IN Midair: Leo Gonzales, 29, and Gus Monge, 21, soared through the air on their bicycles in front of the Escuela Metálica in San José, performing for spectators as part of the Transitarte street festival yesterday. Artists, musicians and other performers took over Parque España to give downtown a dose of culture.

President Oscar Arias recently confirmed plans to meet with Microsoft founder Bill Gates as well as Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during a visit to Colombia March 19.

National Symphony Orchestra Auditions
Auditions today for violin, viola, cello, double bass, harp; tomorrow for flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet; Wednesday for trumpet, oboe, trombone, french horn, tuba, percussion, all at 11:30 a.m. Info: 240-0333, ext. 207, 208.

Free Film Screening
With “Password” and “Caribe,” 6 p.m., Jardín de Paz, in front of Escuela Metálica, San José.

Costa Rica will be able to cast its vote on a controversial proposal to end an international moratorium on commercial whaling, thanks to the country paying part of the dues it owes the International Whaling Commission.

The commission recently received $37,430 from Costa Rica, enough for the country to regain its right to vote, according to the Costa Rican Coalition for Whales, a conglomerate of 12 environmental groups. During the past few months, this coalition has rallied for Costa Rica to pay dues owed to the commission and vote to uphold the moratorium in light of Japan's plans to resume commercial whaling (TT, Feb. 9).

Minister of Environment and Energy Roberto Dobles announced at the beginning of last month that private organizations had offered to put forth the necessary funds (TT, Feb. 16).

Now that a part of its debt has been cancelled, Costa Rica will be able to vote at a meeting of the commission scheduled for May in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to terms dictated by the commission, it will then have to continue making payments until it cancels its approximately $300,000 debt, according to biologist Andrea Montero.

Protecting whales from commercial hunting is important for Costa Rica, where these marine mammals migrate and provide a source of tourism income to coastal communities, environmentalists argue.

-ACAN-EFE and Tico Times

Six months of investigations led police to arrest a man identified by the last name Venega, accused of leading a drug trafficking ring from the Pacific port city of Puntarenas, Friday, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

Police investigations point to Venegas, who was arrested at his home in Miramar, Puntarenas, as the coordinator of an operation that moved cocaine in small fishing boats from Costa Rica to Mexico. He allegedly recruited several assistants who fronted as fishermen, the statement said.

In January, three people were arrested aboard one of these boats named India IV as authorities continued to look for the operation's leader.

In addition to Venegas, three others were arrested Friday identified by the last names Rojas, Villalobos and Coba, alleged with aiding in the moving of cocaine and cash to and from Mexico.

Police also confiscated a boat docked in Puntarenas and several items from Venegas' home including two cars, a motorcycle and cash.

-Tico Times

President Oscar Arias recently confirmed plans to meet with Microsoft founder Bill Gates as well as Colombian President Alvaro Uribe during a visit to Colombia March 19.

“I'm going to ask Bill Gates, through his company, to give technical support to our country... because we can't cast aside technology,” Arias said in a statement from Casa Presidencial.

Gates is scheduled to be the main speaker at the assembly of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) in Cartagena, Colombia, March 16-19, and Microsoft plans to host a simultaneous forum with 150 leaders from the technology sector to analyze developing countries' access to technology.

Arias said he also plans to present Gates his Costa Rica Consensus, a plan to reduce developing countries' military spending by rewarding them with debt forgiveness.