FEBRUARY 26, 2007

VICTORY Waves: Natalie Bernold, 13, yesterday surfed her way to win the Open and Junior divisions at the Freestyle Trophy competition at Playa Guiones, in the northwestern Guanacaste province.

UNLIKELY Romance: Sophie ( Sheila McCann Morrison) and Francois (Theodore Hope) are roommates desperately in pursuit of love in the Little Theatre Group's production of “Strawberries in January,” which opened Friday at the Blanche Brown Theater in the western suburb of Escazú. The play runs through March 11; for tickets or more information, call 355-1623 or visit www.littletheatregroup.org.

50,000 Expected to March Against CAFTA Today

Leaders of the National Coordinator of the Fight Against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) yesterday announced they expect no fewer than 50,000 people to take to the streets of San José today to march against CAFTA, a trade pact they say will strip Costa Rica of jobs and its public institutions.

Government Promises More Investment In Guanacaste

Local and national leaders met for five hours Friday in Liberia, the capital of the northwestern Guancaste province, to discuss the province's problems, and they left with promises to invest in its improvement, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

Cultural Center Opens New Branch in Esparza

The Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center Friday inaugurated its new branch in the Pacific-slope town of Esparza, and area residents can sign up for English classes there beginning March 1, according to a statement from the center.

Commercial Deficit Down 9.1% in January

50,000 Expected to March Against CAFTA Today

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

Leaders of the National Coordinator of the Fight Against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) yesterday announced they expect no fewer than 50,000 people to take to the streets of San José today to march against CAFTA, a trade pact they say will strip Costa Rica of jobs and its public institutions.

Naming the march “A Day for the Nation,” the group's president Eugenio Trejos told the press he expects the protest will be carried out peacefully and “joyfully” as Ticos come out to make their voices heard.

Protestors plan to gather near the statue of León Cortés in La Sabana park on the western edge of San José and march east on Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda toward the Legislative Assembly, where the controversial trade pact is being discussed by a committee and soon expected to move to its main floor.

Unlike previous anti-CAFTA marches, most protestors tomorrow plan to start at the same point rather than meeting at the Legislative Assembly, Trejos explained. Student groups from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in San Pedro, east of San José, will be bussed to La Sabana park.

Though Trejos and others at yesterday's press conference said marchers plan to “guarantee the right of circulation” to citizens going about their routines, Traffic Police official José Solano said he expects major congestion.

Solano recommends drivers traveling from west to east in the morning avoid Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda and take alternative routes or avoid San José altogether, he told the daily La Nación.

Authorities have also spoken of plans in place to make sure citizens maintain access to public services like health care and electricity during the march.

Social Security System (Caja) president Eduardo Doryan and Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) spokesman Giovanni Bonilla both told La Nación their institutions have contingency plans in place should today's events affect the services they provide.

Stay tuned to The Tico Times Daily News page for updates on today's anti-CAFTA march.

Government Promises More
Investment In Guanacaste

Local and national leaders met for five hours Friday in Liberia, the capital of the northwestern Guancaste province, to discuss the province's problems, and they left with promises to invest in its improvement, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

Ministers, legislators and mayors from all of Guanacaste's cantons talked about issues including pubic safety, health, education, housing, water and roads, the statement said.

Public Works and Transport Minister Karla González announced a ¢4 billion ($7.7 million) investment the government plans to make to repair the province's roads.

Addressing crime, Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal said police in Guanacaste will receive new vehicles and additional manpower, as 215 police officers are now in training to work in the area. The ministry also plans to open three new police stations in Guanacaste -- one at Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia and two in “beach areas” although the statement did not specify where.

Tourism Minister Carlos Benavides said improving the Daniel Oduber International Airport and implementing an urgently needed development plan for real estate and tourism projects are his priorities for the area, according to La Nación.

National Liberation Party (PLN) legislator Gilberto Jerez seconded Benavides' call for better planning. “We urgently need more investment in the area, but overall in the planning of tourism development,” he said.

-Tico Times

Cultural Center Opens New Branch in Esparza

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

The Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center Friday inaugurated its new branch in the Pacific-slope town of Esparza, and area residents can sign up for English classes there beginning March 1, according to a statement from the center.

Classes will be available for children, adolescents and adults of the nearby communities of Puntarenas, Jacó and Orotina who want to learn English. Among classes to be offered are English Now; the Speak Plus program to improve pronunciation, vocabulary and comprehension; the Teens Xtreme program for 12-15 year olds; and First Steps, for children ages 8-11. These classes will be offered during the evening hours and on Saturdays, according to the statement.

The center has other branches in the San José areas of San Pedro and La Sabana; Alajuela, northwest of San José; and Cartago, east of San José. Its directors decided to expand to Esparza because of an increase in tourists to nearby areas, creating a growing job market for residents who speak English, the statement said.

The center's inauguration coincides with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announcing the closing of the Venzuelan state-run aluminum plant CVG Aluminios Nacionales S.A. (Alunasa), which employes 400 people in Esparza (TT, Feb. 23).

Among companies in the region that plan to train their employees at the center include Galvatica, Hotel Ramada and Marriot Los Sueños as well as the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), Banco de Costa Rica and BAC Costa Rica, according to the statement.

The center is located inside the Colegio Santa Sofía. For more information, call 636-7771 or 800-207-7500.

Commercial Deficit Down 9.1% in January

Costa Rica's commercial deficit last month registered $348 million, 9.1% less than the $382 million reported during January of 2006, according to statistics published on the Central Bank's Web site.

Exports in January accounted for $707 million, a 31.3% growth over January of last year, and imports registered $1 billion, creating a commercial deficit of $348 million.

The country's main exports are electric components for microprocessors, followed by banana, medical equipment, pineapple, textiles and coffee.

Imports last month showed a 14.5% increase over the $921 million registered in January 2006. Prime materials for industry and agriculture, consumer goods and fuels are among the country's main imports.

Bypass wasn't getting along too well with his wife of 40 years. He wouldn't tell me why, but I concluded it was a simple case of what in the trade we call OS, or Overfamiliarity Syndrome. Two people living together that long know exactly what each is going to say in any given situation, but the one with OS, on hearing the same dumb joke for the thousandth time, is liable to rush out of the house screaming, “I can't stand it any longer!”

Normal couples deal with the problem by preserving a companionable silence from breakfast to suppertime, but that option was not open to Bypass. While he himself was a man of few words, his wife was the original motormouth, whose maximum silent time was one minute.

So Bypass tried another option. Two doors down the street lived a comely divorcée by the name of Clara, who went on monthlong cruises twice a year, financed by a generous alimony. So at the next street party, Bypass, fortified by strong drink, drew her aside and said, “Clarer, will you take me on your next cruise?” Clara immediately responded, “Sure. Next week suit you?” Bypass, who had come prepared for an argument, was taken aback by this glib response, and promptly assumed she was a loose woman, but managed to stammer out, “F-fine, I'll give you a call.” Which, with some misgivings, he did, and after telling his wife he would be gone for a month on a business trip, he and Clara departed Miami in a first-class cabin bound for the Azores.

Novelty is an important component of any social relationship, so the couple had little problem getting along for the first eight hours. But from then on the escapade became, from one point of view, a total disaster. At dinner that night, Clara pronounced the Dover sole uneatable and the Chardonnay undrinkable, and sent back the baked Alaska three times before even tasting it. On returning to their luxurious cabin, she complained bitterly about the facilities and, worst of all, positively rejected any form of intimacy before Bypass even brought up the subject. And, it must be admitted, conversationally Bypass is a crashing bore.

From another point of view, however, the trip was a roaring success. Thoroughly fed up with each other, the couple abandoned the cruise after only a week and flew home separately. Bypass reported to his wife that he had cut short his business trip because he missed her, even going so far as to kiss her passionately that night. She, of course, being by no means stupid just because she talked too much, had readily guessed the truth, but responded in kind. Thereafter, Bypass learned simply to withdraw his attention while his wife was speaking, and the two lived together reasonably happily ever after.

The moral of this story is “Try a little harder before you try another.” Or how about “The grass is not necessarily greener two doors down the street”?