Other contract drivers
plan to block traffic today


Another organization of contract drivers plans a major protest all over the country today that is expected to affect traffic.

The transport ministry warned that the organization has a right to demonstrate but that if they impede traffic, police will move in.

This is the Federación Nacional de Porteadores, not to be confused with the groups that approved an agreement with the central government last week. At that time, Casa Presidencial said that the long-running conflict was over.

Porteadores are contract drivers who compete with licensed taxi drivers. They base their legality on a section of the commercial code that is being reviewed in the Asamblea Legislativa.

Wednesday the central government made a deal with the Federación de Cooperativas de Taxis, the Cámara Nacional de Autobuseros, and the Cámara Nacional de Porteadores. But the Ministerio de Obras Pública y Transportes said that the federation was invited to the table but never came. That was a point that was overlooked when Casa Presidencial lauded the agreement as an end to the eight-year conflict.

The federation drivers today are expected to engage in tortuguismo, that is driving slow to block traffic. The word comes from the Spanish word for turtle. The goals of the protest are unclear, although there are several large companies that run some of the porteadores services.

The deal reached Wednesday said that the porteadores would have to follow the same rules that govern taxi drivers. They must follow the transportation laws and pay taxes and enroll for coverage in the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social. They also may not pick up passengers on the street as taxi drivers do. Their services are supposed to be point to point.

In a news story Thursday A.M. Costa Rica noted that the deal was the latest of final settlements reached between the drivers and the central government. A similar accord was announced in February 2009.


Jacó soccer player dies


A 25-year-old Jacó amateur soccer player died Sunday night in a dispute at the playing field in Lagunilla de Jacó. A suspect was detained.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said that the victim, identified by the last name of Calero, had just played soccer and stopped to chat with some companions at the side of the field. Agents still do not know what caused the dispute, but suddenly someone produced a knife and stabbed the victim in the chest.

The stabbing happened about 6 p.m.

In another Jacó case, the Juzgado Penal de Garabito has jailed for six months investigation a man identified by the last names of Madrigal Zúñiga in the murder Friday of Duberney Vargas Tamara, 26, in a commercial center in the Pacific beach town. The victim was shot in the head.  A companion was injured.


New phone company
wanted in Nuevo Arenal

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Everyone's favorite company “ICE” seems to set the standard for the way things go here in Pura Vida land. Electric rates that are one of the highest in the world. Customer service that goes through the motions, but really doesn't care. At least they are keeping a lot of the populace employed. There was a cartoon we all remember with a coyote and road-runner. I saw a decal on a car once with the coyote having his hands around the neck of the road-runner about to choke him to death with the caption “Beep beep now, you b_ _tard”.

I feel that ICE has its hands wrapped around the neck of Costa Rica and its good citizens. Have you ever gone in and tried to complain to anyone about your service? I think some of the employees in the office are wonderful, really. They are the front lines and protect the non-reachable management from having to answer truthfully.

I have been living in Nuevo Arenal for over five years now and still don't have a house phone that works properly. The lines in the street are rusted, and they don't care to change them. Not enough people living here.

Do you get a reduced rate for the poor service. Yeah! Right! I do have to admit that my 3g phone is like the 8th wonder of the world for me now. But now we have this “Kolbi” for so-called high speed internet service. To tell a long story short, I have been paying for the 1gb service for a few months now. The actual speed that I get varies from 240 to 700 mbs. About half of what I'm paying for. I'm so tired of going to the office to complain. It's sort of “If you don't like it, get lost."

Now today, I returned defeated and asked to drop my service to the 512mb service since I'm not getting any more than that anyway. When I returned to my home to check my speed, I'm now down to 250mbs, half of what I'm now paying for and a .06 upload speed. Sort of like going to the gas station and paying for 20 gallons of gas and getting only 10.

I hope and I pray that the competition gets here quickly and blows ICE out of the water. Too bad we are stuck with them to provide electricity.

Centro de Investigación y Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural photos