JANUARY 25, 2007

AMBULANCES Have Arrived: The government yesterday gave 43 new ambulances and 48 motorcycles to the Social Security System (Caja) during an act in Parque de la Paz, east of San José, presided over by President Oscar Arias and Caja president Eduardo Doryan. These vehicles will be used in low-resource communities to transport patients to hospitals and in disease prevention campaigns.

RICKY to Rock Tibás: Latin music idol Ricky Martin will be stopping to perform at the Ricardo Saprissa stadium in Tibás, north of San José, Feb. 19 as part of his “Blanco y Negro” tour. Tickets to witness this Latin Grammy-winning star are on sale at Megasuper grocery stores or online at www.specialticket.net.

Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal announced yesterday that reforms to the country's Immigration Law are ready for submission to the Legislative Assembly.

The National Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) Tuesday announced that the spring located less than 75 meters from the site of an explosive December chemical fire has no contaminants and its water is suitable for human consumption.

Public Health Minister María Luisa Avila yesterday announced a plan to equalize what she called “the two Costa Ricas ” – those who receive vaccinations at private health-care facilities and those who depend on the public Social Security System for their shots.

Executive Branch Presents Immigration Reforms

By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff | kstanley@ticotimes.net

Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal announced yesterday that reforms to the country's Immigration Law are ready for submission to the Legislative Assembly.

President Oscar Arias, a longtime critic of the existing law approved before Arias took office in May 2006, reviewed the reforms at his weekly Cabinet meeting. (The law took effect in August, despite Arias' efforts to convince legislators to postpone it.) Following the meeting, Berrocal and Immigration Director Mario Zamora told reporters the package of 60 reforms will, if approved, overhaul the Immigration Police, toughen punishments of human traffickers, make it easier for immigrants to legalize their status, and put Costa Rica in compliance of international human-rights treaties.

Casa Presidencial spokeswoman Eugenia Sancho told The Tico Times the bill could be submitted to the assembly at any time.

The existing law was approved in 2005 after years of debate, despite criticism from the Catholic Church, human-rights activists and other groups. When the Arias administration took over, its ministers added to the chorus by arguing that it is impossible for the under-funded Immigration Administration to comply with the law without additional funds.

The reforms presented to the Cabinet yesterday were drafted by a team at Immigration that consulted with advisors from all the political parties represented in the Legislative Assembly, Church leaders, academics and other groups. Because of this approach, the bill should reach a vote quickly, Berrocal said.

“It's a consensus bill,” he said.

The reforms contain both good and bad news for foreign residents. On the upside: Now, foreigners seeking a change in their immigration status must visit the Costa Rican consulates in their countries of origin as part of the process, but the reforms would remove that requirement to simplify the process. Procedures for businesses seeking immigration permits for temporary workers from Nicaragua or other countries would also be simplified.

However, the bill does require foreign residents to pay a monthly tax for public education and health services, Berrocal said. He added that the exact amount of such payments is up to the Legislative Assembly; Zamora told The Tico Times last year that the payments would likely be $8-17.

Berrocal said such a contribution is “rational,” but George González, head of immigration services at the Costa Rican Residents' Association, said in December that demanding such a payment would be unfair and perhaps illegal.

“It would be unconstitutional to say that foreigners have to pay more than nationals,” he said. “It has to be based on income” (TT, Dec. 8, 2006).

Moín Water Service Restored,
No Contamination Found

By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff | lbaxter@ticotimes.net

The National Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) Tuesday announced that the spring located less than 75 meters from the site of an explosive December chemical fire has no contaminants and its water is suitable for human consumption.

The announcement meant restored water service for 2,000 people in the Caribbean coastal town of Moín who had been depending on water trucks since the Dec. 13 fire.

The blaze at a Químicos Holanda chemical storage plant took the lives of two workers and spilled toxic solvents into the surrounding eco system (TT, Dec. 15, 2006). The nearby spring provided water for 20,000 area residents, and was immediately quarantined.

While some residents received water service redirected from an unaffected river, others – including the 2,000 who had their service restored this week – have depended on visits from water tanker trucks ever since.

Environment and Energy Minister Roberto Dobles told The Tico Times that technicians had been taking daily samples from the springs' aquifers since the fire, and since Dec. 26, 2006, the samples have been free of contaminants.

“There is no danger in using the water,” Dobles said.

Health Ministry Promotes Vaccination Campaign

Public Health Minister María Luisa Avila yesterday announced a plan to equalize what she called “the two Costa Ricas ” – those who receive vaccinations at private health-care facilities and those who depend on the public Social Security System for their shots.

During a press conference following President Oscar Arias' weekly Cabinet meeting, Avila explained a national vaccination plan intended to cover “a large part of the childhood population that is not protected against diseases as serious as bacterial meningitis, diarrhea caused by rotavirus and whooping cough,” according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

The program would make Costa Rica the first Latin American country to make high-technology vaccinations available to all, Avila said.

Vaccinating helps achieve three crucial goals: reducing infant mortality, reducing mortality in children under age 5 and reducing poverty and inequality, the statement said.

The Public Health Ministry is seeking funding from the Social Security System (Caja) for the vaccination project, which would cost $8 million yearly but would save an estimated $60 million in treating those sick with disease, the statement said. The ministry has also received a $12 million donation to fund vaccinations against pneumonia and meningitis in children under 3 years old.

Spirit Airlines to Fly to San José

Spirit Airlines yesterday announced it will begin nonstop service between its hub in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and San José beginning April 5, according to a statement posted on the airline's Web site.

Flights will be offered on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and the route will be serviced by Airbus aircraft, the statement said. The airline will also offer connecting flights to San José from other U.S. destinations.

Spirit offers service to 15 other Latin American and Caribbean cities; Costa Rica will be its first Central American destination.

“We are thrilled to be offering our terrific, low-fare service to one of Central America's most beautiful countries,” said Luis Zúñiga, Spirit marketing representative and Costa Rica native, according to the statement. “We're looking forward to taking Floridians to enjoy Costa Rica, whether it's to reconnect with family or take advantage of the vast opportunities for ecotourism.”

Recently I picked up a wonderful new attachment for my PDA, called Intelect-Inside, which, when pointed at a subject within 15 meters, is able to capture and display the unexpressed thoughts of that person. A few days ago I went to a quasi-government office. I arrived at opening time and while I waited, having nothing better to do, I pointed the thing at a young employee who was sitting at a nearby desk.

What follows here is the sequence of his thoughts, translated from pachuco Spanish to English:

Whoof! Made it just in time. Stupid new security service! Why do they have to check employees coming in and going out? Yesterday afternoon they almost found the staplers. I’ll have to stop doing that before I get caught.

Don’t these privatized people ever rest?

I know the kind of thing Security is trying to catch in the mornings. They stopped Elberth from the Filing Department from bringing in his bottles of guaro. That’s goodbye to his little business! He’s going to feel the drop in his income… I bet he won’t be able to afford Rosita any more…

Hey, maybe I’ll be able to pick up with Rosita myself. Nah! With the stapler, paper punch and scissors business going phut, I wouldn’t be able to afford her, either. Stupid new security service!

But I daren’t take up with Rosita anyway – Stupid Carmen would immediately tell my wife.

Where is Stupid Carmen, anyway? I know! She must be in the bathroom putting on her face. Uncanny, the way she arrives back at her desk exactly one minute before the jefe walks in.

Uh oh. There’s the messenger from Metropolitana. I mustn’t meet his eye! Maybe if I ignore him, Sánchez will attend to him. Boy, Sánchez is really trying for a promotion – he was actually working when I arrived. What’s he trying to do – show the rest of us up? Stupid Sánchez!

Mustn’t raise my eyes! Hmm, my shoes need waxing. They haven’t been cleaned since the new guards stopped the shoeshine lad from coming in. Now everyone has dirty shoes and we don’t have those racy magazines any more, to pass the while away. Stupid security service!

The new privatized cleaning service is good! They cleaned the dust from my outbox. I wonder if I should make two piles of the stuff in my inbox? The one pile is likely to topple over. Should I put the files in alphabetical order to expedite things when someone needs something? Nah! Too much trouble. Let ’em wait while I riffle through.

Ooh, there’s Rosita! Yoo hoo, Rosita! Wow, I love it when she stretches backward like that. Heck! I caught the eye of Metropolitana – but he just smiled and looked at Rosita.

I think that blouse is one she bought from the Nica. The Nica hasn’t come back since the new guard service started – they probably stop him from coming in. I saw him lurking outside yesterday – luckily he didn’t see me. I don’t like those shirts very much, anyway, so why should I pay for them? Maybe I should grow back my moustache. No, I can’t grow it back because then the lottery chap would recognize me, and I owe him more than I owe the Nica.

Hmm, that man’s here to see the jefe – I’d better pretend to be working. Boy, the dust between the files in my inbox is terrible. I think I’ll go to the infirmary later and pretend to have hay fever, and maybe they’ll give me some more of that allergy medicine I sell to my brother-in-law.

Here’s the file I told the guy from Cosmopolitas I had processed and sent to the Evaluations Department. Stupid Cosmopolitas guy, with his shrill voice and horrible haircut – I hope he got properly messed up! But I must be more compliant or he won’t repeat the nice Christmas present this year.

Ah, here comes Stupid Carmen – so the jefe will be arriving any moment. I’d better keep looking busy. But I mustn’t look up – Sánchez still hasn’t attended to Metropolitana.

We should turn the desks around so we don’t have to face the counter and “see” the people who are waiting. But if we turn the desks around, the people at the counter would see our computer monitors, and that’s no good! I wonder where I can get the new version of Free Cell?

Stupid Carmen hasn’t said “good morning” to me. In fact, she hasn’t even looked at me. Who does she think she is? Boy, I’d really like to nab her stapler, paper punch and scissors, and then see her squirm! But she locks them in her desk whenever she’s away from it. Stupid Carmen! What does she think I am, a thief? It’s not as if taking staplers, scissors and paper punches were really stealing – nobody around here cares about that sort of thing.

Where’s the jefe? I want his newspaper. I’m sure La Liga won, but I want to check the final score of last night’s game. Stupid ICE and its power cuts – it should be privatized! But if they privatize ICE we will follow right behind, and that would be really terrible – I don’t know what I would do! And all these other poor people. Except Sánchez – he would find a new job right away, curse him! I really should try to get into the hierarchy of the union and become one of the Untouchables.

There’s the guy from Profesionales. Maybe he knows how the game ended up. But I’d better not ask him – he may want me to do something for him, and now it’s now only 20 minutes before my first coffee break, so I can’t take on any more tasks.