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Coffee Talk: Coffee will be the topic at hand during International Coffee Week, a gathering of international industry insiders to be held in San José Thursday through Sunday. |
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Mónica Quesada | Tico Times
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| Government Cancels CAFTA Event |
Accused of trying to divide the country, the government yesterday cancelled an event to celebrate the signing of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). Legislators and other prominent government officials were invited to the ceremony, to be held Wednesday at the Melico Salazar Theater in San José.
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| Intel Releases New Line of
Chips Designed Partly By Ticos |
Intel released a line of microchips yesterday that were designed in part by a group of Tico engineers at the company's assembly and testing plant in La Ribera de Belén, northwest of San José. |
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International Coffee Industry Insiders
Gear up for SINTERCAFE Next Week |
Brazil's massive production and Costa Rica entering the Chinese market are some of the topics expected to be analyzed in this week's International Coffee Week in San José.
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| Ministry Urges Public Transportation
Users To Denounce Bad Service |
Bus and taxi users frustrated by bad service can vent their problems to the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT), which yesterday announced a hotline established for the purpose.
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| November 13 |
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Art Exhibit Opening Carl Aldana opens his painting exhibit, 8 p.m., National Gallery, San José, end of Calle 9.
Luis Eduardo Aute in Concert
Trova, 8 p.m., National Auditorium, inside National Children's Museum, end of Calle 9.
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Edited By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net |
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Government Cancels CAFTA Event |
By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net
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Accused of trying to divide the country, the government yesterday cancelled an event to celebrate the signing of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). Legislators and other prominent government officials were invited to the ceremony, to be held Wednesday at the Melico Salazar Theater in San José.
President Oscar Arias will sign the law, which Costa Ricans voted in favor of in a national referendum Oct. 7, with less pomp after his weekly Cabinet meeting Wednesday, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial. The treaty will then be published in the official government newspaper La Gaceta, although it will not go into effect until the legislature passes 11 laws required to implement it.
“Some sectors have told us that this ceremony could be misinterpreted, giving the impression that we were trying to revive divisions that split Costa Ricans during the referendum campaign,” Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias said in a statement. “Nothing could be more wrong. |
Intel Releases New Line of
Chips Designed Partly By Ticos |
By Peter Krupa
Tico Times Staff | pkrupa@ticotimes.net
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Intel released a line of microchips yesterday that were designed in part by a group of Tico engineers at the company's assembly and testing plant in La Ribera de Belén, northwest of San José.
The Penryn line of microprocessors was manufactured with cutting-edge techniques using 45-nanometer wafers – significantly smaller than the 65-nanometer wafers used before.
The change means the 16 microprocessors released yesterday – mostly destined for use in servers – are faster, smaller and use less energy than their older siblings, said Intel representatives at a press conference at the company's sprawling complex.
“This is the greatest transistor advance in 40 years,” said Intel Costa Rica general manager Mohsen Fazlian.
The Costa Rican plant was key to the design of the new chips: Sixty of the 400 engineers working on the project are Costa Rican.
Intel employs about 4,500 workers in Costa Rica, according to Fazlian. The company opened its facility here in 1996, and about 30% of the country's exports by value can be linked to the Intel plant |
International Coffee Industry Insiders
Gear up for SINTERCAFE Next Week |
Manuel Valdes
Tico Times Staff | editorial@ticotimes.net
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Brazil's massive production and Costa Rica entering the Chinese market are some of the topics expected to be analyzed in this week's International Coffee Week in San José.
The annual gathering – in its 21 st year – of coffee producers and buyers from various countries, along with government officials and experts, kicks off Thursday. It will feature panels and lectures on the issues surrounding the business, and all the while Costa Rica will get a chance to show off its product.
More than 400 individuals and entities are expected to attend, said Carlos Alfaro, president of the International Coffee Week Association (SINTERCAFE), the organization in charge of the event, at a press conference yesterday morning.
Costa Rican coffee production is on an upswing this year after several lackluster seasons, with 2.6 million fanegas (a unit of measure equal to 256 kilograms) expected to be harvested. However, that's still 30% lower than seven years ago, and the estimate is not counting possible damage to crops caused by heavy rains these past few months, said Ramón Ulate, president of the board of directors at the National Coffee Institute (ICAFE).
Meanwhile, production in Brazil and Asia has recently skyrocketed, with the South American giant and Vietnam recording their biggest harvests this year, Alfaro said.
Domestically, labor shortage remains a concern. ICAFE still predicts Costa Rica will lack 10,000 temporary workers this season.
Also, officials from ICAFE visited China two months ago to explore possibilities in that country. When asked about cultural differences, officials acknowledged China remains a tea country, but their efforts are focused on young people and executives in large metropolitan areas such as Shanghai who are more likely to drink coffee.
Next week “ Costa Rica will become the coffee capital of the world,” Alfaro said. The conference ends Sunday.
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Ministry Urges Public Transportation
Users To Denounce Bad Service |
Bus and taxi users frustrated by bad service can vent their problems to the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT), which yesterday announced a hotline established for the purpose.
By calling 800-TRANSITO, users can tell the ministry about poor service on buses or taxis including drivers being rude, overcharging or failing to comply with schedules. They can also complain about vehicles in bad condition. Concerns can also be submitted online by filling out a form on www.mopt.go.cr/quejas.html.
The ministry plans to use these complaints to investigate companies and revoke concessions granted to those that consistently fail to comply with norms, according to a statement from MOPT.
Drivers' actions that should be denounced include stopping for long periods to hand over money to someone else from their company, smoking, listening to loud music or not stopping at established points.
Complaints should contain the place, day and time the incident occurred as well as a brief explanation of what happened and the phone number of the person placing the complaint. If the incident occurred on a bus, its number should be given as well as the route or name of the bus company. For complaints about taxis, the license plate number should be listed.
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