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Techies play sports: The Costa Rica Institute of Technology soccer team celebrates a victory after beating Alajuela University College Thursday afternoon during Costa Rica's University Games. |
Keely Kernan | Tico Times |
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Picturesque power: The Cachí Dam in Cartago's Orosi Valley, on the east side of San José, serves as a major producer of hydroelectric power for Costa Rica and also as a tourist attraction. To boost power production, the Arias Administration has presented a sweeping new energy bill to Costa Rica's Legislative Assembly. For more on this story, see Friday's print or digital edition of The Tico Times. |
Ronald Reyes | Tico Times |
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| U.S. pulls millions of dollars in aid to Honduras |
| The United States stepped up pressure Thursday against the de facto government of Honduras, formally terminating millions of dollars in aid to the country for failing to adopt a Costa Rica-brokered reconciliation plan intended to end the Central American country's more than two-month-long political crisis. |
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| Costa Rica celebrates Japan Week |
For the seventh year running, San José will celebrate Japanese Week, with cultural activities Sept. 4 through 20. |
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Developers to build luxury tower with
world’s largest penthouse in Costa Rica |
Caspi International Inc., a U.S. real estate development firm, is planning to build a 14-story, all-glass oceanfront condominium tower in Puntarenas The $120 million project, known as Genesis Puntarenas, will include the world's largest penthouse, anticipated to be a 68,459 sq. ft., 10-bedroom space that occupies the top three stories of the tower. |
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| Plans to build oil refinery in Costa Rican port of Moín move forward |
A proposal to upgrade a Costa Rican refinery, which had been stalled in the Comptroller General's Office for months, was given the go-ahead on Thursday. |
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| The Other Star Fruit |
At the end of the dry season in April and May, citrus fruits, mangos and avocados are just beginning to form young fruits here in Costa Rica. There is a fruit tree, however, that produces an abundance of delicious fruit at this time. It's called caimito in Spanish, and is inappropriately known as star fruit in English, which is confusing, as star fruit is also the name for the carambola fruit (Averrhoa carambola). |
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| U.S. pulls millions of dollars in aid to Honduras |
The United States stepped up pressure Thursday against the de facto government of Honduras, formally terminating millions of dollars in aid to the country for failing to adopt a Costa Rica-brokered reconciliation plan intended to end the Central American country's more than two-month-long political crisis.
“Restoration of the terminated assistance will be predicated upon a return to democratic, constitutional governance in Honduras,” according to a statement from the U.S. State Department.
The pulled aid totals as much as $22 million that would be funneled through a broad range of assistance programs, according to a report in The New York Times.
The U.S. also hardened its tone against the de facto government of Roberto Micheletti – who was named president after the June 28, court-ordered overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya – now labeling the ouster a full-fledged “coup d'etat.”
The U.S. State Department said it would not recognize the result of presidential elections slated for November as long as the accord drafted by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias isn't met.
“At this moment, we would not be able to support the outcome of the scheduled elections,” the government statement said. “A positive conclusion of the Arias process would provide a sound basis for legitimate elections to proceed. We strongly urge all parties to the San José talks to move expeditiously to agreement.”
The announcement came after an hour-long meeting between Zelaya and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, newswire EFE reported.
Meanwhile, Gabriela Núñez, Micheletti's finance minister, said the aid was meant to assist in programs including roadway works and a project to help some 18,000 Honduran farm workers, according to EFE. |
–Tico Times
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| Costa Rica celebrates Japan Week |
By Sean O'Hare
Tico Times Staff | editorial@ticotimes.net |
For the seventh year running, San José will celebrate Japanese Week, with cultural activities Sept. 4 through 20.
Lectures, exhibitions, cinema, competitions and concerts will be offered at various locations throughout the city, with something of interest for all ages.
The celebrations get underway this weekend with a festival of Japanese popular culture at the Centro Nacional de Cultura (CENAC). Participants can enjoy an inaugural ceremony and presentation by the Japanese School before choosing between demonstrations of five different martial arts or a Bonsai exhibition.
The Japanese ambassador Hidekazu Yamaguchi said: “We feel that interest and curiosity towards Asia is growing among Costa Ricans and I always consider this desire to know more about other cultures demonstrates the high level of cultural education in this country.
“This year we will share with the Costa Ricans our language by way of a Japanese language competition, our history with a photography exhibition, our sport, art and popular culture with a Japanese festival, our music with concerts and our harmony with nature through the bonsai tree,” Yamaguchi said.
Highlights include:
- An art exhibition and course given by Hajime Maboroshi, a Japanese Buddhist monk and artist, Sept. 3-15 at Alianza Francesa in San José.
- An exhibition of 100 photos documenting 60years of post-war life in Japan, Sept. 7-21, Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m. –to 4 p.m. at the Universidad Nacional in Heredia.
- A free tour of the Japanese Garden at the Universidad de Costa Rica in San José Sept. 18.
For more details and full event listings, visit: www.cr.emb-japan.go.jp.
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Developers to build luxury tower with
world’s largest penthouse in Costa Rica |
By Adam Williams
Tico Times Staff | awilliams@ticotimes.net
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Caspi International Inc., a U.S. real estate development firm, is planning to build a 14-story, all-glass oceanfront condominium tower in Puntarenas The $120 million project, known as Genesis Puntarenas, will include the world's largest penthouse, anticipated to be a 68,459 sq. ft., 10-bedroom space that occupies the top three stories of the tower.
In addition to the mammoth penthouse, known as Caspi Icon, the building will include six other penthouses and 40 more living units, each with retractable glass walls that would transform the units to open-air spaces. The other units will range from 950 to 6000 sq. ft. Some will have three bedrooms.
The tower will also feature two parking spaces for each unit, private elevators, a private beach area, a restaurant, a cigar parlor, a wine cellar, business and meeting spaces, daily maid service, beach cabanas and a helipad.
“It will be an entirely different style of building for Costa Rica,” said Brenna Israel, a representative for Caspi International. “A lot of the buildings in Costa Rica are designed in an older style. The all-glass retractable design is very contemporary and will be the first of its kind in Costa Rica.”
Currently, the Genesis Puntarenas project is in the final stages of securing a construction permit. The final permit is expected to be granted by the end of the month, at which time construction will begin at the site. Though no official time frame for completion is known, Caspi International hopes that the tower will be completed before the end of 2010.
As far as “the largest penthouse in the world” claim, Israel stated that Caspi International didn't initially aim for the distinction but, as the project developed, they realized the opportunity presented itself.
“We started out to try to make it the most luxurious penthouse, but as the project grew, the idea of being the biggest just kind of came about,” Israel said. “We have done an immense amount of research and have yet to find a penthouse that is larger. We stand by our claim that it will be the biggest.” |
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Plans to build oil refinery in
Costa Rican port of Moín move forward |
By Chrissie Long
Tico Times Staff | clong@ticotimes.net
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A proposal to upgrade a Costa Rican refinery, which had been stalled in the Comptroller General's Office for months, was given the go-ahead on Thursday.
The billion-dollar project – a joint venture of China and Costa Rica – had languished in the hands of the comptroller after the government watchdog expressed concerns about the legality of the agreement.
With the comptroller's approval this week, the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE) and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) will prepare a series of renovations expected to generate between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs and save the country between $200 and $300 million in yearly fuel import costs.
The state-owned refinery in Moín, north of the Caribbean port city of Limón, provides 30 percent of the roughly 1.6 million barrels of petroleum products consumed in Costa Rica each year (TT, Dec. 14, 2007).
The purpose of the upgrades is to meet a rising national demand and improve the quality of the fuel used in the country by decreasing its sulfur content, among other enhancements.
“The refinery we have today is very old, with outdated equipment that can only refine between 20,000 and 25,000 barrels of oil per day,” Arias said. “This investment will make a well-refined, higher quality and more environmentally friendly product, while increasing the capacity to 60,000 barrels a day.”
The project was held up in the comptroller's office because it challenged RECOPE's legal monopoly in oil refining and distribution, which can only be altered by a change in legislation.
After hearing feedback from the comptroller, the executive branch made an addendum to the contract to accommodate the concern.
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The Other Star Fruit |
At the end of the dry season in April and May, citrus fruits, mangos and avocados are just beginning to form young fruits here in Costa Rica. There is a fruit tree, however, that produces an abundance of delicious fruit at this time. It's called caimito in Spanish, and is inappropriately known as star fruit in English, which is confusing, as star fruit is also the name for the carambola fruit (Averrhoa carambola).
Caimito (Chrysophyllum cainito) is a member of the sapote family, along with the zapote mamey (Pouteria sapota) and the zapadillo or chicle tree (Manilkara zapota). All these trees are native to Mesoamerica and produce delightful fruits in the warmer regions of the country.
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A Star Fruit by Any Name: Caimito is called star fruit in English – not to be confused with the star-shaped carambola, also called star fruit. |
Ed Bernhardt | Tico Times |
The caimito is a large tree from eight to 30 meters tall, with alternate, elliptic, evergreen leaves that are green on top and golden-brown underneath. For this reason, the tree is also known as golden-leaf tree.
There are two distinct varieties of trees. One produces fruits that have a green skin, while the other produces purple-skinned fruits. Both have soft, white, milky, sweet pulp surrounding six seeds in the center and, when cut through transversely, look like a pointed star.
The skin of the fruit contains sticky, white latex, which can be avoided by spooning out the pulp. The sweet pulp can be added to fruit salads or blended fruit drinks. In Jamaica, caimito is mixed with fresh fruit and coconut water, then frozen and served as an iced fruit salad. Caimito fruit is a good source of calcium, phosphorus, vitamin C and niacin.
Leading nurseries carry caimito trees, or caimito fruits can be found in local markets and the seeds planted to start seedling trees. Plant one seed per pot or plastic nursery bag in fertile potting soil. When the seedling trees are several months old, they can be transplanted to permanent sites.
Caimito trees produce their first harvest in five or more years. It is best to harvest the fruit by cutting the stem from the tree with a pair of clippers. Pick only the ripest fruit, which contains less of the sticky latex. Because of their large size when mature, the trees need eight or more meters of space between other trees and ornamentals.
Caimito does well in a wide range of soils but does not tolerate poorly drained soils. The trees rarely require fertilizer, but a complete, well-balanced, natural fertilizer will greatly improve performance in poor soils. Fruit flies can damage the fruit, particularly in older trees. Spraying periodically during the harvest with natural insecticides, such as neem, rotenone or pyrethrin, will control this problem.
I hope you have an opportunity to try caimito fruits this year, and also plant a tree for your home orchard. If you haven't found caimito in your area, contact me at thenewdawncenter@yahoo.com. I'll send you a newsletter with information on how you can receive a gift pack of caimito seeds in the mail.
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