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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 207 | |||||||||
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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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to floor of legislature By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A legislative committee Tuesday sent to the full Asamblea Legislativa the nation's 2011 budget of 5.5 trillion colons or $10.9 billion. The budget is 16 percent higher than the current one with the bulk of the added expenses to finance social programs. Most discussion in the Comisión Permanente de Asuntos Hacendarios revolved around motions presented by opposition party members. Most were rejected. Escazú senior killed by robbers at his shop By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
An 81-year-old San Rafael de Escazú soda owner died Sunday night in Hospital México from a bullet wound inflicted by two masked men at his place of business. A soda in Costa Rica is the name for a small eating place. The Judicial Investigating Organization said that the men planned to rob the business. The victim, who has the last name of Umaña suffered a wound in the chest. Home invasion suspects caught in Guanacaste By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Investigators in Guanacaste have detained two men believed part of a band that invaded homes there. The bulk of the crimes were in the Cañas vicinity. They face an allegation that Aug. 20 they invaded a home in Abangares along with two other individuals, threatened an older couple there with a machete and took household goods, a rifle, and chainsaw as well as television sets. Friday two other suspects were detained, agents said. Banco Nacional router causes outage of Internet By the A. M. Costa Rica staff
The router that handles Internet traffic for Banco Nacional failed Tuesday morning, and customers could not complete online transactions for six hours. Service finally was restored about 4 p.m. A bank employee said that computers within banks were working normally and that urgent transactions could be completed if a customer wished to visit a local branch and conduct business through a live teller. Automatic tellers connected to the bank also functioned normally. The outage took place the day after a legal holiday when many employees of various companies were returning after a three-day weekend. Internet users will reach 2 billion in 2010, U.N. says Special to A.M. Costa Rica
The number of Internet users worldwide has doubled in the past five years and will surpass the 2 billion mark in 2010, with the majority of the 226 million new users this year coming from developing countries, the United Nations telecommunication agency reported Tuesday. The number of people with Internet access at home has increased from 1.4 billion in 2009 to almost 1.6 billion in 2010, with 65 per cent of these in developed countries and only 13.5 per cent in developing countries, where access in schools, at work and public locations is critical, the International Telecommunication Union said, releasing the new data on the eve of World Statistics Day. By the end of the year, 71 per cent of the population in developed countries will be online, compared to 21 per cent in developing countries. Regional differences are significant: 65 per cent of Europeans are on the Internet, compared to only 9.6 per cent of Africans. With the rapidly increasing high-bandwidth content and applications on the Internet, there is a growing demand for higher-speed broadband connections as a catalyst for growth. Hamadoun Touré has called broadband “the next tipping point, the next truly transformational technology,” generating jobs, driving growth and productivity, and underpinning long-term economic competitiveness. he is secretary general of the Telecommunication Union. Over the past year, there has been strong growth in fixed broadband subscriptions and by the end of 2010, fixed broadband penetration will reach 8 per cent globally, but levels in developing countries remain low at 4.4 subscriptions per 100 people compared to 24.6 in developed countries. While high-speed Internet is still out of reach for many people in poorer countries, mobile telephony is becoming ubiquitous, with access to networks now available to over 90 per cent of the global population. Data indicate that among the estimated 5.3 billion mobile subscriptions by the end of 2010, 3.8 billion will be in the developing world. “Mobile phone penetration in developing countries now stands at 68 per cent, higher than any other technology before,” said Sami Al Basheer of the agency. “These countries have been innovative in adapting mobile technology to their particular needs and will be able to draw even greater benefits from broadband once adequate and affordable access is available.” Overall, the price of services is falling, but high-speed Internet access remains prohibitively expensive, especially in low-income developing countries. Procuradora reappointed By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Lawmakers reappointed Ana Lorena Brenes Esquivel Tuesday to a six-year term as procuradora general de la república. The job basically is the chief civil lawyer for the state. The decision was not without discussion. Minority party members sought a public vote where lawmakers would stand up. Luis Gerardo Villanueva Monge, assembly president, insisted that rules call for secret ballots. Legislators supported this view 28 to 27. The vote for Ms. Brenes was 31 to 24, mainly along party lines. Ms. Brenes supervises 76 other lawyers and a staff totalling 264.
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 207 | |||||||||
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| Tico Times says it is testing a non-profit news model |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The venerable Tico Times has taken a dramatic step to reinvent itself with a non-profit arm. The weekly newspaper outlined the plan in an editorial this week in which it admitted that it has been forced to make drastic cutbacks due to less income. "Our readers, to be sure, have also noticed the smaller size of the newspaper, fewer bylines, and reduced coverage. We've been forced to slash expenses at all levels of the organization," the editorial said. The column announced the formation of The Tico Times Association to "promote inter-American understanding, democratic values and civil liberties — especially freedom of expression and of the press." The association also will do community work and seek money through fundraising and donations from philanthropic foundations. The newspaper did not say in which jurisdiction the association has been incorporated. "This income will supplement earnings from advertising and the sale of newspaper and online articles and subscriptions, and will be used exclusively to support the newsroom, as well as for educational activities and projects in the community," the editorial said of the association. Although the concept is believed to be new in Costa Rica, there are precedents up north. In some cases the money goes the other way. Ms. Magazine founded the Ms. Foundation for Women that was supported by magazine profits. However, the magazine cut the foundation loose in 1987. Ms. Magazine is now owned by the Feminist Majority Foundation. The St. Petersburg, Florida, newspaper also is owned by a foundation set up by Nelson Poynter, owner of the St. Petersburg Times, who at his death left his stock to the foundation. The Nation magazine also is run on a non-profit model. Hearst Corp. is considering converting the San Francisco Chronicle into a non-profit, online sources said. A recent entry is the The Marin Media Institute in California, which purchased the weekly Point Reyes Light. Among the principals is a former publisher of Mother Jones magazine, also a non-profit. Many newspeople who do not understand the relationship between news and advertising have long sought a viable way to publish articles without accepting advertising. Most journalism programs fail to provide training in the economic value of advertising. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is actively sponsoring many small mostly online community publishing efforts, but the organization says it is not interested in covering operating deficits. The foundation also is supporting a master's program at City University of New York that will train managers in both journalism and entrepreneurship. The question of foundation support for a newspaper is the same for the advertising-supported model: Will the foundation influence news coverage. Commentators come down on both sides of this question. Another good reason for a foundation is to convert any outside money used to cover current losses into tax-deductible donations. The Tico Times Association probably will begin the lengthy process to obtain non-profit status from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. |
 Costa Rican laws, too, are complex. Having the status of a U.S. 501(c)3, non-profit is vital for obtaining outside, mostly U.S., funding. The Tico Times did not release any financial data in the editorial. It recently announced that it was charging for some but not all online content. It also dramatically redesigned its Web site, which carries minimal advertising. The major problem for print-based newspapers, including The Tico Times, is the cost of newsprint. For delivering the news nothing is quicker than the Internet. Internet readers also usually are higher income, too, and are much favored by advertisers. Delivery is expensive for print-based newspapers, a cost not shared by Internet publications. With the arrival of e-readers and various hand-held telephones and computers, even the portability of printed newspapers is being challenged. In the United States there is an effort to create a non-profit status for income-producing newspapers. A bill has been submitted in Congress to do that. The topic is much debated in journalistic circles as supporters of print-based publications seek to find a way to salvage them. Despite a constitutional bar to special laws about newspapers, there is precedence in the so-called failing newspaper act that allows endangered dailies to circumvent antitrust laws. The law actually has led to the elimination of daily newspapers in St. Louis, Missouri, and more recently Denver, Colorado. Another challenge to the non-profit concept or the hybrid model being adopted by The Tico Times is the availability of charitable money. The economy is not what it used to be, and a host of journalistic enterprises have sprung up seeking charity. Consultantes Río Colorado S.A., the parent firm of A.M. Costa Rica, will report to Costa Rican tax authorities this year income about 7 percent greater than for the 2008-2009 fiscal year. The online daily newspaper also is publishing more pages and has new pioneering efforts in 12 Latin American countries as well as a medical tourism Web site and a Web site based on exportations and international trade. The newspaper is free online Monday through Friday and receives income only from the sale of advertising. The Costa Rican corporation does not accept donations or sell its privately held stock. |
| Modest increase proposed for readjusted minimum wages |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
An employer group is proposing a 2.63 per cent increase in the minimum salaries when the government adjusts the numbers for Jan. 1. The group is the Unión Costarricense de Cámaras y Asociaciones del Sector Empresarial Privado. Labor representatives are expected to come up with a figure, too. Both sides will argue their positions before the Consejo Nacional de Salarios, which will make the final decision. The organization said that it supported a raise despite the slowdown of the economy and the increase in joblessness. |
There is no excuse to transfer the
costs of the economic crisis to
employees, said Manuel H. Rodríguez, organization
president. He noted
that in the last five months some 5,500 jobs were lost in the private
sector. He said his organization based the proposal on the inflation between July and September, which was .44 percent, less than a half percent. He said the inflation projected for the rest of the year is 2.69 percent. The minimum salaries are adjusted every six months. Many Costa Ricans work at the minimum wage, which is different for each job title. The Ministerio de Trabajo maintains a data base with the salaries. |
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| A.M. Costa Rica fourth news page |
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| San José, Costa Rica, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, Vol. 10, No. 207 | |||||||||
| Concern grows about effects of
Nicaraguan projects in river |
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The country is beginning to awake to plans by Nicaragua to build a hydroelectric project on the Río San Juan. The Spanish-language daily La Nación editorialized Tuesday that Costa Rica must make sure it defends the rights of its citizens. A political quirk sets the border between the two countries at the south bank of the river instead of in the middle, as usually is the case. Consequently, Nicaragua owns the river, but Costa Rica has gone to the World Court in the Hague several times to defend its right of passage and navigation, which is contained in various treaties. The $600 million hydro project is close to Lake Nicaragua, and environmentalists fear that the dam associated with the project will reduce the amount of water coming east down the San Juan. Others have expressed concern for the many fish that travel |
the river,
including tarpon, snook and bull sharks. Costa Rica has the right to be informed about this project, including the impact of flora and fauna, said La Nación. It noted that a recent court case in the Hague reaffirmed Nicaragua's right to build in the river, but it should do so without impeding the flow of water, the newspaper said. Others are not so sedate, Freddy Pacheco, a professor at Universidad Nacional, called the proposal, the Proyecto Hidroeléctrico Brito, a flagrant violation of international treaties and lack of respect to natural resources. Meanwhile, a Nicaragua effort to dredge the mouth of the Río San Juan where it enters the Caribbean also is drawing notice from Costa Rica. Fishermen in Barra del Colorado in northeast Costa Rica are concerned about the effect on the Río Colorado, which really is an alternate mouth of the river but completely within Costa Rica. The area is known for its tarpon fishing. |
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| U.N. agency outlines threats to world
fisheries and oceans |
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Special to A.M. Costa Rica
Pollution, over-fishing and climate change are having an increasingly damaging impact on the world’s oceans, threatening a growing extinction of native marine species across all regions, a new United Nations report warned Tuesday. Productivity, and with it fish catches, is projected to decrease in nearly all areas by 2050 and worldwide, fisheries will be heavily dominated by smaller species lower down the food chain, according to the U.N. Environment Programme report, "Marine Biodiversity Assessment and Outlook: Global Synthesis." Climate change, if unchecked, could see surface sea temperatures rise by 2100 with important implications for coral reefs and other temperature-sensitive marine organisms, while other predicted changes include a continued and widespread increase in nitrogen levels due to discharges of wastewaters and agricultural run-off from land and emissions from vehicles and shipping. Nitrogen can trigger algal blooms which in turn can poison fish and other marine creatures as well as contribute to the |
development
of
so-called dead zones — areas of sea with low oxygen
concentrations. The report also flags concerns over the rise in marine invasive species, transported to regions from elsewhere, often in ballast water of ships or attached to its hull, highlighting that the cumulative impacts of all of these factors will have serious consequences in the rise of extinctions of native marine species across all regions. The continuing decline in marine biodiversity will compromise the resilience of marine and coastal ecosystems to the impacts of climate change, as well as their ability to mitigate the effects of climate change, the report said. “Decoupling growth from rising levels of pollution is the number one challenge facing this generation,” Achim Steiner said. “This is nowhere more starkly spotlighted than in the current and future health of the world’s sea and oceans. Multi-trillion dollar services, including fisheries, climate-control and ones underpinning industries such as tourism are at risk if impacts on the marine environment continue unchecked and unabated." He is executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme. |
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Latin American news Please reload page if feed does not appear promptly |
Recycled
pacemakers sought for Third World By the University of Michigan news service
Millions worldwide die each year because they can’t afford a pacemaker. Meanwhile heart patients in the United States say they’d be willing to donate theirs after death to someone in need. In the Oct. 19 issue of Circulation, experts at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center examine the legality and logistics of collecting pacemakers, after they are removed for burial or cremation, for sterilization and reuse across the globe. Small humanitarian efforts have shown reusing pacemakers is safe and effective with little risk of infection and patients live as long, and as well, with a recycled pacemaker as those who get new ones, authors say. It’s a novel approach for treating cardiovascular disease which remains the world’s leading cause of death. “Establishing a validated pacemaker reutilization program could transform a currently wasted resource into an opportunity for a new life for many citizens in the world,” says study senior author Kim A. Eagle, cardiologist and a director of the Cardiovascular Center. Each year 1 million to 2 million people worldwide die due to lack of access to pacemakers. But 84 percent of patients surveyed at the University of Michigan would donate their pacemaker for reuse. Through partnerships, the university hopes to make the concept of recycling pacemakers a life-saving reality for those who cannot afford them. Pacemakers are implanted to correct a slow heartbeat which can alleviate fatigue and fainting that can come with having an irregular heartbeat. A slow heart rate can be caused by heart attacks, conductive diseases or old age. Some foreign manufacturers have reduced the cost of pacemakers to as little as $800, a price that still makes it out of reach in poor nations. “Despite the substantial cost reduction, a new pacemaker is often more than the annual income of the average worker in underdeveloped nations,” Dr. Eagle said. Poor nations have not been able to afford the electrophysiology technology that has reduced cardiac deaths in industrialized nations, while unhealthy lifestyle, as well as infectious diseases, contribute to escalating rates of heart disease worldwide. In recent decades, industrialized nations have seen a drop in deaths from heart attacks and strokes, but those in low- and middle-income nations continue to experience an epidemic of cardiovascular disease. For instance, in South America and Central America, the parasitic infection chagas disease can disrupt connections in the heart. Chagas can affect 20 million people, and a study revealed that 72 percent of pacemaker recipients in Brazil had been infected at some point in their lives. Growing evidence and support laid the groundwork for Project My Heart —Your Heart, a collaborative between citizens, physicians and funeral directors of Michigan, the university's Cardiovascular Center and World Medical Relief, Inc., a Detroit-based non-profit organization that specializes in the delivery of used medical equipment. Pacemakers removed before burial or cremations are rarely returned to the manufacturer and instead are stored at funeral homes with no apparent use. In a survey of Michigan funeral home directors 89 percent said they were willing to donate devices to charitable organizations if given the opportunity. According to study authors, after families consent, donated devices will be sent by the funeral home in a free postage-paid envelope to the university for assessment of battery longevity. Funeral directors can request packages. Information about donating pacemakers is available online at www.myheartyourheart.org. |
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