Chief prosecutor opens
long-stalled serial killing probe


The nation's chief prosecutor seems to be swept up in the emotions of the International Day against Violence toward Women. He has ordered the reopening in a long-shelved serial murder case.

The so-called psychopath stalked couples in Costa Rica from 1986 to 1996. He killed 19 and sometimes extracted human organs from the victims.

The murders were done with a firearm and a knife.

Officials have said for years that they think they know who the killer was and that he has died.

The chief prosecutor, Jorge Chavarría, said he was assigning the case to a special murder team.  The killer did not attack just women.


Cold front and high winds
predicted for this evening


The nation's weather forecasters say that a cold front is heading south and will arrive over Costa Rica tonight.

This means strong winds, said the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional. Most of the wind will be in the Central Valley and the north Pacific as well as the mountains, said the institute.

Earlier today there may be some showers in the Caribbean and the northern zone due to humidity coming in from the sea.

The weather institute is predicting winds of up to 100 kph or about 62 mph. Also predicted is a drop in temperature. These conditions are expected to endure until at least Saturday.

The dry season in the Central Valley and the Pacific coasts is noted for winds and chilly nights. The days usually are hot and with some humidity.

The weather institute said that property owners should take precautions against strong winds.


German Embassy plans
bike tour to Yule fiesta


The German Embassy is organizing a bicycle tour Sunday to mark the anniversary of Costa Rica's decision to abolish the military. Participants can gather at 9 a.m. on the east side of Parque la Sabana near the statue of León Cortés.

Those arriving early will get a T-shirt.

The bike tour is through San José and Escazú, said the embassy.

Bike riders will have a chance to stop at the Weihnachtsmarkt/Feria Navideña Alemana that is being put on by the Cámara de Comercio and the Industria Costarricense Alemana at Plaza Tempo in Escazú. The plaza is on the Autopista Próspero Fernández in the vicinity of Hospital CIMA.

This is the second year that the bike tour has taken place. It is co-sponsored by ChepeCletas, which promotes the good use of the area's open spaces.

The German ambassador, Ernst Martens, noted that there are 70 million bikes in Germany and 29 million in daily use as transportation.

He added that his country seeks to increase the use of bikes to reduce traffic.

Support sought for plan
for private power generating

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Yesterday A.M. Costa Rica published an important article entitled “Utility regulator to air plan for customer generation,” which described a proposed regulation to make investment in grid-connected (net-metered) renewable energy for small and large consumers an available option, regardless of which distribution company serves you.  Today I’d like to encourage all consumers of electricity to make their voices heard at the ARESEP Public Hearing this Thursday afternoon at 5:15 p.m. And specifically, I’d encourage you to tell ARESEP and your electricity distribution company your opinion on three issues:

First: That you strongly support the ARESEP proposed regulation to allow all Costa Rican consumers to benefit from the ability to grid-connect and net-meter renewable generation at their residence or business, and

Second: That if ARESEP insists on an annual balancing period, that they at least change the interval from a calendar year (beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31) to a much more practical energy year that corresponds to our solar/wind natural resources, and therefore should begin Dec. 1 and end on Nov. 30.

This Dec. 1 to Nov. 30 energy year is the same accounting interval that the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad Distribution has used successfully for years in its net-metering pilot program. It makes no sense to change this to a calendar year that has no relationship to the availability of natural resources to generate clean, renewable power. In fact it only serves to reduce the benefit to the consumer/generator and it could also place additional strain on distributor’s accounting and IT staff at year end).

Third: Do away entirely with the annual balancing period, or at least the associated obligation to forfeit unused kWh credits at this artificial year end to the distributor (without compensation).

If ARESEP wanted to remove a significant dis-incentive for many small and large scale consumers, especially those with less predictable and or with seasonal consumption patterns, then do away entirely with the concept of a year-end balancing period and forfeiture of the private generator’s excess kWh production credits at year end.

This is an unnecessary and artificial construct that only serves to constrain homeowners and especially businesses from more investment in clean, renewable energy. Any excess kWh credits at year end should be rolled over to the next energy year, and still be available for the consumer’s later use, just as they are from month-to-month during the preceding 12 months. It is a financial benefit to the distributor to have the use of these free kWh’s until the generating consumer needs them. 

As you can surmise, like any proposed regulation there are aspects that could be improved. But in the whole, even without modification, this draft regulation deserves your support if you wish to a.) have the ability to invest in private generation to reduce your electricity costs, and b.) help reduce carbon emissions.

Please support renewable generation and this draft regulation. Clean, renewable generation is the future!


Researchers say high-fat diet
increases breast cancer risk


New findings show that eating a high-fat diet beginning at puberty speeds up the development of breast cancer and may actually increase the risk of cancer similar to a type often found in younger adult women.

The research comes from the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program at Michigan State University and is published in the current online issue of Breast Cancer Research.

Utilizing a preclinical model, the findings indicate that before any tumors appear, there are changes in the breast that include increased cell growth and alterations in immune cells. These changes persist into adulthood and can lead to the rapid development of precancerous lesions and ultimately breast cancer.

In addition to the accelerated breast cancer development, this type of diet produces a distinct gene signature in the tumors consistent with a subset of breast cancers known as basal-like that can carry a worse prognosis.

“This is very significant because even though the cancers arise from random mutations, the gene signature indicating a basal-like breast cancer shows the overarching and potent influence this type of diet has in the breast,” said Sandra Haslam, physiology professor in the university and one of the lead investigators of the project.

“Cancers of this type are more aggressive in nature and typically occur in younger women. This highlights the significance of our work toward efforts against the disease.”

Richard Schwartz, microbiology professor and associate dean in the College of Natural Science, said “It’s important to note that since our experimental model did not involve any weight gain from the high-fat diet, these findings are relevant to a much broader segment of the population than just those who are overweight. This shows the culprit is the fat itself rather than weight gain."

Early evidence indicates that the fat, which in this case was saturated animal fat, could potentially have permanent effects even if a low-fat diet is introduced later in life. Schwartz cautions, however, that this preliminary finding requires further investigation and doesn’t indicate with certainty that humans will be affected in the same way.