 3, said the spokeswoman. Agents suspect they were transferring sums of money from $3,000 to $4,000 back to relatives in Romania. They found records documenting the transfer of at least $57,000, said the spokeswoman. Police arrested Vasili Popescu, 28, Danila Marius Ionut, 26, and Andrei Matache Rada, 23. Officials solicited four months of custody for the suspects so the case can be further investigated, said the spokeswoman. |
| Guápiles
lawyer held to face allegation of property fraud |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Agents detained a lawyer Wednesday who they say falsified documents in property transfers. The lawyer, Magaly Mattus Gutierrez, attended an unusual private hearing before a criminal judge in Guápiles Thursday, said a court spokeswoman. “The case being treated in a very private level,” said Andrea Marín, a spokeswoman for Poder Judicial. The purpose of the hearing was to see if the woman would be jailed or released under certain conditions. Ms. Mattus is registered with the Colegio de Abogados de |
Costa
Rica. She entered the national lawyer organization in August of
2000, according to the Web site, and has never been suspended or
received disciplinary actions. Calls to the number listed for the
office of Ms. Mattus went to a fax machine Thursday afternoon. Illegal property transfers have a history in Costa Rica. In 2006, the court did not find any guilt in a high profile case involving the wife of current San José Mayor Johnny Araya. The stolen property belonged to a U.S. citizen from California. Someone had forged his name and took title of the land and house. The notarized documents came from the official book of a notary who said he had lost the book and never realized it. |
| There are six candles on this column's birthday cake |
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| I have been writing
this
column for nearly six years. I remember vividly the day that Jay
Brodell suggested that I write a column for his new publication,
amcostarica.com. We were having coffee at the Gran Hotel Costa
Rica. This was after we both had left The Tico Times, he
more willingly than I. And I remember, too, the day, outside the Centro Cultural when he took a snapshot of me for my column, and we discussed what to call it (the column, not my head). We came up with the title “Living in Costa Rica.” Over the years I have thought it a rather bland title, and the subtitle, “Where the Living is Good,” even less compelling. But change is difficult. Today, perhaps just “Living” would fit better, or perhaps “Still Alive in Costa Rica.” Or something more instructive like “Lessons Learned in Costa Rica.” My readers have been privy to a lot of the lessons I have learned and have been with me as I have moved from one apartment to another within the city of San José and one as far away as San Antonio de Belén. Actually, I have lived in six different apartments in the city and have never lived in a place with bars on the windows. I have told you of the joys of living in San José and the advantages of living alone. Readers have also heard about my various visits to the hospitals. I have been a patient in every hospital but one in the environs of San José (the missing one is Hospital Nacional de los Niños, the children’s hospital. Otherwise I probably would been in that one, too). I even wrote one of my columns while in a ward bed at Hospital México. My friend Sandy typed it up and e-mailed it to Jay. I have told you about my struggle with the red tape (known as tramites) in doing business or becoming a resident. By now most of you know that I hate tramites and my one solution is not to own anything except what I must. And all of you must know by now that I ride the bus as often as I can, not just out of necessity but because I like riding the bus. One can sightsee from a bus more easily than from a car. And if I don’t feel like looking out the window, I can read my bus book. |
And I have probably been in a department store or new clothing
store
three times since I have lived here. I shop at ropa Americana or
ropa Italiana whenever I think I need something different to
wear. The choice of styles is much greater. I am a serious
recycler, but don’t come close to living as creatively and
conservatively as so many others who have chosen Costa Rica as home. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page |
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Interpol validates Colombian
claims based on computer data
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The international police organization Interpol says computer files suggesting Venezuela armed and financed Colombian leftist rebels are authentic and show no evidence of tampering. Interpol said Thursday that Colombian authorities did not always follow internationally accepted methods for handling computer evidence but said that did not taint the data. |
Colombian authorities seized the
computers during a March 1
cross-border raid on a Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias base in Ecuador. The Washington Post reported Thursday that it has been shown files that indicate high-ranking officials in Venezuela offered to help Colombian rebels obtain surface-to-air missiles. The Post said there is no evidence the rebels obtained the missiles. Interpol studied the data at Colombia's request. |
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State Department spokesman
calls reports highly disturbing
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
The U.S. State Department Thursday said reports that Venezuela may have tried to acquire advanced weapons for Colombian rebels are highly disturbing. Venezuela denies the reports, which have spurred U.S. congressional calls for action against the Hugo Chavez government. The Bush administration is acknowledging the seriousness of the reported Venezuelan activity, but it is non-committal about the request from members of Congress that the Chavez government be designated a state sponsor of terrorism. Colombia said two months ago its troops found computer evidence of Venezuelan arms and financial support for the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, when they raided a leftist rebel camp in Ecuador March 1. Colombia said the records of a senior commander killed in the cross-border operation revealed large scale Venezuelan funding and arms aid for the rebels, who have been active for decades. The Washington Post reported Thursday that documents it was shown by Colombian officials indicate that Venezuela tried to arrange delivery of anti-aircraft missiles to the rebels. The Post said there was no evidence the guerrillas received the missiles, which could have tipped the balance of power in the conflict, but that Venezuela did apparently provide light arms, grenade launchers and ammunition. At a news briefing, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the latest reports only add to U.S. concern |
about the alleged relationship
between the Caracas government and the
rebels who have been designated terrorists because of their kidnapping
and
drug smuggling. "Certainly the picture painted by some of the preliminary news reports that I've seen over the past few days is disturbing, highly disturbing," he said. "There are serious allegations about Venezuela's supplying arms and support to a terrorist organization. Certainly that has deep implications for the people of the region as well as states in the region." McCormack said the United States, which has been given access to the computer information, is conducting its own analysis and at this point has no reason to question its legitimacy. Venezuelan President Chavez, who has defended the Fuerzas Armadas as a legitimate military force, has accused Colombia of fabricating the computer documents. The Caracas government has termed the latest charges as laughable and lies. But the affair has spurred several members of the U.S. Congress to call on the Bush administration to list Venezuela, a major U.S. oil supplier, as a state sponsor of terrorism. U.S. Rep. Connie Mack, a Republican, said Thursday the latest information makes it imperative for the administration to act against Venezuela without delay. Spokesman McCormack said he is sure the latest information will figure into what he termed the administration's rigorous analysis of the issue. |
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Datascension reports smaller first quarter loss Special to A.M. Costa Rica
Datascension, Inc., a market research and custom call center with offices in San José and Limón, is reporting a first quarter loss of $66,890. That is 78 percent better than the net loss of $310,576 for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, the company said Total revenue for the quarter ended March 31 was $5,347,987 as compared to $4,753,852 for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, an increase of $594,135 or 12.5 percent, said the company. Operating income for the quarter ended March 31 was $140,525 as compared to an operating loss of $136,867 for the quarter ended March 31, 2007, an increase of $277,392 or 202.7 percent, the company said. The increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2008 as compared to the first quarter of 2007 was a direct result of the increased business generated during the latter part of 2007 by existing clients and the addition of new clients, for which the increased revenue potential is now being realized, said the company. Results from operating cost controls initiated in January are now showing resulting reduction in costs which has also resulted in an increase in gross margins, said the company. “The quality of our service and recruiting efforts to hire individuals that can speak both English and Spanish is enabling us to enlarge the scope of services we offer our existing clients as the Hispanic population continues to grow in the Americas,” said Datascension’s chief operating officer, Joey Harmon. Datascension, Inc. is engaged in the collection, storage and processing of data and conducting outsourced market research with operations mainly in Costa Rica. One held after car chase and theft at Multiplaza By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Police caught one suspect after thieves broke into a car parked at Multiplaza in Escazú Thursday, said a security spokesman. The owner of a Hyundai Elantra reported to police that the window of his car was broken and three thieves took 16,000 colons (about $31) , a radio, and other belongings, said the security spokesman. Fuerza Pública officers from Escazú chased what they believed to be the getaway car, a Hyundai Euro Accent. The officers chased the car into the parking lot of Pequeño Mundo where the suspects began to run, said the security spokesman. Police did not arrive until several minutes later, said the spokesman. They detained a suspect with the last names of Alvarado Obregón as he traveled on the bus from Santa Ana to San José, they said. Officers said they found two radios among other items in the abandoned vehicle. The evidence and the suspect, Alvarado, are being held by Ministerio Público, said the spokesman. 50 Peace Corps volunteers to be sworn in this morning By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Some 50 new U.S. Peace Corps volunteers will be sworn in this morning in a ceremony at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Los Laureles, Escazú. The volunteers will work two years with the Patronato Nacional de la Infancia and with the Dirección Nacional de Desarrollo de la Comunidad in a community development program. The new volunteers are all between 22 and 28 years of age and university graduates with degrees in relevant areas, such as finance, psychology and children and family, said the embassy. |
| A.M. Costa Rica Sports news local and from the wires |
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