Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, August 09, 2005
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Legislative Assembly Considers
Laws to Protect Senior Citizens
With the goal of improving the living conditions of the country's senior citizens, the Legislative Assembly is considering a set of laws to enforce the rights of senior citizens and establish heavy sanctions against those who violate these rights.
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Youth From Around the World
Kick Off “Power Users” Symposium
Nearly 60 young people from across the globe gathered yesterday at the Hotel Marriott west of San José to inaugurate the three-day First International Power Users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Symposium.
(Click for more)
NASA Plane Takes Off from Costa
Rica to Monitor Shuttle's Entry
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has based one of its Discovery space shuttle monitoring operations in Costa Rica. At press time, the WB-57 high-altitude research plane outfitted with infrared and visible light cameras in its nose was scheduled to take off from Costa Rica just after midnight and follow the shuttle in its descent after it enters the atmosphere. The shuttle's touchdown was delayed yesterday when NASA officials in Cape Canaveral, Florida, kept it at bay during both of its landing opportunities, worried that low clouds over the site could interfere.
(Click for more)
August 09
Audiovisual Classes
Photography, with instructor Julia Ardón, starts Aug. 9; lighting, with Yashi Shimokawa from Japan, Aug. 29-Sept. 9, Centro de Cine, behind INS. Info: 223-2127, 223-0610.
Book Presentation
Bernal Herrera and Osvaldo Sauma will discuss “Chan Marshall,” a book of poetry written by Luis Chaves, at 7 p.m., at the Spanish Cultural Center, Plaza del Farolito, Barrio Escalante. Info: 257-2919.
Edited By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
lbaxter@ticotimes.net
Legislative Assembly Considers
Laws to Protect Senior Citizens
By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net
With the goal of improving the living conditions of the country's senior citizens, the Legislative Assembly is considering a set of laws to enforce the rights of senior citizens and establish heavy sanctions against those who violate these rights.
Among the regulations outlined in the bill is a one-third increase in penalties for crimes established in the county's penal code when they involve a senior victim, according to Zulema Villalta, legal advisor for the National Senior Citizen Council (CONAPAM), an institution that participated in drafting the bill.
The bills also details the procedures to follow in judicial cases involving seniors, such as avoiding direct contact between senior victims and their aggressors, and establishes the duties of the Social Security System (Caja) to seniors, such as enforcing their right to permanent accompaniment during stays in hospitals, she said.
“There is a legal vacuum – we lack regulations to sanction attitudes that scorn and discriminate seniors,” Villalta told journalists at a press conference yesterday.
According to Villalta, the bill was created to fill this vacuum, left by a 1999 Senior Citizen Law that “does not establish regulations that force institutions and people to fulfill the law.”
According to Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) legislator Rodolfo Delgado, the assembly in May unanimously approved the formation of a legislative committee made up of five legislators to review the proposed senior citizens' code.
Delgado told The Tico Times he hopes to see the bill approved before the end of his term in April 2006.
Youth From Around the World
Kick Off “Power Users” Symposium
By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
lbaxter@ticotimes.net
Nearly 60 young people from across the globe gathered yesterday at the Hotel Marriott west of San José to inaugurate the three-day First International Power Users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Symposium.
The symposium brings together six teams of students, ages 12 to 18, from the United States, Australia, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who are highly advanced and active users of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). A seventh team from China joined Monday's opening conference by way of video conferencing over the Internet.
The purpose of the symposium, according to organizers, is to allow these “Power Users” of ICT to communicate and share ideas, as well as to unite investigators who will be following the development of these youth and their impact on their environments, such as schools and the workplace (TT Daily Page, July 22).
The “Power Users” will also use their technological abilities and knowledge to tackle global issues relating to the United Nations' Millennium Goals, such as drastically reducing world hunger and poverty, achieving universal primary education and facing infectious diseases such as AIDS and SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).
Today and yesterday, the teams visited different sites, including the National Center for High Technology, the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) and the International Center for Economic Policy for Sustainable Development, speaking with experts about their particular issues. The teams of young people will then present their findings at the conclusion of the symposium Wednesday morning.
To register to participate in the rest of the conference live, on-line, go to http://www.ictliteracy.info/summitonline.htm.
See this Friday's print or online pdf edition of The Tico Times for the full story.
NASA Plane Takes Off from Costa
Rica to Monitor Shuttle's Entry
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has based one of its Discovery space shuttle monitoring operations in Costa Rica. At press time, the WB-57 high-altitude research plane outfitted with infrared and visible light cameras in its nose was scheduled to take off from Costa Rica just after midnight and follow the shuttle in its descent after it enters the atmosphere. The shuttle's touchdown was delayed yesterday when NASA officials in Cape Canaveral, Florida, kept it at bay during both of its landing opportunities, worried that low clouds over the site could interfere.
The WB-57 was scheduled to take off from the National Aerotransportation Research Hangar (HANIA) in the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela, west of San José, at 12:15 this morning in anticipation of the shuttle's landing, and to stay aloft for four hours, then land for refueling and maintenance.
After its second takeoff and the completion of its filming of the shuttle, the plane will land in Houston, Texas, rather than return to Costa Rica, NASA mission director William Meins said in a statement.
Since Discovery's launch July 26, this has been the most closely observed shuttle flight ever, a precaution NASA took after the Columbia disintegrated on reentry in 2003. Then, a piece of foam that broke loose from the fuel tank during takeoff fatally chipped a wing and caused it to melt from the inside when the shuttle heated while plowing through the upper atmosphere. A piece of foam of nearly the same size broke loose from the Discovery's fuel tank as well, but officials concluded it did not cause damage. NASA has grounded all shuttles since the Discovery's launch, pending a solution.
The WB-57 can cruise at 60,000 feet, where the crew protects itself in pressurized suits and breathes liquid oxygen. Meins said the team is calm and optimistic because there is no sign of trouble on board the shuttle and it looks like weather conditions will be in their favor.
The shuttle has enough power and supplies for its crew of seven to last until tomorrow, but NASA officials say they will only delay the landing until then if there is a technical problem that requires time to fix.
The National Center of High Technology (CENAT) and NASA are working together on this mission and may continue the arrangement during future space flights, CENAT said in a statement.
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