 |
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
 |
|||
Arias Administration Unveils Plan
to Reduce Traffic Accident Deaths
By Blake Schmidt
Tico Times Staff
bschmidt@ticotimes.net
President Oscar Arias met with the ministers of Education, Health and Public Works and Transport yesterday to unveil a five-year plan that aims to reduce the rising number of traffic accident deaths by 20%.
Traffic accidents are the leading cause of violent deaths in Costa Rica, claiming on average more than 600 lives a year for the past five years and driving up costs for the country's public hospitals and health system.
Public Works and Transport Minister Karla González said the “barbarity” on the nation's highways must stop.
“We have a national problem … we have to say ‘enough,'” she said, calling Costa Rica's growing population coupled with an increasing number of cars on the nation's thin, underdeveloped road system a “time bomb.”
The five-year plan will bring together the Education, Health and Public Transportation ministries in an attempt to infuse traffic safety into public education, expand the Transit Police force, paint unpainted roads, fill potholes and replace signs and signals that have been stolen, damaged or aren't visible.
For more on this story, see Friday's print or pdf edition of The Tico Times.
Two Police Officers Killed While Chasing Alleged Thieves
Two police officers were killed yesterday while attempting to capture suspected thieves in the western San José suburb of Pavas, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.
The officers, identified by the names Cristian Zamora and Johny Hidalgo, both 24, were shot at by “various assailants” who allegedly attempted to steal a laptop computer from a passenger aboard a bus traveling from Pavas to San José.
Zamora and Hidalgo intercepted the bus and ordered the suspected thief, identified by the last name Ortega, to get off.
Ortega then allegedly shot Hidalgo in the chest and shoulder and shot Zamora three times in the stomach, the statement said. Both officers were taken to San Juan de Dios Hospital, where they later died.
Ortega was chased by additional police officers, who shot and wounded him in the pelvis and femur. He was arrested and taken to a Pavas clinic to receive medical attention, and he remains in police custody.
-Tico Times
New PANI Center To Offer Resources on Children's Rights
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
Donned in matching royal blue T-shirts with their company's name and logo, 100 employees from Intel yesterday painted the walls of an abandoned space that formerly housed the offices of the dairy company Dos Pinos and is soon to be Costa Rica's first Culture Center for Children's and Adolescents' Rights, run by the Child Welfare Office (PANI).
As part of Intel's community outreach work, the company decided to help PANI convert the abandoned space into a new center by donating paint and, more importantly, the labor of 225 of employees, 100 of whom worked the first of two painting shifts on their day off yesterday, explained Intel Communications Manager Raquel Gólcher.
Volunteers yesterday painted the building's walls with a neutral base coat, and on Friday 125 more Intel volunteers will paint the second and final coat, Gólcher said.
The building's seven expansive, high-ceilinged rooms will be painted bright colors like green -- to symbolize change, hope and strength -- and yellow, to symbolize PANI's ideology of protecting human rights, said the center's Director Laura Chinchilla (no relation to the Vice-President).
The idea behind the center is to provide a space where parents, children and community members can come to learn about children's rights and good parenting practices, Chinchilla explained. It will house an auditorium, library, computer center and classrooms, will have a staff of five and will be open to the public during the day. Additionally, the center will host international conferences and other gatherings.
“The idea is to bring about a cultural change here in Costa Rica,” Chinchilla said. “All children have the right to grow up in a responsible family, free of physical punishment and abuse, but there are things that are immersed in our national culture that can make this difficult.”
The building adjoining the new culture center, also formerly Dos Pinos offices, was also purchased by PANI and will house its San José administrative offices, which are now spread around the city in four buildings.
PANI's new Culture Center for Children's and Adolescents' Rights, on the east side of San José, is scheduled to open Sept. 12.
Exports Grow 17% During First Seven Months of Year
Costa Rican exports grew 17.4% during the first seven months of this year, according to a statement from the Foreign Trade Ministry.
Export sales reached $4.7 billion from January to July, almost $700 million more than during the same period last year.
Haiti was the export market showing the most growth (88%), though Costa Rica exported only $6 million there, the statement said.
Packaged foods, sauces, aluminum bars, tires, glass containers and refrigerators were the main exports to Haiti.
Other markets showing dynamic growth during the year's first seven months were South Korea, Brazil, Portugal, Ireland, China, Canada and Suriname, the statement said. The United States, Holland, Hong Kong, China and Central American countries imported the most Costa Rican products and services.
The exports showing the most growth during the first seven months of the year were kitchen appliances, refrigerators and parts for electric apparatus, while electric parts for microprocessors, banana, textiles and pineapple were the products exported in the largest quantities.
From January to June, the industrial sector's exports showed 20% growth while the agricultural sector grew 14%.
-Tico Times
Fun on the Cheap: Pointers for Penny-Pinchers
 |
I am a bargain hunter. In restaurants I look at the prices before I look over the food. I shop the markets rather than the malls. And I always ask “¿Cuánto vale?” (“How much?”) before making my decision.
So I also search out events that are free or low-cost but seem interesting. One such event is the International Book Fair, which is held the last week in June. This year it was at Pedregal event center in San Antonio de Belén, west of San José. Yes, I know, the books are all in Spanish. But if you like books, you're also interested in what's available in Latin America. And if you can't read the books, you can always judge them by their covers. Besides, it only cost ¢500 ($1) to get in and looking around inside is free.
First bargain: everyone going in gets a free book and some bookmarks. I sometimes think I go for the bookmarks just to replace all the torn-off pieces of paper and covers of greeting cards that fill my books. A free book isn't so bad either.
Then there are also lots of other exhibits, such as stamps and coins and pre-Columbian figurines. The former displayed a slew of envelopes from days of yore when a name, a street and a country were all that was needed to send your letter winging to its destination. The coins and bills were a little depressing as they reminded you how much five colones used to buy. Now those colorful bills are seen only in antique displays and in the hands of peddlers who charge tourists considerably more than five colones for them.
For kids there were free balloons, and I saw a few grown-ups in the balloon line if that's your thing.
The book dealers and publishers were arranged in a huge circle around the hall so you couldn't miss any of them. Other things were easy to miss. I planned to meet a friend there and learned the next day that she had been walking in the same direction around the circle but at a different radius.
For those who aren't afraid to take on reading in Spanish, there were plenty of books. Casa de Revistas had the most tantalizing display on Da Vinci, Mary Magdalene and the Knights Templar, cashing in on the new popularity at ¢13,000 ($26) and more. Much too steep for us pinches (think of penny-pinchers), I moved on. The Bible Society had some children's books on Bible stories with cute illustrations and stickers. And cheap – probably keeping in mind the tale of Jesus and the money changers. With Christmas a mere six months away, I bought a bunch for the kids around my neighborhood, especially those who need to be reminded now and then of their catechism lessons.
Some of the booths were pass-bys – too technical or too limited in scope. But Oceano, which handles dictionaries, encyclopedias and computer equipment, is a good place to find Spanish-English aids or material for the student set.
There were booths for publishers from other Latin American countries, Nicaragua, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Colombia, giving an idea of the span of literature published in the region. The bookstores were there too, Lehmann, Universal and Internacional, offering 10 and 15% discounts on all books.
I headed for the booth of the State University at a Distance (UNED), whose selection is extensive, with lots of books on Costa Rica by local authors, and very reasonable. My kind of books. By buying two, I got a discount, a pen and a big paper shopping bag. My kind of shopping.
If books aren't your thing, they also have a food court.
At three o'clock the whistle blew announcing that the train waiting at the back door would soon depart for the Pacific station in San José, and it was all aboard for those going that way. I go to Alajuela, northwest of San José, but what the heck, I can take the train to San José and catch an express bus back, and it'll be just as fast as the stop-and-start bus to Alajuela.
The train charged a whopping ¢1,000 ($2) and wobbled all the way to San José, but it was fun, especially seeing a couple of the above-mentioned balloons fly out the window as the train paused over a bridge suspended half a kilometer over a river. Then the train wobbled through the western districts of La Carpio and Pavas, blowing the horn and stopping traffic, and all the passengers waved to the kids along the way, who waved back.
And that concluded my inexpensive excursion about which I had no complaints.
By checking through The Tico Times' Calendar section, you can find other events that are cheap and choice. Book presentations and inauguraciones (opening nights) of art shows are always free, give you an idea of what's happening culturally in Costa Rica and serve snacks.
Film festivals held at various cultural centers are also a good value, especially when they're free. Fairs, festivals, concerts and programs in the parks are other inexpensive ways to see the sights.
Chances are you'll see me there, too.
Editorial Cartoon | Weekend | Exchange Rates | Fishing | Culture | Classified Ads
Display Ads | Subscribe! | Travel Guide | Archives | Links | About Us | Newsstand Locations
Contact Us | Policies