A small mountain community northwest of San José was identified as the canton with the highest quality of life by the University of Costa Rica (UCR) this week.

Valverde Vega, whose principal population center is the crafts mecca of Sarchí, sits on the western slope of the Poás Volcano and, according to the study, has the most favorable statistics relating to health, crime and municipal efficiency.

Two other agriculture-based communities, Alvarado – in the hills above Cartago, and Palmares – west of San José – followed closely behind.

The report ranks Heredia 50th for quality of life. Escazú came in at 74 and San José was second to last at 80. The Caribbean port city of Limón occupies the final spot, at 81.

But the study didn't just evaluate quality of life. Researchers also ranked communities based on business environment, quality of local governments, employment, infrastructure, innovation and the environment.

“The idea is for it to be used as a political instrument, to help local leaders of similar towns share ideas,” said Anabelle Ulate, director of UCR's Development Observatory, which created the Canton Competitiveness Index.

Asked whether any part of the study surprised her, Quirós pointed to the innovation rankings. While one might expect the communities that play host to foreign technology giants like Intel, HP or Boston Scientific would top the list, she said, those localities didn't quite make it to first place.

It turns out that Montes de Oca, home of the UCR, is Costa Rica's Silicon Valley.

The report, which was released on Tuesday, received praise from the government. Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias held it up to reporters Wednesday as an important document and offered to get them a copy.

See the complete report here

A gift to conservation: French Ambassador to Costa Rica Fabrice Delloye breaks a champaign bottle over his country's donation, Cocos Patrol 1, a boat equipped with GPS and 10 beds that will police the waters around Isla de Cocos.

Keely Kernan | Tico Times

The bottle broke, the champagne poured out and the ship was off.

The Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (MINAET) launched Cocos Patrol 1 on Friday from Puntarenas on the Pacific coast. The 48-meter patrol boat will trek 535 kilometers from the coast to the Isla del Coco, Costa Rica's treasure island. A national park, the island is world-famous for its rich marine biodiversity.

The boat is a donation from the French government's French Global Environment Fund and will police the national park for illegal activity such as fishing.

Marine biologists agree that overfishing is one of the greatest threats to marine life. Falling fish populations near Costa Rica's Pacific coast have forced fisherman to look for their catch further out, sometimes pushing inside of Isla del Coco's park boundary, where fishing is illegal.

Patrollers and conservationists find hundreds of fishing hooks and nets within the park boundaries every year, used to capture and kill sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and other protected marine species.

Environmentalists have criticized the Costa Rican government recently for not doing enough to protect the marine park.

“This boat is an important tool to help us improve our capacity to conserve this area,” said Fernando Quirós, director of the Isla del Coco Marine Conservation Area (ACMIC).

The boat is equipped with a GPS system, a kitchen, bathrooms and 10 beds, which will allow crews to patrol the island for several days at a time.

For good luck, officials broke a bottle of champagne over the boat's stern before its launch.

The Harlem Globetrotters brought their ball-spinning, high-flying, prank laden basketball spectacle to El Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, north of San José, Sunday and the Trotamundos – as they are known in Spanish – did not disappoint.

In front of a near sellout audience, the Globetrotters dazzled the crowd with their array of hoops tricks and scripted gags, treating the crowd to what was more a form of basketball theater than an actual game.

This was the Globetrotters' first visit to Costa Rica since 2001, and the fifth time they've brought their show here. The Globetrotters are on the tail end of their “Spinning the Globe 2009” tour. They also visited Guatemala on Saturday.

Beginning with the traditional display of ball tricks at center court to the whistled Globetrotters theme music, the 1920s jazz song “Sweet Georgia Brown,” the red, white and blue clad Harlem stars captivated the audience throughout the afternoon with the combination of crowd-rousing gags and craftily designed plays that typically ended in high-flying slam dunks.

Bearing names such as Spark, Special K and “El Gato”, the Globetrotters play against the Washington Generals, their longtime rival. As scripted, the coach of the Generals expresses his disdain for Costa Rica, bringing the crowd into the game.

Throughout the game, the Generals coach puts different Globetrotters into a trance using his black and white swirled umbrella. Once hypnotized, the coach directs the Globetrotter players to assist his team by scoring in the wrong basket or passing the ball to the wrong team. On one occasion, the coach's hypnosis causes Harlem captain Special K to fall asleep at center court. To save the day, the crowd has to generate sufficient noise to rouse him from his slumber.

Aside from the villain-hero plot, the Globetrotters also treated fans to other gags, such as disrobing a Generals player, splashing fans with water and breaking into full dance routines in the middle of the court. The Globetrotters also invited several children from the crowd onto the court to shoot baskets, spin the ball on their fingers and clown around with team. Special K, who was born in Panama, directed the fun, thanks in part to his ability to speak a fair amount of Spanish.

The Globetrotters, who played two games on Sunday, succeeded in bringing laughter and an entertaining form of hoops wackiness to Costa Rica. Though the crowd might not have learned the appropriate rules of the hardwood, they definitely enjoyed the show.

Officials from the United Nations and Costa Rican President Oscar Arias launched the “Network for Good Fellowship and Communities Without Fear” program last week in hopes of reducing crime.

Specifics have not been announced, but the initiative will attempt to establish community connections and local protection programs to combat drug crimes and gun violence throughout the country. The program targets youth especially, aiming to provide sufficient afterschool outlets and “conflict resolution alternatives” for adolescents, the government said in a statement.

A $3 million donation from the Spanish government will be used to strengthen institutional and local efforts to prevent violence and create education and job opportunities. Costa Rican Ministries of Justice, Security, Public Education, and Planning will also donate to the program.

“If we don't treat the problem at its root, we are not addressing the urgent necessity of recuperating the social fabric of our country,” President Arias said of the project.

The Network for Good Fellowhip and Communities Without Fear will be implemented in the municipalities of Los Chiles, Limón, Santa Cruz, Aquirre, San José, Desamparados, Heredia, Montes de Oca and Moravia.