Iron Maiden in Concert
Metal, Feb. 26, 8 p.m., Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, Tibás, 206-7770, www.specialticket.net.

Alex Lluent
Collage, through Feb. 27, Galería Dau al Set, 50 m west of Legislative Assembly, San José, 221-2484.

Talk on Tourism and Climate Change
Gary Dunham of Al Gore's Climate Project, Feb. 26, 2 p.m., auditorium of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), to reserve call 205-4121.

By Nick Wilkinson
Tico Times Staff | nwilkinson@ticotimes.net

A judge ordered a police chief and another police officer suspended for three months pending an investigation into allegations they stole from tourists.

Carlos Méndez, Garabito canton's tourist police chief, and a Jacó municipal police officer identified by the last name Ulloa, stand accused of indirectly stealing a video camera from Argentinean tourists.

Jacó Judicial Investigation Police Chief Kléver Paco, whose office first arrested the police officers on Feb. 22, said the original four thieves were Colombians. He said after stealing a car, $1,800, 250 euros and the camera near Playa Hermosa, they dumped the item in an unkempt grassy field after fleeing.

Because the dumping area is well known to the authorities, Méndez and Ulloa took advantage by taking possession of the stolen item but leaving it out of their official reports, Paco said.

“It's a delicate matter but the law is being well applied,” Paco said. “Additional charges could be filed because Méndez used an official police vehicle when they went to the field.”

Paco said a third tourist policeman with the last name Alpízar was also with the men during the alleged crime. So far, he has not been suspended.

“There's not enough proof against him,” Paco said.

The suspended officers were ordered to stay way from Jacó, a beach town on the central Pacific coast, and not speak to the witnesses. Their suspension could be extended another three months and they could ultimately be fired.

No charges are being pursued against the original thieves, who all have refugee status, because no stolen items were found in their possession, Paco said.

Costa Rica's largest electronics group has purchased one of its few remaining competitors.

Grupo M Holding, owner of Importadora Monge, Play and Gallo más Gallo, picked up home appliance retailer El Verdugo.

The move will leave Grupo M with 205 stores in Costa Rica. Gollo, the group's closest competitor, operates 103 sales points, while other competitors like Hogar Feliz and Casa Blanca operate a few dozen.

Grupo M will keep the El Verdugo brand, adding its 22 locations to its portfolio. CEO Gastón Monge told weekly El Financiero that the company plans to expand aggressively in order to double revenue by 2011.

Last year, the company grossed about $500 million in sales.

By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net

Young people in Costa Rica have trouble finishing school and finding jobs. Many distrust politicians, and gender lines still divide them.

So says the first exhaustive study on people ages 15 to 35 in Costa Rica, released this week by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the United Nations Population Fund.

Drawing on interviews of 2,500 people, the study charts trends in health, education, work, sexuality and home life among young Costa Ricans and immigrants living here.

“For decades, young people were invisible in the eyes of society,” said Karina Bolaños, vice minister of youth.

Some 24% of 15- to 17-year-olds aren't in school, even though nearly half of people in that age range said finishing their studies is a top goal. Young people leave school because they are uninterested, they have to work, or they have trouble registering, getting to school and buying materials.

More than 11% of girls ages 15 to 17 drop out because they get pregnant.

Some 29.4% of teens ages 15 to 17 have had sex. Young people largely learn about sexual health through their families and school. Still, information fails to reach many.

Among 18- to 24-year-olds, some 17% said they had not received information about sexually transmitted diseases, while 11.7% said they had not learned about contraceptives.

Gender lines among young people are still clearly marked. Women ages 15 to 35 are much more likely than men to do household chores like laundry, cleaning and cooking. About 69% of men but only 32% of women in that age range work outside the home.

Finding employment is tough for both sexes. More than 37% of working university graduates ages 18 to 24 were hired because of personal contacts. Just 34% found work through their own efforts.

“The simplest way to get a job is through a friend. That's something young people criticize,” said Jorge Rojas, who worked on the study as director of the Council of the Young Person.

As for political engagement, Rojas said, “there is enormous disillusionment among youth.

“Not only do they not want to participate in politics, but they don't believe in our politicians.”

Some 60% of people ages 15 to 35 disapprove of the way politicians are running the country, with discontent highest among the youngest groups, the study found.