“Hagamos el Humor”
Comedy, Thurs.-Sun., 8 p.m., Lucho Barahona Theater, Ca. 11, Av. 6/8. Info: 2223-5972.

“No Te Asuste mi Nombre”
Play by Títeres María Parrato from Spain, July 10, 8 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center, Av. 13, Ca. 31. Info: 2257-2919, ext. 118

Los Cuchillos and Raging Bull in concert
Alternative rock Tico-style, July 10, 8 p.m., El Cuartel, Ca. 23, Between Ave. 1 and 3 in La California, Info: 2221-0327

Starting today, San José driving restrictions will be in effect for 13-hour periods, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., a switch from the proposed 24-hour ban that was supposed to take effect today.

The Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) cited security and technical considerations with bus routes for the change, according to a ministry press release.

MOPT also eased restrictions for heavy trucks, whose city driving ban now runs from 6 to 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 to 7 p.m.

Cars with license plates ending in 7 and 8 will be prohibited from traveling in downtown San José and within the circunvalación during the 13-hour period on Thursdays.

Cars with license plates ending in 1 and 2 will be prohibited on Mondays. License plates ending in 3 and 4 will be banned on Tuesdays, cars with licenses ending in 5 and 6 on Wednesdays and 9 and 0 on Fridays.

The measures, which are aimed at reducing the country's oil consumption, have helped ease traffic congestion in San José in recent weeks. The restrictions originally applied to rush hours from 6-8:30 a.m. and from 4:30-7 p.m. but then officials decided to extend the ban.

The restrictions do not apply to motorcycles, public transportation vehicles, school buses, and vehicles of disabled people. Heavy vehicles are not allowed to travel on the freeways that lead to Alajuela, Cartago and Escazú during rush hours.

Motorists found in violation of these measures face a fine of ¢5,000 (roughly $9.70). By MOPT's account, transit police have issued an average of 700-750 tickets per day since the decree was first enacted June 26.

The measure does not sit well with the country's business community. The Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Private Sector Associations (UCCAEP), an umbrella group representing 42 business associations, criticized the measure.

“Micro and small businesses are the ones who will be hurt the most by limiting transit for a whole day given that they tend to possess small vehicle fleets,” said Shirley Saborío, director of UCCAEP. “Impeding transit for a whole day would affect their businesses and reduce commercial activities. This could place in jeopardy the incomes of hundreds of Costa Ricans.”

Ninety percent of Costa Rican businesses are defined as small and medium, according to UCCAEP.

UCCAEP proposes keeping the restrictions in place during rush hours to avoid disrupting businesses. The group also stated that it is not opposed to extending the rush hour driving restrictions to other urban areas.

A Costa Rican government delegation will travel to Venezuela this weekend to participate in the upcoming Petrocaribe summit and analyze the possibility of joining the group, according to the Foreign Ministry.

The summit will be held Sunday in the coastal city of Maracaibo.

An arrangement launched in 2005 by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and the presidents of several Caribbean island states, Petrocaribe provides Caribbean countries with Venezuelan oil under preferable payment conditions. It currently has 17 members.

Given record-high oil prices and the resulting increase in Costa Rica's oil import bill, the Costa Rican government has decided to explore the possibility of joining Petrocaribe to benefit from the short and long-term financing and deferred payment options the initiative offers.

Petrocaribe allows its members to pay half the price of the oil they buy from Venezuela within 90 days of the purchase and the remainder within 25 years at an interest rate of 1 percent a year.

The Costa Rican delegation will be headed by Energy and Environment Minister Roberto Dobles, Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno, and José León Desanti, executive president of the Costa Rican Petroleum Refinery (RECOPE).

The Costa Rican government has in recent months been analyzing various alternatives to reduce the country's oil import bill, which last year totaled $2.8 billion.

The head of the Costa Rican Art Museum (MAC) resigned recently claiming the Arias administration through the Culture Ministry attempted to censor an exhibit celebrating the museum's 30th anniversary.

Gabriela Sáenz, who was appointed as the director's museum in 2006, resigned on July 4 in protest of what she claimed was pressure from the minister to remove a mural-size photo that depicts her father, former culture minister Guido Sáenz, and former president Daniel Oduber (1974-1978) inaugurating the museum three decades ago.

In her resignation letter, Sáenz says she decided to leave the museum because she failed to obey Culture Minister María Elena Carballo's order to remove the photo. According to Sáenz, Carballo asked her to remove the photo because it constituted “a very delicate matter that could affect the image of President Oscar Arias.” Sáenz went on to accuse Carballo of “attempting to silence history.”

Carballo rejected Saenz's charges of censorship and adamantly denied ever having exerted pressure to get the controversial photo removed.

The minister said that, upon reading the controversial resignation letter, she immediately accepted the resignation because “its content, which was completely removed from the truth,” convinced her Sáenz lacked the “serenity and maturity” needed to lead the art museum.