Exhibit: Sebastian Mello and Luciano Goizueta
Silkscreen prints and acrylics on canvas, opening at 7:30 p.m., runs through March 29, Galería Amón, Barrio Amón, Calle7, avenidas 9/11, 223-9725, www.amon937.com.

Singer-songwriters
With Rubén Pagura and Bernardo Quesada, 8 p.m., El Cuartel de la Boca del Monte, 258-7236, 256-6978.

Live Soul
Soul, R&B singer Sasha Campbell in concert, Jazz Café, San Pedro, 10 p.m.

By Alex Leff
Tico Times Staff | aleff@ticotimes.net

Friends and family of Matt McParland, the 42-year-old U.S. chiropractor who drowned while on vacation recently in Costa Rica, are mourning the loss in his home country.

Meanwhile, friends of McParland who reside year-round in Tamarindo, in the northwest province of Guanacaste, are struggling to cope with a tragedy striking so close to their home away from home.

Frustrated by the thought that McParland might still be alive if the beach's privately funded lifeguard program had not been dropped less than four months before, some residents are taking action.

Water safety is a concern that has rippled across the country. The Red Cross reported that drowning last year was the third most common cause of death its volunteers responded to, claiming at least 12 lives. However, because the Red Cross is not present at every beach, pool, river and lake, the number could be much higher.

In 2006, for example, there were 161 drownings, according to the statistical office of the Judicial Investigative Police (OIJ). The office did not yet have complete statistics for 2007.

Sisters-in-law Ann and Cheryl McKillican are going door to door to hotels in Tamarindo to pool money for the Matt McParland Fund, which they hope will reach $20,000 to finance a permanent lifeguard program on the popular but treacherous coast.

Cheryl McKillican said the fund is open to international donors as well, and could involve bringing U.S. lifeguards down to provide training.

Adequate training and equipment are real concerns for Tamarindo residents, who believe that McParland's life might have been saved if the rescue team's automated external defibrillator, an electrical jumpstarter for the heart, had contained fully charged batteries. But residents are also coming to terms with the fact that greater preventive measures are needed.

Those interested in taking part can contact the fund's organizers at e-mail address cherylmckillican@hotmail.com or by telephone at (506) 653-1096, for Cheryl, and (506) 339-5570 for Ann.

Costa Rica can put another notch in its belt of global recognition for being a green do-gooder, now that it has scored high on a new environmental performance list by researchers at Yale and Columbia universities.

While Switzerland and the wealthy Scandinavian countries dominate the top five, Costa Rica came first in Latin America and placed well among industrialized nations on the first official Environmental Performance Index released yesterday. After Switzerland came Sweden, Norway, Finland and Costa Rica.

“Costa Rica is proud to be a global leader in environmental conservation,” said President Oscar Arias.

In Latin America, Colombia came second after Costa Rica.

The United States, meanwhile, came 39th among the index's 149 countries, with the United Kingdom scoring at 14.

Back in Costa Rica, a separate report also brought good news to the environment. The country has cut its imports of ozone depleting gases by 71.5%, the Environment Ministry said. In 2004 the country imported 105 tons of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), while in 2007, the amount was just 30 tons, according to newswire ACAN-EFE.

Industries have also reduced the purchase of harmful agricultural chemicals such as methyl bromide, typically used by melon growers to control a wide variety of pests. Imports of that chemical dropped from 1,070 tons in 1999 to 400 last year, thanks to a national phase-out program.