A GIFT for Alice: Young Alice Daniela Abarca and her mother Gabriela Barboza visited Casa Presidencial yesterday to receive a gift from President Oscar Arias (left, seated). Casa Presidencial, together with the Mixed Institute for Social Aid (IMAS), helped raise ¢16 million ($30,828) needed for a bone marrow transplant to treat Abarca, who suffers from leukemia. Businesses and individuals --including the President, who gave ¢1 million ($1,926) of his salary -- pitched in to help bring bone marrow from outside Costa Rica, since the country does not have its own bone marrow bank.

Scientists at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) recently discovered a new species of beetle whose scientific name is Lagocheirus delestaly, characterized by red and yellow spots on its underside.

Band Concert
Heredia National Band performs works by George Bizet, Julio Fonseca, César Hernández Coto, Franz Liszt, and Tchaikovsky, 7 p.m., Central Park, Heredia downtown, north of San José.

Opening of the Play “ Politicamente Correctas ” “Politically Correct”
Play (in Spanish) about Costa Rican women in politics since 1940, today through Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 6 p.m., Vargas Calvo Theater, San José.

Officials yesterday began investigating the cause of a massive chemical fire that consumed the chemical factory Suministros Industriales de Costa Rica in Alajuela, northwest of San José, Tuesday night.

This resin-producing factory burst into blames at about 9 p.m., according to the daily La Nación. As firefighters struggled to get it under control, about 50 residents nearby were evacuated to temporary shelters set by the National Emergency Commission. No deaths have been reported in the incident.

The National Insurance Institute (INS) yesterday began the task of getting to the cause of the fire, according to a statement from INS. Investigators believe it could be faulty electrical wiring near the area where the chemicals are stored.

Firefighters' Corp Director Héctor Chaves lamented the environmental damage the accident caused. Firefighters used 1 million liters of water to put out the flames, a task which took about five hours. Because the factory has no waste-management system to separate contaminated fluids, this water mixed with chemicals as it flowed into nearby rivers, which feed into the ocean, the statement said.

Chaves called for better regulation of chemical factories, a topic that took the national spotlight late last year, when a chemical fire broke out at the Químicos Holanda plant at the Caribbean port of Moín (TT, Dec. 15, 2006).

He also pointed to a lack of fire hydrants that made the task of the 150 firefighters who came to tackle the flames even more difficult as they were forced to connect hoses to hydrants five kilometers away. He called on the Legislative Assembly to pass a law being studied by the Municipal Affairs commission that spells out improvements to be made to the country's fire hydrants.

-Tico Times

Costa Rica's energy crisis meant no power and, consequently, no water yesterday afternoon for some parts of the San José area, and these water outages are expected to continue today and tomorrow, as blackouts leave no electricity for water pumps, according to a statement from the National Water and Sewage Institute (AyA).

According to a schedule of water outages for today and tomorrow released by AyA, parts of San Antonio de Escazú, west of San José, including Lotes Badilla, El Carmen, Tiquicia, Bebedero, Cuesta Grande, Alto Carrizal and Corazón de Jesús, will be without power and water from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Areas of Coronado, east of San José, will lack these services from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., including the center of Coronado, San Antonio de Patalillo, Dulce Nombre, Los Angeles, El Rodeo, San Francisco, San Martín and Los Cedros.

Additionally, parts of Goicochea, north of downtown, including El Carmen, Purral Arriba, Los Angeles de Ipis, La Facio, Zetillal, Nazareno, La Mora, Los Cuadros and El Pueblo, will be without water and electricity from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The country's energy crisis became evident April 19 when a massive blackout left most of the country in the dark for hours, and blackouts have become the norm since then as the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) rations the country's limited energy supply (TT, April 27).

For schedules of blackouts scheduled around the rest of the country today, visit ICE's Web site, www.grupoice.com and click on the blue banner on the right side of the page reading “ Planes de cortes eléctricos,” to view the schedules, which are subject to change.

Stay tuned to The Tico Times Daily News page for updates on power and water outages

Scientists at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) recently discovered a new species of beetle whose scientific name is Lagocheirus delestaly, characterized by red and yellow spots on its underside.

The beetle is about two centimeters long, has two long antennas with 11 segments and belongs to the cerambycidae family, explained UCR researcher Humberto Lezama.

This species was discovered at the university's Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve in San Ramón, northwest of San José.

Scientists believe its habitat is cloud forests 700 meters above sea level, but more research is needed to confirm this. It reproduces by laying eggs inside a tree trunk, Lezama said.

The four of these beetles that scientists are studying were captured using a light trap that attracts these insects and causes them to eventually fall onto an adhesive screen. This technique does not harm the beetles, Lezama said.

UCR hopes to soon receive a grant from the Agrarian Research Institute of Madrid (INIA) for further research of these beetles.