Italian Fair
Pasta, books and CDs, clothes, jewelry, 11 a.m., Casa Italia, Los Yoses.

Editus in concert
9 p.m., Tragaldabas, Rohrmoser. Info: 2231-0006.

5th Expo Environment
Products, sales, medicinal plants, crafts, books, talks, Universidad Nacional, Heredia.

Jazz Big Band
Swing at Jazz Café, San Pedro, 10 p.m., http://jazzcafecostarica.com.

Peter Cianchette, a Maine businessman active in Republican Party politics, arrived here late last month as the new U.S. ambassador to Costa Rica.

He replaces Mark Langdale, who left his post in January to assume leadership of the George W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation.

In a recent speech to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Cianchette (pronounced chin-ket) said he would promote trade, tourism and investment between Costa Rica and the United States.

He will work hard, he said, to help Costa Rica join the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). The country ratified CAFTA in an October 2007 referendum but has not yet passed all the laws required to enter the pact.

Cianchette added that he looks to President Oscar Arias for help in the war on drugs, terrorism and human trafficking.

“Fortunately, we have a willing partner in the Arias administration that seeks for Costa Rica to play a pivotal role in an integrated regional response to these threats,” he told the Senate panel.

A familiar face in local politics, Cianchette served in Maine's state legislature from 1996 to 2000. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002 and was state chairman for Bush's presidential campaign in 2004.

According to Maine newspapers, Cianchette belongs to one of the state's most prominent business families, founders of the Cianbro construction company.

Cianchette is also a businessman. He is a partner in the private investment firm CHK Capital Partners and president of The Cianchette Group, a public affairs management and business consulting firm. Prior to his arrival last month, Cianchette had never been to Costa Rica.

It's official: Roberto Dobles, the Costa Rican environment and energy minister, yesterday signs the telecom law that ends six decades of telephone monopoly. The law is a hotly contested item in the CAFTA bills, a centerpiece of the administration of President Oscar Arias, left.

Hannah Rexroth | Tico Times

In a historic moment for Costa Rica, President Oscar Arias signed a law yesterday that will end the state's 59-year-old monopoly on telecommunications services.

The measure will allow other national and foreign firms to join the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) in offering cell phone, Internet, radio and other telecom services here.

The law will go into effect after it is published in La Gaceta, the official government daily publication.

The first private telecom firm will likely open in two years, ICE President Pedro Pablo Quirós said yesterday. An open market will be welcome to foreigners without residency papers, who are not allowed to own their own land or cell phones lines through ICE.

Competition will force ICE to improve its outdated services, Quirós said.

“We have 12,500 employees and 8,000 contractors,” he said. “We should not be running the company like a general store.”

The law puts Costa Rica in compliance with the most hotly contested part of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), ratified by referendum in October 2007.

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets in the past decade to protest an open telecom market.

Costa Rica's Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Institute (IAFA) is asking people not to fall for scam artists asking for money in the organization's name.

“IAFA is alerting the population about some people or organizations, without scruples and with bad intentions, that are abusing the good will of the people to solicit money, conduct raffles and sell things in our name,” a press release states. “The institution has not authorized a single person or organization to ask for money to fund our institute. We want to avoid people getting defrauded or put in danger by these kinds of people that are illegitimately using (our) name.”

Marlin Villalobos, secretary for IAFA director Giselle Amador, said there have been at least two cases where people have gone door-to-door illegitimately asking for donations.

IAFA, which is funded by the government with seizures of money and assets from drug dealers and money launderers, does not conduct private fundraising operations. Its job is to develop and coordinate drug prevention, treatment and rehabilitation programs.

Officials recommend people file police reports if they've already been victimized by fake IAFA con artists. People with questions can call IAFA at 2224-6122.