A QUIRKY Bunch of Quilts: These colorful and unique quilts by a group from the U.S. state of Iowa are on display at the exhibit “Samples of Siouxland” running until April 16 at the Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center in San José's Barrio Dent. Call 207-7554 for more information.

The Union of Private-Sector Chambers and Associations (UCCAEP) yesterday cited recent economic growth in El Salvador as an example of why it is urging Costa Rica to ratify the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

Contradictory to information received by The Tico Times yesterday, the young woman shot by her ex-boyfriend in the northern suburb of Tibás yesterday remains alive and struggling for her life at Hospital Mexico, in the northwestern district of La Uruca.

At 5:30 p.m. yesterday, Wendy Zumbado, 20, was in delicate condition, according to Hospital Mexico spokeswoman Hortesia Ulate.

The Tico Times regrets the error.

Sun and Music Festival
Featuring the rock group Parque en el Espacio, 7 p.m., Monteverde Amphitheater, north-central Costa Rica. Info: 645-6093.

Videoteca del Sur Film Festival
Screening of “ Barrio Cuba , ” 7 p.m., Sala Calle 15, San José.

By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff | lbaxter@ticotimes.net

At the behest of the Public Security Ministry, researchers at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) are preparing a total redesign of the ministry in hopes of making it a leaner, meaner crime-fighting machine, according to Mayela Cubillo, director of the University of Costa Rica's (UCR) School of Public Administration.

The school is meeting with scholars, lawyers, public officials, researchers and others as they tackle an infamously inefficient ministry. A final report with recommendations for an overhaul of the ministry's structure is expected in October.

Cubillo said the Public Security Ministry has eight duplicated offices, including two press offices, two human resources offices and two legal departments. She also noted that Costa Rica has 17 different police divisions with distinct and often limited powers.

Part of the blame for the overlap is traced back to the administration of Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002), when the Public Security Ministry was joined with the Governing and Police Ministry, she said.

Lack of public security "is an issue for the state -- it is a public issue," Cubillo told The Tico Times yesterday, adding that the private sector, especially the media, also play a large part. The director said media has helped fuel both a higher perception of crime than is reality, and a real increase in crime.

"Our idea is that (with a restructured ministry) we can diminish both the real and perceived crime rates," she said.

By Dave Sherwood
Tico Times Staff | dsherwood@ticotimes.net

The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) recently accepted a lawsuit filed by the Hermosa Activist Group (HAG) requesting, among other things, that all large-scale development in the northwestern Guanacaste region of Playa Hermosa be stopped until water rights are secured for area residents.

The court said it would begin reviewing the case immediately, and has ordered National Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) president Ricardo Sancho to take the necessary measures to ensure sufficient water supply, according to a statement released by the activist group.

The lawsuit asks for a moratorium on new building permits in the quickly developing coastal region and the closure of all constructions without permits – requests with huge potential ramifications in Guanacaste, where a recent study revealed that roughly one in four developments is illegal (TT, March 16).

The strongly worded suit also charges that all new development is done “according to the demands and interests of the ‘investors,' without the authorities... monitoring the fulfillment of the laws to benefit the community as a whole.”

Earlier this month, the municipality of Belén, in the Central Valley, instituted a similar moratorium, voting to suspend all construction permits for housing, condominiums and industry deemed too large while the municipality drafts a new zoning plan (TT, March 16).

The Union of Private-Sector Chambers and Associations (UCCAEP) yesterday cited recent economic growth in El Salvador as an example of why it is urging Costa Rica to ratify the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

This controversial trade pact, which Costa Rica is the only signatory country not to ratify, has been in place in El Salvador for one year.

“Statistics from El Salvador show that the agreement is a good commercial instrument,” that has resulted in an “influx of commerce and investment during the past year,” said UCCAEP president Rafael Carrillo.

During this time, El Salvador has attracted 31 new businesses in fields including software, textiles and tourism. Additionally, 60 companies have begun to export their products and services to the United States.

These statistics are a “clear example of the benefits CAFTA brings the region, mainly in the generation of new work opportunities,” Carrillo said, reiterating his plea for the Legislative Assembly, which is preparing to debate the controversial pact on its main floor, to ratify it promptly.