Swept Away: Representatives of the National Emergency Commission (CNE) Friday inspected the Southern port of Golfito, where a landslide caused by heavy rains washed away four homes Thursday and led authorities to evacuate patients from a hospital emergency room.

About 40 tourism companies in the northwestern Guanacaste province are gearing up to hold a job fair Friday and Saturday in the province's capital city of Liberia, according to a statement from the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT).

Miguel Casafont
Exhibit of paintings, through Sept. 31, Galería Atlantis, Plaza Atlantis, Escazú.

Concert by Jirondai
Contemporary music inspired by indigenous songs, 9:30 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

U.S. Embassy and Consulate Closed
In observance of U.S. Labor Day, the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Costa Rica will be closed today and will resume their normal office hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., tomorrow.

Representing his brother President Oscar Arias, Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias yesterday traveled to Panama City, where he will participate in a ceremony today to mark the beginning of a project to expand its famous canal.

The celebration will be hosted by Panamanian President Martín Torrijos, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

Guests include former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who handed over control of the canal to Panama on Sept. 7, 1977. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, Salvadoran President Elías Antonio Saca, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and José Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States, are also scheduled to attend.

The $5.2 billion expansion project is slated to conclude in 2014, the year the canal will celebrate 100 years in operation. The project will double the canal's capacity, allowing 600 million tons of cargo to pass through it per year, the statement said.

“My presence in Panama representing President Arias shows the importance Costa Rica gives to its neighboring country... a country that's a brother and friend who is celebrating a historic event,” the minister said in the statement. “I admire Panama because it is making decisions, because it is thinking big, because it is opening itself to the world.”

Arias was accompanied by Vice-Minister of the Presidency José Torres, Protocol director Gabriela Jiménez and Foreign Relations director Ana María Herrera. They were received in Panama by national authorities and the Costa Rican Ambassador to Panama Ekhart Peters.

-Tico Times

Public Works and Transport Minister Karla González Friday toured the northwestern Guanacaste province to inspect roadwork under way and promise more improvements to come.

The ministry invested ¢6.8 billion ($13.1 million) in Guanacaste roads from July 2006 to July 2007, according to a statement issued Friday. It was spent on repairs, maintenance and building new roads along 968 kilometers.

Residents of Guanacaste have long dealt with potholes and poorly paved or unpaved roads that stir up blinding dust in the dry season. Last year, attention was drawn to this problem in the beach towns of Nosara and Samara, where residents complained their lives and livelihoods were threatened by the poor condition of the road between their towns (TT, March 23, 2006).

On Friday, González met with community leaders to discuss the “details of the design for improvement of the road between Nosara and Samara,” the statement said.

She also inaugurated a new road between Rosario and Puerto Humo and inspected other work sites, including the stretch from Carrillo to Estrada and Lajas.

The minister promised that by 2009, the capital city of Liberia will have received ¢8.7 billion ($16.8 million) for road repairs while the Cañas, Abangares and Tilarán areas will have seen ¢9.7 billion ($18.8 million) invested in roads, the statement said. She also promised ¢5.9 billion ($11.4 million) for roads in Santa Cruz, Bagaces and Carrillo and ¢6.2 billion ($12 million) for Nicoya, Hojancha and Nandayure.

-Tico Times

About 40 tourism companies in the northwestern Guanacaste province are gearing up to hold a job fair Friday and Saturday in the province's capital city of Liberia, according to a statement from the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals (ACOPROT).

These companies specialize in tour operation, lodging, ground and air transportation and car rental, among other services, and are looking to fill 1,158 jobs in areas including reception, maintenance, food and beverage, entertainment, customer service, tours and administrative services.

More than half of these jobs require a second language, and most are looking to hire English speakers.

The goal of the job fair is to take advantage of able workers in the Guanacaste province, the statement said. This benefits the region by reducing unemployment and benefits the companies by saving them the cost of bringing workers to the area from San José and other cities to fill these jobs.

In the last regional job fair held in 2005, about 3,000 people looking to fill the 568 jobs available. This year, the event's organizers expect an even bigger turnout.