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14 Mar 2006

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, March 14, 2006

BLOCKING the Flood Gates: One hundred experts from 80 countries initiated a weeklong international conference on catastrophic flooding in San José yesterday, the first conference to discuss ways to prevent floods that destroy communities worldwide. This house in north-central Costa Rica 's Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui was damaged by massive floodwaters in January 2005.
Robert Goodier /Tico Times

Desamparados Municipal
Workers Strike
About 240 municipal workers in Desamparados, south of San José, went on strike yesterday demanding that the municipality implement a pay raise and improve working conditions, among other requests, said Ligia María Valerio, Secretary of the Despamarados Municipal Workers' Union.
(Click for more)

Drug Control Police
Detain Jamaican at
Juan Santamaría Airport
Drug Control Police detained a Jamaican woman Sunday for allegedly possessing cocaine at Juan Santamaría International Airport, northwest of San José, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.
(Click for more)

Guatemala Wins 214 Medals
In Central American Games
Guatemala won the VIII Central American Games that concluded Sunday with 214 medals: 105 gold, 73 silver and 36 bronze.
(Click for more)

March 14

Conferences by Dr. Robert May
Expert on the filibusteros, U.S. soldiers who came to Central America to conquer lands from 1856-1857, 10 a.m., University of Costa Rica's (UCR) School of General Studies auditorium, San Pedro, east of San José. Also March 15, 3 p.m., UNED, road to Sabanilla, east of San José; March 16, 7 p.m., Juan Santamaría Museum, Alajuela, northwest of San José and March 17, 2:30 p.m., Foreign Ministry, San José. Info: 221-2154.

Lecture on José Saramago's “Las Intermitencias de la Muerte”
By Amalia Chaverri, Vice-Minister of Culture, 6 p.m., Librería Internacional, Barrio Dent, San Pedro, east of San José.

2nd Central American Exhibit of Emerging Art
Open March 14-April 14 at Contemporary Art and Design Museum, San José.

Concert
By the Baylor Jazz Ensemble, featuring Dr. Alex Parker as director at 7:30 p.m., at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) School of Music, San José.

Edited By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net

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Desamparados Municipal Workers Strike
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net

About 240 municipal workers in Desamparados, south of San José, went on strike yesterday demanding that the municipality implement a pay raise and improve working conditions, among other requests, said Ligia María Valerio, Secretary of the Despamarados Municipal Workers' Union.

Strikers allege Desamparados Mayor Carlos Padilla has failed to acknowledge a convention ratified last year, which established working condition standards for municipal workers such as garbage collectors and street cleaners.

Among the workers' complaints are that the municipality has not given them a pay raise budgeted for 2006, working conditions are unsanitary and employees are not paid for extra hours worked.

Representatives from the Desamparados Municipal Workers' Union planned to meet with the mayor and a committee from the municipality yesterday evening, Valerio said. The workers planned to return to work today if they were satisfied with the committee's response to their demands. If the workers considered the meeting was unsatisfactory, however, Valerio said they would plan future strikes.

Ninety-five percent of Desamparados municipal workers participated in yesterday's strike, according to Valerio.

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Drug Control Police Detain
Jamaican at Juan Santamaría Airport

Drug Control Police detained a Jamaican woman Sunday for allegedly possessing cocaine at Juan Santamaría International Airport, northwest of San José, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

The woman was identified yesterday as 28 years old with the last name Brown. She was stopped as part of an investigation into a possible narcotics trafficking operation based on confidential reports received by police, the statement said.

Brown was interviewed while attempting to board a flight to Miami. Upon inspecting her suitcase, authorities said they found an inner lining with 164 grams of cocaine.

According to police reports, Brown entered the country March 8 from Panama at the southeastern Sixaola border crossing.

Brown faces charges of international drug trafficking and is scheduled to appear before an Alajuela court. She is the 11 th person detained for allegedly possessing drugs at Juan Santamaría airport so far this year, the statement said.

-Tico Times

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Guatemala Wins 214 Medals
In Central American Games

Guatemala won the VIII Central American Games that concluded Sunday with 214 medals: 105 gold, 73 silver and 36 bronze.

The games, held in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, began March 3. More than 1,000 athletes competed in 19 sports.

Costa Rica hosted the chess, racquetball, tae kwon do and triathlon competitions. Guatemala hosted cycling, equestrian, weight lifting and discus. Honduras hosted judo and table tennis; Nicaragua hosted baseball, boxing, bodybuilding and basketball, while swimming, fencing, wrestling and softball were held in Panama. El Salvador did not participate in the games, which concluded with cycling in Guatemala and tae kwon do in Costa Rica Sunday.

Costa Rican athletes did well in events held on their home turf, winning five gold medals and two bronze in chess and five gold medals and two bronze in tae kwon do. Overall, Costa Rica athletes won a total of 79 medals – 35 gold, 26 silver and 18 bronze.

-ACAN-EFE

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