[dailyarchive/2004_12/exchange_rates.htm]
Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, December 07, 2004
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| TROPICAL blizzard : Confetti snow will fall again this holiday season on the Avenida Central in San José . The Costa Rican tradition of throwing paper confetti at each other, called the “ avenidazo, ” is back this year. Festivities on the pedestrian mall in San José include concerts and family fun every evening through Dec. 24. |
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Charity Organizations Seek
Holiday Donations, Volunteers
As San José 's malls, shops and crafts markets bustle with shoppers seeking Christmas gifts for friends and families, charitable organizations are hoping their spirit of gift giving will also benefit some of the thousands of needy people in Costa Rica this holiday season.
(Click for more)
Authorities Find Bodies of
Missing Tourists in Nicaragua
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) – Search-and-rescue officials on Sunday extracted the bodies of two tourists, who had been missing in Nicaragua for 18 days, from a chasm in the Maderas Volcano on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua .
(Click for more)
Supreme Elections Tribunal's
Auditor Calls for Investigation
The internal auditor of the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) asked the Comptroller General's Office to investigate the tribunal because, among other irregularities, it alleges it has “inadequately managed public funds.”
(Click for more)
Endangered Squirrel Monkeys
Relocated to Better Enclosure
The Foundation for Zoos (FUNDAZOO), charged with the administration of the Simón Bolivar National Zoo and the Conservation Center of Santa Ana, has moved its squirrel monkeys to a new enclosure in the center in Santa Ana , west of San José.
(Click for more)
December 07
Avenidazos Under Way
Avenida Central will be covered in a confetti rain tonight and every night until Christmas Eve in the famous “ Avenidazos, ” the Costa Rican tradition of throwing paper confetti on passersby on the pedestrian mall in San José . Events include parades and concerts through Dec. 24, 6-10 p.m. nightly.
Newcomer's Club Meeting
English-speaking women can take part in singing Christmas Carols, sharing Christmas goodies, and meeting new and old friends at 9:30 a.m. in the general December meeting. Info: 232-3999.
Concert by Luis Diego Solórzano
The trova singer will perform at the Lizard Louge in the Centro Comercial Cocorí in Los Yoses at 8 p.m. Info: 224-2149.
Edited By Robert Goodier
Tico Times Staff
rgoodier@ticotimes.net
Charity Organizations Seek
Holiday Donations, Volunteers
By Robert Goodier
Tico Times Staff
rgoodier@ticotimes.net
As San José 's malls, shops and crafts markets bustle with shoppers seeking Christmas gifts for friends and families, charitable organizations are hoping their spirit of gift giving will also benefit some of the thousands of needy people in Costa Rica this holiday season.
Many organizations work year-round with impoverished and homeless people, children from underprivileged families, AIDS victims and their families and the elderly in homes. Some have planned special holiday parties, gift giving and other events for the people they serve.
The Fundación Vida will host a party for children with HIV/AIDS, orphaned by the death of their mothers to AIDS, and children whose parents are affected by the disease. The foundation is seeking sponsors to donate gifts of new clothes and toys to the children, before Dec. 18. Those interested can call 221-5819 or 258-3882 to obtain the name and the clothes measurements of a child to sponsor. Monetary donations to the foundation can be deposited in the foundation's Banco Nacional account, #177910-7.
Gail Nystrom, director of the Costa Rican Humanitarian Foundation, collaborates with 50 people and institutions that work with thousands of people to improve the quality of their lives. She will help those who wish to make donations or volunteer with the charity of their choice. On her list of programs in need of sponsors and donations are the El Milagro women's low-income housing project, which is seeking 45 Christmas presents for children of single mothers; 15 at-risk youth who need deodorant, socks, underwear and hair gel; 600 pairs of socks for homeless people (they can be used or mismatched – they are used in a foot healing program that treats foot diseases); and 15 children at the Lobito Bueno daycare in La Carpio, children of mostly single mothers who are Nicaraguan immigrants living in extreme poverty would like Christmas presents. Nystrom said she is always in need of food donations, used clothing, money, apples and grapes to give children for Christmas, women's makeup – even if it's slightly used – to help women look their best when they apply for jobs. She would also like to give tamales to the workers at the Santa Ana orphanage. Those interested can call Nystrom at 390-4192.
The San Pedro Parish in San Pedro, east of San José , will host a Christmas party for needy children in the community. Organizers will be looking for donations until Dec. 20. To help, call 283-0068.
The León XIII Parish in La Uruca, the northwestern district of San José, will host a party for 150 children from needy families and is seeking sponsors to donate gifts. Volunteers for the parish provide lunch for the children, ages 1-12, every weekday with food donated by the community. Those interested in donating presents or food can call the parish at 233-0926 and 222-0544.
The Salvation Army's Angel Tree campaign collects Christmas gifts for needy children. Full-page ads in the print edition of The Tico Times, one of the program's sponsors, list the names of the children who are still in need of a sponsor. During the past 12 years of the program, the Salvation Army has brightened the holidays of thousands of children, with approximately 90,000 gifts distributed. This year, organizers are trying to collect a total of 7,500 gifts. To participate, call the Salvation Army by Dec. 18 at 223-4864, or 221-8266.
Those are just a few of the organizations remembering those in need this season. For other ways to donate and help this holiday see The Tico Times print edition or PDF online version this Friday.
Authorities Find Bodies of
Missing Tourists in Nicaragua
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) – Search-and-rescue officials on Sunday extracted the bodies of two tourists, who had been missing in Nicaragua for 18 days, from a chasm in the Maderas Volcano on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua .
Police authorities announced yesterday that the bodies of U.S. citizen Jordan Ressler, 23, and British citizen Nicolas Leigh, 28, were discovered by campesinos at the bottom of a 100-meter chasm on Friday.
“We know with certainty it is them,” police Capt. Geraldine González told AFP, adding that the cause of death will be determined by an autopsy conducted by experts of the Legal Medicine Institute.
GlobalOptions, a private crisis-management firm of former U.S. Military Special-Operations commandos that was called to Ometepe to help lead a group of 150 rescue workers and volunteers to search for the tourists, helped Nicaraguan police rescue teams remove the bodies TT, Dec. 3).
Supreme Elections Tribunal's
Auditor Calls for Investigation
The internal auditor of the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) asked the Comptroller General's Office to investigate the tribunal because, among other irregularities, it alleges it has “inadequately managed public funds.”
Victor Vargas, TSE auditor, alleged there are grave anomalies in the administration of contracts and a “climate of terror” against personnel who have dared to criticize the leadership of the magistrates.
Interim TSE president Luis Antonio Sobrado said the tribunal is independent and the Comptroller General's Office cannot intervene in its administration, as it can in any other autonomous institution in the country.
The auditor's main complaint has to do with the TSE contract with the U.S.-based transnational corporation Unisys for the installation of computer systems.
According to the auditor's office and members of Congress who backed the official complaint, in 1998 Unisys agreed to develop an automated identification card program for $2.9 million. However, in January 2002 when the system was finished, it ended up costing $5.5 million and furthermore, according to the allegations, never worked adequately.
Tribunal magistrates have warned the 2006 elections could be affected if a large breakdown occurs in the information system, because the company has declared the equipment obsolete and will not provide technical maintenance.
A special tribunal within the country's Supreme Court, created to investigate the complaints that involve Unisys, recommended imposing sanctions against several magistrates.
Members of this ad hoc tribunal also said they received intimidating phone calls and other forms of pressure for which they felt obligated to leave the TSE building and ask the Supreme Court for a space to complete their work.
-- AFP
Endangered Squirrel Monkeys
Relocated to Better Enclosure
The Foundation for Zoos (FUNDAZOO), charged with the administration of the Simón Bolivar National Zoo and the Conservation Center of Santa Ana, has moved its squirrel monkeys to a new enclosure in the center in Santa Ana , west of San José.
A veterinary student from Santa Ana and money collected during a TV fundraiser in March helped build the new enclosure.
The enclosure for the endangered Mono Tití ( Samimiri oersted ) is provisional, but complies with security, space and environmental enrichment elements for the entertainment and good development of the animals, according to FUNDAZOO president Yolanda Matamoros.
Matamoros added the foundation is seeking funds for the construction of a permanent enclosure, which will be on the Sendero Aramides, one of the principal walkways of the conservation center.
The center is located 200 meters north of the Liceo de Santa Ana . It is open weekdays 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Entry costs ¢750 ($1.65) for children and ¢1000 ($2.20) for adults.
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