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Foot soldiers: Pedestrians, cyclists and architects beat the pavement yesterday on downtown San José's European Union Street as part of the “Pedestrian Public Space” walk in recognition of the city's car-free walkways. |
Laura Sánchez | Tico Times |
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| Costa Rica trade deficit doubles |
Costa Rican exports slowed through July, lifting the trade deficit to $3.3 billion – nearly twice the trade deficit during the same period last year. |
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| Elections tribunal warns Arias over playing favorites |
| The Supreme Elections Tribunal demanded yesterday that President Oscar Arias remain neutral as the 2010 presidential election approaches. |
| See More... |
| Costa Rica catches Russian wanted on fraud charges |
A specialized unit of the National Police in Costa Rica arrested a Russian fugitive wanted since 1997. |
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| New buses could launch in October |
Costa Rican transport authorities have announced that the new bus routes set to circle San José and connect the city's outlying districts may finally launch in October, four months later than planned, a new push for San José's troubled little buses that could. |
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A Little Restaurant
with Texas-Sized Flavor |
Where in San José's restaurant scene can you find a “Don't Mess with Texas” bumper sticker in the window and country music wafting from the speakers? A little restaurant with big flavor, Texas BBQ Company in Sabana Sur offers authentic dishes and ingredients straight from the Lone Star State. |
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| Costa Rica trade deficit doubles |
By Alex Leff
Tico Times Staff | aleff@ticotimes.net |
Costa Rican exports slowed through July, lifting the trade deficit to $3.3 billion – nearly twice the trade deficit during the same period last year.
The Central Bank reported Tuesday on its Web site www.bccr.fi.cr, that while exports in the first seven months of 2008 surpassed $5.7 billion, imports grossed just over $9 billion.
By July 2007, Costa Rica ran close to a $1.7 billion deficit, 96.5 percent below this year's seven-month figure.
“(Higher trade deficit) was expected but not in the magnitude we're seeing,” said Betty Sánchez, of the bank's economic analysis and consultancy department.
“What we've been seeing is a lower rise in exports largely due to lower foreign demand, and particularly the slowed growth in the United States, and, on other the hand, a higher value on imports,” Sánchez said.
During this year's first seven months, exports rose only 6.3 percent above 2007's total of just under $5.4 billion. Imports through July, meanwhile, were up 27.7 percent over the $7 billion in goods brought into the country during the same period last year.
Costa Rica's biggest sellers are computer chips, bananas, pineapples, medicine and medical equipment, textiles and coffee.
Sánchez explained import value is being driven by the dramatic increases in fuel and basic grain in the past year. |
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| Elections tribunal warns Arias over playing favorites |
By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net |
The Supreme Elections Tribunal demanded yesterday that President Oscar Arias remain neutral as the 2010 presidential election approaches.
Arias appears to be backing Vice President and Justice Minister Laura Chinchilla. He told the weekly newspaper El Financiero that a woman should succeed him, and he told the daily La Nación that Chinchilla “is a woman whose calling is public service.”
The Electoral Code prohibits high-level public officials from using their influence to benefit a political party or candidate.
“They must show absolute impartiality,” the three tribunal magistrates said in a resolution. “They are allowed only to vote on election day.”
The magistrates said Arias had not violated the Electoral Code, rejecting a complaint by lawmakers Rafael Madrigal and Elizabeth Fonseca from the opposition Citizen Action Party (PAC).
But the magistrates did ask Arias to be careful.
“This Tribunal …(makes a) respectful but vehement call to attention to the president of the republic,” they wrote. “(We) demand that President Oscar Arias…promote, from the executive branch …neutrality and impartiality.” |
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| Costa Rica catches Russian wanted on fraud charges |
A specialized unit of the National Police in Costa Rica arrested a Russian fugitive wanted since 1997.
Nikolai Korobkov, 54, a former treasurer of the Russian Communist Party, was apprehended Tuesday in Barrio La Granja of San Pedro with the help of Interpol and the Intelligence and Security Department (DIS).
He is wanted in Russia on multiple charges of fraud, theft and abuse of client confidentiality.
According to an Interpol press release, Korobkov founded the Investment Industrial and Commercial Co. during the 1990s in Russia and used it as a pretext to lure roughly 7,000 investors into funding various housing projects. He allegedly didn't report the numbers on his books and investors lost roughly $2 million.
With the stolen money, Korobkov then acquired properties in several European countries before disappearing in 1997, the press release states.
Authorities said the fugitive first escaped to Denmark then Brazil, where he acquired a fake passport with the name Matías Knobel. They said he has lived under that name in Curridabat and Barrio La Granja, both east of San José, where he has run a home decorating business with his wife and daughter since 1998.
Korobkov is being held on an international arrest warrant while an extradition proceeding goes forward. |
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| New buses could launch in October |
Costa Rican transport authorities have announced that the new bus routes set to circle San José and connect the city's outlying districts may finally launch in October, four months later than planned, a new push for San José's troubled little buses that could.
The seven new routes were set to rev up early June, but the plan was curbed following a Transport Administrative Tribunal ruling that transport officials acted “irrationally” in awarding the bus contracts.
Costa Rica's public buses are run by private companies.
The Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) called a press conference Monday to say the buses – meant to ease downtown congestion and shorten commutes – will run, although a specific launch date was not provided.
“In order to meet public interest, by means of a temporary permit the Public Works and Transport Ministry will put into service the intersectoral routes starting in October,” according to a MOPT.
The ministry estimates this period to last as long as it takes to hold a new contract bidding process.
The authorities said they owe it to the public to get the buses moving.
“We can't pass the buck … to the (bus) riders,” MOPT Minister Karla González said. |
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| A Little Restaurant with Texas-Sized Flavor |
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Where in San José's restaurant scene can you find a “Don't Mess with Texas ” bumper sticker in the window and country music wafting from the speakers? A little restaurant with big flavor, Texas BBQ Company in Sabana Sur offers authentic dishes and ingredients straight from the Lone Star State. This unassuming locale is one of the few places in Costa Rica where you can find genuine Texas-style barbecue ribs, tender brisket, chicken, sausage, traditional sides such as coleslaw and potato salad, and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream for dessert.
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| Big on Barbecue: Juan Carlos Ortiz, co-owner of Texas BBQ in Sabana Sur, learned the tricks of the barbecue trade in the Lone Star State and brought his expertise back to his native Costa Rica. |
Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss | Tico Times |
The small, charming restaurant is done up with wooden tables, red-and-white decor and a black-and-white poster of John Wayne. It started as the dream of a U.S. citizen and a Costa Rican who were unsatisfied with the variety of food in the capital. Business partners Cody Christensen and Juan Carlos Ortiz opened Texas BBQ Co. in December, bringing true barbecue technique and a few secret recipes to their western San José location.
San José-born Ortiz lived for two years in Austin, Texas, where he worked at Branch BBQ restaurant and learned the tricks of the trade.
“I fell in love with the sausage and the brisket because it's something we don't have here,” Ortiz said. “I learned to do barbecue, salads and sauces, and how to truly smoke meat.”
Ortiz personally slow-cooks all of the meat using a pit and electric smoker. The brisket and ribs, for example, take eight hours to cook. Burning coffee wood in addition to the traditional oak gives the smoked meats a Tico twist, he says. Texas BBQ's special sauces are made with original U.S.-imported ingredients, including chili powder and celery seeds that are hard to come by in Costa Rica.
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| Ribs are slow-cooked for eight hours. |
Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss | Tico Times |
I tried a sampler plate with barbecue chicken, brisket, two kinds of ribs, sausage and sides. Though the mashed potatoes and sausage could have been better, I was beyond satisfied with the chicken, brisket and ribs. More than any other dish, I recommend the chopped brisket sandwich with pickles and a side of potato salad for ¢1,500 ($2.70), including lemonade or iced tea and one side.
Serving a diverse clientele, the restaurant draws about 70 percent foreigners, mostly from the United States, and 30 percent Ticos, according to Ortiz.
To really judge the caliber of the restaurant, I brought along some Texan students studying abroad in Costa Rica for a taste test. Whitney Workman of El Campo, Texas, said, “My town is known for its barbecue, and (Texas BBQ) is one of the best I've ever had.”
Comparing it to barbecue back home, on a scale of one to 10, Billy Brubaker of Tyler, Texas, gave Texas BBQ a nine. “I didn't think it would be near as good as it was. They did a very good job making it taste just like it does in Texas,” he said.
Ortiz, who manages the restaurant almost every day of the week, is fluent in English and Spanish. His bona fide barbecue mastery and friendly nature make patrons feel at home in his little patch of Texas, where “sauce is boss,” he says.
In addition to lunch and early dinners, Texas BBQ provides catering for special events, business meetings, parties and a surprising number of baby showers. The reasonably priced family packs and combos are perfect for takeout and picnics in nearby La Sabana Park.
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