MUNDO Submarino: Students at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) in San Pedro, east of San José, yesterday checked out an exhibit called Mundo Submarino (Submarine World) with photos of underwater wildlife near the Isla del Coco National Park, Costa Rica's legendary “ Treasure Island ” off the Pacific coast, and information about the area. The exhibit, which runs through today, is sponsored by the environmental organization MarViva.

Costa Rica's commercial deficit dropped 36.4% during the first trimester of this year, thanks to a 34.1% increase in the country's income, Finance Minister Guillermo Zúñiga announced yesterday.

Festival Luz de Luna 2007
Today through Sunday, art exhibits, concerts, mime, theater, dance, circus at 7 p.m., in front of church in Santa Ana, west of San José. Info: 282-8662.

“Strawberries in January”
A romantic comedy in English, a Little Theatre Group production, today and tomorrow, 8 p.m., Sunday, 5:30 p.m., Eugene O-Neill Theater, C.R.-North American Cultural Center, reservations: 207-7554.

Indigenous Fair
With art, talks, expositions on indigenous territories, today and tomorrow, 9 a.m., kiosk in Central Park, Buenos Aires, Southern Zone. Info: 771-5273.

Earth Day
Games, activities and exhibits focusing on the importance of recycling, conservation, renewable energy sources and environmental stewardship, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Puerto Jiménez, Osa Peninsula, Southern Zone. Info: sustainable@laparios.com.

Queen's Birthday Party
Music, raffles, food, games, fun, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., British Embassy Residence, Los Laureles, Escazú, west of San José.

Earth Day Festival
Sponsored by environmental group ASANA, live music by Evolución and Raza Bronze, BBQ lunch, booths with information on sustainable tourism, recycling, medicinal plants and more, fun, 10 a.m., Hotel Roca Verde, Dominical, Southern Zone. Info: 787-0254.

Several events are planned around Costa Rica in observance of Earth Day Sunday, one of which will bring about 100 young people to La Sabana park, west of San José, to clean up and plant trees, according to a statement from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

“It will be a very rich experience for all participants... Youth will take charge of collecting trash, cleaning the lake, painting and planting more than 300 trees of native species to Costa Rica,” said Johanna Arce, coordinator of the Council for Young People (CPJ) development program.

Participants will include members of the council's regional committees and other youth groups. However, young people ages 12-35 who don't belong to one of these groups are also invited to participate and should apply with CPJ.

Sunday's cleanup is part of a series of events organized to “provide a space for youth to work to improve the environment, but also on educational activities for them to work as a team, share, develop communication skills and get to know other young people and other parts of the country,” Arce said, according to the statement.

The council has several volunteer activities planned for youth ages 12-35 during the next couple of months in the northwestern Guanacaste town of Palo Verde; Chirripó National Park, in the Southern Zone; and in Manuel Antonio National Park, on the central Pacific, among other natural spots.

Those who'd like more information can call the council at 253-4131 or 280-5618. For more Earth Day activities, see this week's Calendar page in the print or electronic edition of The Tico Times.

-Tico Times

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

Suburbs east of San José in the Montes de Oca and Curridabat areas will be without electricity from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday while the National Power and Light Company (CNFL) works on repairs, according to CNFL spokeswoman Helen Sánchez.

Additionally, workers will be replacing faulty equipment that could cause future blackouts along 25 blocks, a $15 million investment, reported the daily La Nación.

Costa Rica's commercial deficit dropped 36.4% during the first trimester of this year, thanks to a 34.1% increase in the country's income, Finance Minister Guillermo Zúñiga announced yesterday.

At the end of March, the commercial deficit registered $91.7 million, a 36.4% drop from the same time last year, when it registered $144 million.

The government's income during the first three months of the year was $927 million, 34.1% more than the $691.6 million reported last year, while its expenses, including interest on debt, registered $1 billion, up from the $836 million registered during March 2006.

Zúñiga said he is satisfied with these numbers, but lamented that interest on the country's $351 million debt have “absorbed” the government's work to increase income through aggressive tax collection and promoting bills that would create new taxes, he said.

In other economic news, Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz reported yesterday on Costa Rica's exports, applauding a 13% increase during the first three months of this year compared to last year.

The country exported $2.2 billion during the first trimester, a 13.2% increase over the same period last year. Businesses in free-trade zones exported $1.1 billion during this time period, a 15.6% increase over last year, while the agricultural sector exported 6% more than last year.

The country's strongest export remains electronic parts for microprocessors, which brought in $499 million during the first three months of the year, a 29.4% growth over last year, followed by bananas, whose sales increased 5.6% over last year, grossing $153 million.