What is being called a vigorous tropical wave continues to head west with about a 50 percent potential of turning into a tropical cyclone, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The weather system already is bringing rain over much of the central and eastern Caribbean, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and northern Venezuela, said the center.

There is a potential for a tropical depression to form during the next couple of days, it said. That is the first step toward a hurricane.

The system continues to move west-northwest at from 10 to 15 mph, the center said.

Rain in Costa Rica Monday was highly localized.

Desamparados received 36.8 mm of rain from 7 a.m. Monday. That's 1.45 of an inch. Santa Rosa in Guanacaste got 22.9 mm, about nine-tenths of an inch. Turrialba got 31.7 mm, about 1.23 of an inch.

But there was only a sprinkling on the Caribbean coast and in other parts of the country.

The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional gave the usual rainy season prediction: Partly cloudy skies in the morning with growing cloudiness and variable afternoon precipitation, particularly in the mountains.


Autopista rapist turns
 to rape and murder


Law enforcement are seeking a rape murderer who seems to prey on lone women walking along a major highway.

Passers-by found the body of a dead victim, identified by the last names of Esquivel Zúñiga, in a grassy area off the Autopista General Cañas Monday afternoon. She had been missing since early Sunday.

The case is similar to the rape of a university student along the same highway but closer to San José Thursday. That woman was forced at knife point from a path along the highway to a secluded spot, but she managed to get free. An intensive search failed to find the man or men.

Ms. Esquivel died in Barreal de Heredia near where she worked in a store.


Government proposes
4.2% hike in salaries


The government Monday proposed a 4.2 percent raise in the minimum salaries of private employees. The Consejo Nacional de Salarios took the proposal under advisement. The agency is expected to issue the final word on the topic Thursday.

Employer groups proposed 3.8 percent, which they said was equivalent to six months of inflation. Employee groups proposed 7.2 percent.

The increases will be for the minimum salaries from July 1 to Dec. 31. The list of salaries is extensive and even includes unclassified university graduates who must be paid one of the higher minimums regardless of the work they do.


Overseas voting planned
for Costa Ricans abroad


Election officials are setting up procedures so that Costa Ricans abroad can vote in major elections. In the past, they had to return to Costa Rica to cast a ballot.

The agency, the Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones, said that it has made arrangements so that 44 consulates will be polling places for the next presidential election in 2014 or for any referendums. The Costa Rican consulates are in 36 countries around the world. They include the United States and nearby Panamá and Nicaragua.

Costa Ricans abroad have until Aug. 5 to register with the appropriate consulate so they can vote on the proposed Dec. 5 referendum on civil unions.