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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/Elise Sonray
Crew uses scaffolding to reach the bust of BolívarLiberator being liberated
of graffiti and city grime By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Simón Bolívar is getting a face lift. And so will the rest of the monuments in Parque Morazán, said members of a municipal construction crew Sunday. Over the weekend, workers could be seen painting and scraping the bust of Simón Bolívar statue. The project includes a scaffolding, and a crew of four men who are removing moss and painting and doing an overall restoration of the statue. Bolívar is not the only one who will be getting work done, said Javier Amador, a construction worker on the municipality's project. The other historical statue will be refreshed and so will the bandstand in the center of the park, said Amador. The project will take about four months, estimated the construction crew members, who said they will only be working in Parque Morazán. Stimulus plan has cost U.S. $45.7 billion already By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Treasury reports it sent out 6.2 million payments last week to taxpayers and others as part of the Bush administration plan to stimulate the economy. So far, the Treasury has sent out 51.7 million payments totaling $45.7 billion, the department said Friday. Last week was the fourth week of the payments. This week's numbers represent the near completion of all direct deposits with the mailing of paper checks continuing, said the Treasury Department. The agency also is mailing out regular tax refund checks, so it will not be concentrating completely on paper checks for stimulus payments until June, it said. U.S. citizens who filed a tax return and some low-income individuals are getting from $300 to $600 apiece from the government. These include expats in Costa Rica, according to a recent story in A.M. Costa Rica. Our reader's opinion
He's for vegetarianismGood for Henry Kantrowitz on the climate effects of ranching. Vegetarianism also reduces the mass cruelty of the livestock industry. And it's great for one's personal health, prolongs lifespan, and keeps the weight down. Meat is high on the food chain and acts as a net for contaminents, both those in the environment and those applied directly to the animal. Primary foods are inherently safer. And never mind the bluster of those red-blooded beef eaters — protein is not hard to get, and vegetarians can be just as tough in any kind of fitness contest. The abundance of fresh produce in Costa Rica make it veggie friendly. Lots of rice and beans of course, although availability of some nuts and spices is restricted in smaller centres, so a little supply planning can help. And there are an ever increasing number of vegetarian restaurants. Going veggie is not boring. My old meat diet was relatively tasteless. Now I go for dishes like veg chile, curry chickpea, and spicy biryani. If you want to just cut down on meat, try eating some salad beans first. Beans are filling but not fattening, so you will be less hungry for the meat dish that follows. And while we're at it, try to avoid anything containing palm oil. Not only is it one of the most unhealthy oils, expanding palm plantations are now the greatest threat to the remaining rain forests of the world. The tiny bit of wildlife in the millions of acres of CR palm plantations are visitors from the surrounding, more natural areas. Pura vida. R. Martin
Quepos/Toronto
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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| Sniper
suspect's past raises plenty of questions for officials |
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By Elise Sonray
and the A.M. Costa Rica staff The case of the U.S. citizen accused of killing his neighbor in a sniper spree Thursday night seems to have plenty of blame to go around. The suspect, Frederick Norman Kelch, 48, came out of his house after nine hours of negotiations and turned himself over to judicial agents Friday morning. See story HERE! But this was not the first time Kelch would make Costa Rican headlines. The research is still incomplete because Costa Rica officials are hard to reach on the weekend, but it appears that Kelch had a history of contact with the Mafia. He seems to have been living in San Vicente de Moravía on an expired tourist visa. Jorge Rojas, director of the Judicial Investigating Organization, confirmed Friday that Kelch has lived here for eight years. But what Rojas did not say is that the man was profiled in a La Nación news story in January 2003 for administering an illegal bookmaking operation and possible Mafia ties. Rojas did say that Kelch had had previous convictions in New York State on charges of drug possession and robbery with a firearm. Rojas added however, that the Judicial Investigation Organization had never received complaints from neighbors or had they received reports that Kelch had previously fired a gun in the area. Neighbors say they have filed complaints but no investigators came to talk to them. Had Rojas consulted the La Nación article he would also have learned that Kelch had been investigated for running an illegal bookmaking operation with Joseph “Junior” Fafone in Rochester New York. Kelch also ran a gambling operation in the San Pedro Mall with Fafone, according to the article. Fafone and his father, also Joseph, were associates of one of the leading members of the Gambino crime family, according to a Broward, Florida, sheriff's report in 2003. |
“Both face state bookmaking charges
for collecting bets and making cash
payoffs locally on wagers placed in Costa Rica via toll-free telephone
and Internet Web site links. Both Fafones have extensive past criminal
records,” according to the sheriff's report. La Nación also said Kelch had extensive convictions in the state of Florida and New York, for crimes such as house robberies, possession of a firearm by a convict, and drug possession. A.M. Costa Rica at the time published a wire service story that was based in part on the La Nación disclosures. The key questions did not come up at the Rojas press conference. He did not address why Kelch had been allowed to stay in the country while working on a tourist visa. His prior convictions would seem to make him ineligible for any form of residency. A report after the shooting said that Kelch was here on a tourist visa that expired in April. This would suggest that the man has made repeated trips out of the country or availed himself of some of the fake immigration stamps that are so prevalent in the sportsbook and online gambling business. Many foreign "tourists" are working with the tacit approval of the Costa Rican government. Agents say that Kelch used a semi-automatic rifle to shoot from his rooftop in Moravía and kill a neighbor. The shooting took place at about 11 p.m. Friday when a masked man climbed onto a rooftop in Vicente de Moravía and fired an AR-15 rifle, riddling the neighborhood with bullets. One of the bullets struck Harlen Fonseca Reyes, 28, a neighbor and a young physician, in the head. The sniper seemed to be shooting off rounds with no direction, said Rojas Friday, but added that investigators were still not sure. Rojas said that he was concerned about where the sniper had obtained such a dangerous weapon, and that was one of the things being investigated. |
 aconvivir.org photo
Some of the demonstrators carry signs demanding respect from
motorists. |
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| Bike
riders, runners and others take to the street to demand road safety |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
An organization that seeks to represent the athletic community in the war of the highways staged a demonstration Saturday at Parque la Sabana and then participants marched to the nearby Rohrmoser home of President Óscar Arias Sánchez. The non-profit organization, the Asociación de Deportistas Contra la Violencia Vial y el Irrespeto, was formed late last year to counter the number of accidents involving cyclists and runners on the nation's highways. |
The group carried signs that said,
among other slogans, that the highways were not just for cars. Arias was not home. He still was in transit from a medical visit to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but the group delivered a manifesto calling for highway improvements and better training and stronger enforcement of the traffic law. The organization estimated the attendance at more than 300. Ramón Pendones, organization president, was one of those run down by a vehicle on the highway, according to the association. |
| Sardinal
protest draws anti-development demonstrators from the Central Valley |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A local dispute in Sardinal over the construction of a water line is rapidly growing into an anti-development magnet for those who opposed the free trade treaty with the United States and the Óscar Arias Sánchez administration. An e-mail campaign designed to rally Central Valley residents went out Friday. A number of so-called patriotic committees conducted a caravan to Sardinal Saturday. Supporters also were urged to go by a bus being operated by members of the union of the Instituto Nacional de Seguros. The bus was to leave San José at 3 a.m. The e-mailings also blame Arias for a food crisis. The demonstrators managed to block a main road near |
Sardinal for about two hours
Saturday. Pipelines were burned in anger May 12 by citizens of Sardinal. An aquifer near the town is to supply the water. A confrontation between protesters and police left 11 injured Wednesday. The pipeline would bring much-needed water to the communities in Playas Hermosa and Ocotal. A group of 32 private businesses formed a trust with the Banco de Costa Rica to collect $8 million for the project, which is named Coco Water. The insurance institute union is involved in the protest in part to vent frustrations over a legislative measure that opens the national insurance market to private firms. |
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Rains not always an economic
blessing for local stores
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By Elise Sonray
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Most downtown businesses would prefer the rain to stop. A few, however, say the downpour is great for sales. Anyone walking on the pedestrian boulevard during one of San Jose's frequent torrents will see dozens of people lined up near the storefronts, trying not to get wet. The afternoons and early evenings have been marked by downpours for a week as the country enters the rainy season. Many of the shelter seekers run into stores for cover but they never buy anything, complained sales representatives. “A lot of people stand under that awning there,” motioned a sales representative at Zapotos shoe store. “People come inside too, but not to shop, just to stay dry.” Sales clerks at Zapotos agreed that during the last few days sales have been very low. The recent showers, which seem even harsher than usual, perhaps due to a passing tropical wave, have driven business down, said sales agents. Isaias Solano Herrera, a cashier at El Universal department store, said that low sales are frequent during rain storms. “Some people buy things, but most just come in to escape the rain,” said Solano, who added sales were down at Universal over the weekend. |
Places like cafés and
grocery stores said there is little difference in
customer flow during harsh showers. Wilson Rodríguez, who's
worked at
Spoon café for three years, said the last days of rain have
brought
client numbers down a little, but nothing to be worried about. “This is
low season everywhere,” he said, “but customers always come.” There was no shortage of people at The Sportmen's Lodge Saturday night. The place was packed just as the evening rains were ending. Most of the crowd was there for the weekly fight night on television, so it was hard to tell if the rain played a role in their decision to visit. The McCafé in the downtown McDonalds was full during the downpours Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, said Jessica Mena, a barista at the café. “Usually people want to come inside and drink a hot coffee,” said Ms. Mena. It depends on the day, but usually the rain helps business, said the barista. Customers warm up on sofas and wait for the rain to pass rather than waiting it out under the dripping awnings. The manager at supermarket, Mas x Menos, said business stays relatively the same during the rain. “Business goes way down at the stores in the mall, but not here,” said Oscar Sandoval, the manager. Since groceries are a necessity and most supermarkets are on the highway or in downtown areas, business doesn't fade, said Sandoval. |
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Months predicted to drier for
northern zone and Caribbean
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The weather experts say more of the same for this week with afternoon downpours throughout most of the nation, including the drought-plagued northern zone. But the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional reports that the long-term forecast is for less than average rainfall in the north. The central government declared a national emergency there Thursday because of the lack of water in the region. The weather prediction is for normal to drier months from June to October. This comes on top of a period of four months when the northern zone saw 35 percent less than the average for rain, said the weather institute. The Caribbean coast also is likely to suffer from lack of rain. Already the area is down from 15 to 30 percent in accumulated rainfall, said the institute. Although July |
usually brings the most rain
to the
Caribbean coast, this year the weather institute predicts a dry spell
from June until August. The deficiencies in rainfall are being blamed on the last of cold fronts bringing conditions suitable for precipitation to the northern zone and the Caribbean, said the institute The rest of the country is likely to have higher than average rainfalls, said the institute. Some damage already has taken place as a result of rain. In Alvarado de Cartago residents battled over the weekend with a mudslide that closed off the community Saturday. Mud was up to the knees in some places, residents said. Desamparados also suffered from some flooding. About 2 inches of rain fell in the Cartago area Saturday. San José had about 2 inches Saturday and about 1.4 inches Sunday. |
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Colombian prosecutor begins probe of rebel links By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Colombia's chief prosecutor, Mario Iguaran, says he is investigating opposition politicians, journalists, and foreigners, for suspected rebel ties following information obtained from seized rebel computers earlier this year. Iguaran says he has also asked the Colombian supreme court to investigate three lawmakers, including Sen. Piedad Cordoba, who helped Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez broker the recent release of six rebel hostages. Costa Rican lawmakers have empaneled a special committee to investigate links with lawmakers and other political figures here. The case already has led to the firing of Fernando Berrocal, the Costa Rican security minister, who suggested that some political organizations here had links with the rebel terrorists The Colombian government has claimed that a laptop computer found in a March 1 raid on a rebel camp inside Ecuador contains information proving the guerrillas receive support from the governments of Venezuela and Ecuador. Both President Chávez and Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, deny the accusations. The rebels, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias, has rejected the Colombian government's claims. Sen. Cordoba has said her contacts with the rebels were efforts to mediate the release of rebel hostages. The investigation was announced as Colombian President Álvaro Uribe attempts to grapple with scandals within his administration. More than 30 members of Colombia's congress, mainly Uribe allies, have been jailed or are under investigation for alleged links to right-wing paramilitary groups. The United States has designated the paramilitaries, along with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias and another leftist rebel group as terrorist organizations. Colombian rebels confirm death of long-time leader By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A top official for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia appeared in a video aired on Venezuelan television Sunday confirming the death of the 78-year-old guerrilla leader Manuel Marulanda. He said the group's maximum leader had suffered a heart attack in March, saying he died "in the arms of his partner." He said Alfonso Cano would take over the top spot from Marulanda. Colombia's military had called on rebels late Saturday to confirm or deny intelligence reports suggesting that Marulanda was dead. Marulanda's death is the latest blow to the guerrilla movement, which has been blamed for scores of killings and atrocities in its 40-year history. Colombia's military killed the group's second in command Raul Reyes during a raid inside Ecuador March 1. Another top official, Ivan Rios, was killed by his security chief, who later turned himself into police and received a reward of $2.5 million for the leader's death. |
| A.M. Costa Rica Sports news local and from the wires |
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