Happy 4th of July! U.S. Ambassador Mark Langdale yesterday spoke on the United States' historic friendship with Costa Rica at the embassy's U.S. Independence Day celebration held at the InterContinental Hotel in the western suburb of Escazú.

Those who need to renew their Costa Rican passports and driver's licenses can now do so at Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) branches rather than waiting in long lines at Immigration or the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT).

U.S. Embassy and Consulate Closed Today
In celebration of U.S. Independence Day today, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate will be closed and will reopen tomorrow with their normal office hours, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Expo-Osa Tourism 2007
2 p.m., Tryp Corobicí Hotel, La Sabana. Info: 786-6534, 786-8686.

Conference on Costa Rican Traditional
Stories “Cuentos de mi Tía Panchita”
Led by Jaques Sagot, including talk, music, narration of stories written by Costa Rican writer Carmen Lyra, 7 p.m., Mexican Institute, Los Yoses, San José , Calle 41, Ave. 10. Info: 283-2333, ext. 204.

Indigenous Cultural Celebration
With cultural activities, games, dancing, indigenous art, traditional foods, 3 km west of Bribrí, Talamanca. Info: Horacio Morales, latocr@yahoo.es.

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

The Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) yesterday announced that it has found nothing unconstitutional about the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), essentially giving the green light for a referendum on this controversial trade pact scheduled for Oct. 7.

The Sala IV reviewed CAFTA at the request of a group of legislators and Ombudswoman Lisbeth Quesada. Five of the seven judges voted that the pact contains no unconstitutional elements while two voted to the contrary, according to a statement from the Judicial Branch.

The court's decision means there's nothing stopping the referendum from proceeding as planned, said Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) spokesman Cedric Solano.

Now that the Sala IV has ruled comes the “most important decision Costa Ricans will make about (CAFTA) – deciding whether or not it suits the interests of the country,” said TSE interim president Luis Antonio Sobrado.

Both pro- and anti-CAFTA groups scrambled to release their reactions to the court's decision on this heated issue. The Chamber of Industries even beat the Judicial Branch to the punch, sending out a statement expressing its “satisfaction” minutes before the court notified the press of its decision.

President Oscar Arias, perhaps CAFTA's biggest supporter, expressed his “tremendous joy” over the ruling, which he said “clears up any doubt about unconstitutionality and means we can go very calmly and with great peace to voting places to decide the future of this small country we love so much,” according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

Ottón Solís, leader of the Citizen Action Party (PAC) and a vocal CAFTA opponent, was less than thrilled by the decision. Legislators from his party were among those who filed the complaint of unconstitutionality before the Sala IV.

Solís told the wire service ACAN-EFE he was “surprised” at the court's decision since “university professors had identified constitutional violations in the treaty.”

“The fact that CAFTA is not unconstitutional doesn't mean it's good. The Sala IV didn't give its opinion on the implications of CAFTA... so our arguments against it remain,” Solís said.

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

A dip in the Caribbean waters at Punta Uva turned out to be fatal for U.S. tourist Debora Joy Blawell, 15, who was pulled under by waves and drowned Monday afternoon, according to Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) spokeswoman Xinia Zamora.

Blawell, from the state of Oklahoma, was visiting Costa Rica with her church group.

After she was pulled from the water, Red Cross workers took her to a clinic in nearby Home Creek, where she died at about 5 p.m., Zamora said.

Those who need to renew their Costa Rican passports and driver's licenses can now do so at Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) branches rather than waiting in long lines at Immigration or the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT).

The bank uses a digital fingerprint and signature, along with the required paperwork, to process these documents. Users also pay required fees during their appointments, which take 15-20 minutes, according to the daily La Nación.

Yesterday was the first day this service was available; as of Sunday, 10,300 appointments had been scheduled at BCR's 30 branches around the country, said commercial manager Alejandro Acón.

To make an appointment to renew a Costa Rican passport or driver's license, residents can call 800-227-2482.

The bank plans to be able to handle about 1,000 appointments per day and is considering increasing its capacity during the next few months depending on the demand for these services, the daily reported.

“This reduces the cost and time users have to invest, increases transparency” and puts an end to practices such as officials accepting bribes to expedite document renewal and users hiring people to stand in line for them, said Second Vice-President Kevin Casas.

This initiative is part of President Oscar Arias' administration's Digital Government program to use technology to speed up government processes, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

“This project is only the beginning of a profound transformation, the first step of a long journey. Today we renew licenses and passports, but there could be a day when medical appointments, government purchases, signing up for school, the processing of pensions, paying taxes to municipalities and many other trámites will be done sitting in our homes or offices, in front or our computer, or in a state bank,” said President Oscar Arias.