 |
||
|
A.M. Costa Rica
Your daily English-language news source Monday through Friday |
||
 |
 |
 |
|
|
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
Jo
Stuart |
|
|
| A.M. Costa Rica's Second news page | |||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 233 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
 |
|
 A.M. Costa Rica/Kayla Pearson
New museum exhibit includes many
photos and plans History of Plaza
de la Cultura
includes little-known facts By
Kayla Pearson
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Just 30 years ago, the Plaza de la Cultura between Avenida Central and Avenida Segunda did not exist, and the heart of the city was around Parque Central. The area was inaugurated by President Rodrigo Carazo Odio Feb. 26, 1982. Construction was a feat that overcame many difficulties and consisted of 2,000 workdays and resulted in a bill of 120 million colons, about $3 million then. The accomplishment gave birth to current Costa Rican culture. “Plaza de la Cultura is born today,” said Guido Sáenz González, an artist who later served as culture minister, on the day. “It will transform not only the face of the city but also our republic and our citizens from within it will make us better. Witnessing this process should move us.” Here are seven other little-know facts or “secrets,” about the admired architectural work revealed Wednesday by Curator Andres Fernandez, during a promotion of a new museum exhibit. 1. The initial plan for the project included not just the museums but a convention center, auditorium for 700 persons, auxiliary galleries, art exhibition halls, conference rooms, handicraft stores, economics library, Teatro Nacional annex and a symphony rehearsal room. The Carazo Odio administration began to oppose the project and wanted to turn the area into a park. In 1978, the project was limited to what it is now. 2. The Museos del Banco Central, which is the three-story structure below the plaza, was inspired by the National Museum of Anthropology in México and the Columbian Gold museum. 3. The plaza was proposed as a way to support the growing population of residents and tourists in the Central Valley. People are meant to be the main attraction of the plaza. This is why a fountain was built and spaces were left for the many stores and restaurants. 4. The interior finishes include concrete, marble from Nicoya, glass partitions, stainless steel on pillars and solid cenizaro wood on the handrails and exhibition hall floors. 5. The Museos del Banco Central is the most secure building in San José. Architects had to find a way to construct a building that could withstand earthquakes. What they came up with was a single piece structure made with excavation slopes that is so secure, a person can’t feel earthquakes when inside, said Fernandez. 6. The half block located on the north side of Teatro Nacional where the plaza now sits was a commercial area. Everything had to be demolished to make room for the construction. 7. During the excavation stage, the hole workers were digging was flooded due to the constant rain. What resulted was a 3-foot-deep swimming pool of which children took advantage. It later was dubbed the “Culture hole.” Finally the water was pumped, and work continued. Overall, the structure that is the plaza and bank museums is an intelligent work and a pride for Costa Rica, said Fernández. Visitors can learn more about the plaza in a new exhibit at the museum entitled Exhibición Punto y Contrapunto: 30 aniversario de la Plaza de la Cultura. It opens today.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M. Costa Rica Third News Page | |
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 233 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 A.M. Costa Rica/Kayla Pearson
Vigil at the court complex
included candles and speeches |
|
| Evening turnout designed to defend
judicial independence |
|
|
By
Kayla Pearson
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Workers from various judicial departments and the community came together Wednesday evening for a vigil in honor of the country’s democracy, they said. “This vigil is to avoid influence of political parties in the justice administration,” said Ricardo Salas of the Sala III high court. “We are defending judicial independence. This means that judges are meant only to respond to the Constitution and laws to solve cases not to the politics,” he said. The idea for the vigil came when legislators voted against the re-election of the Sala IV magistrate, Fernando Cruz Castro. However attendees of the vigil such as Monica Cruz stress that |
the event was more about the
principle of the state of politics than whether Cruz will get his job
back. According to Tito Vega from the Amigos de la Paz group, the situation of the magistrate is the fault of the Partido Liberación Nacional and the action can not go unnoticed. “Now we are in this fight,” he said. “The fight continues against the politics of Costa Rica. The vigil, which began at 5 p.m., had performances by different artists and speeches took place every half hour. Participants held signs and red white and blue lanterns against the night sky to show their support for the cause. Lawmakers voted last week but the decision is being challenged, and the whole issue will be decided by the constitutional court. |
| Fire at Ecuadorian Embassy appears to
have been arson |
|
|
By
Aaron Knapp
of the A.M. Costa Rica staff Investigators determined that a fire that severely damaged the Embassy of Ecuador in San José Wednesday morning was set intentionally. An investigating unit from the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Costa Rica found numerous locations where the fire started and also found materials meant to intensify the flames. A press release from the Judicial Investigating Organization did not go so far as to call it arson, but admitted that agents found evidence that the fire was intentional. No one was hurt in the fire, but a report from the fire fighters said that the entire second floor of the building suffered damages from the flames. |
According to the fire fighters’
report, the alarm came in at 5:05 Wednesday morning. Crews arrived 5:10
a.m. and the fire was under control by 5:30. The embassy is in Rohrmoser. The fire agency conducted an investigation of the cause of the fire afterwards, and arson experts reported that they found four separate points where fires started. Additionally, they also said they found evidence of chemicals to stoke and accelerate the fire in seven different places throughout the building. Bundled newspapers soaked in the chemicals were stuffed under doors. Judicial investigators also conducted their own investigation of the fire. While they have not officially ruled the fire an arson, investigators did admit that a canine unit found evidence that backs up the fire fighters’ assessment. |
 |
| You need to see Costa Rican tourism information HERE! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
 |
|
||||
| A.M. Costa Rica's Fourth News page | |||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 233 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
| Legislative
committee votes to advance gag law fixes By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Lawmakers hurried through a reform of a new and controversial law Wednesday in an effort to change what has become known as the gag law. The members of the Comisión de Derechos Humanos sent the measure forward despite the wishes of one member that experts and representatives of interested organizations be brought in to give their views. This is the measure that would penalize the distribution of what are called political secrets. Journalism organizations have said this was an effort by lawmakers to protect themselves from negative news. Coincidentally, one of the lawmakers coordinating this effort is Jorge Angulo Mora. He has been accused of influence peddling and is facing criminal proceedings. The news media spearheaded a look into this situation. The text of the proposed changes to the existing law was not available Wednesday night. Reports from the legislature said that the new rewrite would exempt journalistic efforts from the law's penalties. Some penalties also have been reduced. Those who have protested the law have pointed out that not just news people are affected by the new law but that citizens, too, have a right to look into government activities. The proposed rewrite creates a new section in the law that prevents punishment for those who seek information that is deemed to be in the public interest except as it relates to minors. Oscar Alfaro Zamora, a member of the committee said Wednesday that he would prefer to hear from experts and representatives of the journalistic community before sending the measure forward. But that idea was rejected by the majority of the committee. The original bill that generated so much controversy when it was published earlier this month in the La Gazeta official newspaper had gone through all the agencies that review proposed legislation including the courts. The Colegio de Periodistas, the journalistic professional group, has been protesting the measure for months but it passed the legislation anyway and was signed into law by President Laura Chinchilla. The existing law provides prison for from four to eight years for disclosing political secrets, among other offenses. The colegio argues that this would prevent investigative reporting.  Dirección General de
Migración y Extranjería photo
These
are some of the confiscated documents.
Anonymous tips launched fake document investigation By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The immigration agency said Wednesday that an anonymous tip initiated an investigation into false documents. The agency, the Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, also said that the alleged leader of the forgery ring has been jailed for three months preventative detention. He was identified by the last names of Castillo Rojas. The bulk of the forged documents in the case are residency cédulas and work permits, the agency said. The bulk of the customers were Nicaraguan citizens who were offered the documents outside the La Uruca office of the immigration agency or in the various parks in the city, the agency said. The Policía Profesional de Migración has been investigating the case since September, the agency said. The work permits were sold to many persons who began work as bus drivers, said the agency. The forgery ring charged 45,000 colons for a work permit and 65,000 for a cédula, the immigration agency said. That's from about $90 to $130, The ring also fabricated driver's licenses and permits to carry firearms in an apartment in San Sebastián, the agency said. Lawmakers send forward bill to fix prices of drugs By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Citing their obligation to guarantee protection of the lives and health of residents, a legislative committee Wednesday sent forward a bill that would establish price controls on medicines in Costa Rica. The bill, No. 17738, is in response to studies that the committee cited that show differences in medicine prices of as much as 243 percent for brand names and as much as 472 percent for generics, according to Siany Villalobos Argüello, a legislator. The measure now goes to the full Asamblea Legislativa for possible action. The legislation, said committee members, will give the government the power to stop abuses. The Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio would be in charge of monitoring prices and assessing penalties. Weather expected to continue to be wet and windy for today By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
There's more of the same for today, according to the weather forecast. A steady rain drenched the Central Valley overnight, and Ruta 32 north of San José remains closed during night hours due to the possibility of slides. Rains were expected to continue today in the Central Valley, the north Pacific and along the Caribbean coast and in the northern zone. There is a possibility of heavy rain in parts of the central and southern Pacific later today. The heaviest rains were predicted for the Caribbean coast today with much of the accumulation in the mountains. Strong winds will continue, said the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. Embassy is closed today By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The U.S. Embassy will be closed today to mark U.S. Thanksgiving, a staffer said Wednesday. The diplomats join other U.S. expats who will be marking the day with turkey and the trimming. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M. Costa
Rica's Fifth news page |
 |
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 233 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
|
|
| Drought
cuts production of famed Spanish olive oil By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A severe drought is projected to cut sharply into Spain's olive harvest. The Mediterranean country is the world's largest supplier of olive oil. A drop in production will most inevitably mean customers from Australia to China will pay more at the supermarket, not right away, but in the longer term. Spain’s olive oil output during the 2011-2012 production year was a record one and a half million tons, causing wholesale prices to fall to a 10-year low. But this year has been the second driest in 60 years, and the 2011-2012 winter was unusually cold. Although it’s been a rainy fall in the main producing region of Andalucía, the industry projects that production for 2012-2013 could be as little as half of what it was last year. Spain exports 60 percent of its olive oil to more than 100 countries. Outside of the European Union, its biggest customers are the United States, Australia, Russia, Brazil and China. Rafael Pico, director general of the Spanish association of olive oil exporters, believes that carryover stock will compensate for losses and the supply should meet the demand in foreign markets. Concerns over production caused wholesale prices to surge 60 percent between July and October, but he notes that hasn’t affected exports. Film and TV industries leaving L.A. for better deals By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood, is what many people call the entertainment capital of the world. But much of the city's television and film industry is leaving Los Angeles for other cities in the United States and other countries. Steve Michelson is part owner of a catering company that feeds the cast and crew of several Los Angeles-based shows. He says that in recent years, business has not been good. "I have individuals doing jobs that two or three people used to do," said Michelson. "A company yesterday called me. They have five catering trucks they want to sell me. They want to go out of business." Some caterers for the television and film industry are leaving Los Angeles, following productions to other cities. The president of Film LA, Paul Audley, said there has been a dramatic change, particularly in the television industry. "This year, for example, we know of the 23 new television dramas," Audley noted. "Twenty-one of them are going out of state and they used to virtually all be filmed here. We had more than 80 percent of television, and now we're down to about 40 percent." Universal Television's Bela Bajaria says studio executives consider two main factors when deciding where to shoot a film or TV show. "A big part of it is obviously creatively, that we can really realize what's on the page. The other equally as important part is actually a tax incentive," Bajaria explained. Bajaria says cities outside of Los Angeles started becoming attractive to studios about a decade ago. "It was about 10 years ago, New Orleans really came out with some first tax credits and a couple of the other states really followed." Sergeant demoted in death of mistreated soldier, 19 By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
A military court in the U.S. state of North Carolina has convicted a staff sergeant in the hazing-related death of Private Danny Chen, a Chinese-American soldier who killed himself while on duty in Afghanistan. The court-martial in Fort Bragg convicted Andrew VonBockel of one specification of hazing, three specifications of dereliction of duty and two specifications of maltreatment. The jury sentenced Van Bockel Wednesday to a reprimand, reduction in rank two levels and 60 days of hard labor, 45 of which the court determined he had already served in pre-trial confinement. The accused is one of eight soldiers charged in relation to the death of Chen, who shot himself in the head on Oct. 3, 2011, after repeated physical and emotional mistreatment by members of his unit. George Wright, a spokesman for the U.S. Army at the Pentagon, said Wednesday that the Army respects the decision of the jury. But Elizabeth OuYang, president of the New York branch of the Organization of Chinese Americans, expressed outrage over the sentence, which she called light. She said what VanBockel did to Chen was not corrective training but torture. Chen, a 19-year-old U.S.-born native of New York City, was one of the weaker members of his platoon who, at times, forgot his equipment and fell asleep on duty. |
Your place to stay here As high season approaches, we like to feature our advertisers who offer long- and short-term rentals for expats and tourists.
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
| A.M. Costa
Rica's sixth news page |
|
||||||||
| San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012, Vol. 12, No. 233 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
 |
Latin America news |
Funeral of Tim
Hodgson
was held Wednesday By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The funeral for Tim Hodgson, a partner in the downtown Hotel Del Ray, was held Wednesday. The long-time businessman here is believed to have died from a heart attack. Hodgson is originally from England and came to Costa Rica in 1993 where he and a group of partners bought and remodeled an old apartment building. The apartment was turned into the now iconic Hotel Del Rey that is located in the center of San José at Avenida Primera and Calle 9. Complete with a bar and casino, the establishment features a bustling night life. Apart from his working success, Hodgson will be remembered for his grey, waxed handlebar mustache and his triumph over adversity. During the 1990's while on a vacation in Cuba he suffered a motorcycle accident that cost him a leg, leaving him to live the duration of his life with a prosthetic limb. His moral outlook can be summarized by the Englishman's favorite quote listed on his Facebook page, “Avoid having your toes trodden on, don't tread on other peoples toes.” A friend described Hodgson as a proper English gentleman and said he was an avid fisherman. The friend, Dan Wise of Rio Colorado Lodge in northeast Costa Rica, said that Hodgson would visit the area at least six times a year. The place is known for tarpon fishing. Zapote business operator is first to get online permit By
the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Officials said Wednesday that a Zapote bar owner has become the first person to successfully obtain a business license or patente by use of an online Web site. The business is Brasero Grill, and the owner, identified as Diego Francisco Guzmán Villalobos, obtained his license in 10 working days. The Web site is www.crearempresa.go.cr. Despite the name, only notaries can actually create a business entity via an online link with the Registro Nacional. But any citizen with the appropriate documents and a digital signature card can obtain a business license as an individual or for a corporation. In the case of the Zapote establishment, the license came from the Municipalidad de San José. The owner had to obtain at the same time permits from the Ministerio de Salud and an environmental permit, said the Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Comercio, which promoted the use of the Web site. The user makes applications for all the required documents online and at the same time, officials said. |
|
Latin
Amrican news feeds are disabled on archived pages.
|
|
| Costa Rican News |
AMCostaRicaArchives.com |
Retire NOW in Costa Rica |
CostaRicaReport.com |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Food |
|
| What we published this week: | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Earlier |
| The contents of this page and this Web site are copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado 2012 and may not be reproduced anywhere without permission. Abstracts and fair use are permitted. Check HERE for details | ||||||
