Rosario del Niño
Rosary in honor of Child Jesus, a tradition among Catholic Costa Ricans to farewell Christmas and put away the nativity scene until December. Jan. 15, 3 p.m., Mall Internacional Alajuela, Alajuela.

Open Classes at Universidad Nacional
More than 160 different options, including hidroponics, sports, arts, languages, computer, history, etc., for people of different ages, to be held Jan. 22-Feb. 3 at its campus in Heredia. Online registration deadline Jan. 15, at http://www.fundauna.org/extension/cursos.php. For further information call 2277-3119.

Donate at Children's Museum
With approval from Red Cross and National Emergency Commission, the Children's Museum will now accept donations for earthquake victims. For more information: 2258-4929.

The areas affected by the Jan. 8 earthquake – excluding evacuated towns of Cinchona, Vara Blanca and Los Cartagos – have access again to drinking water, the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) reported.

Costing 17 million colones (about $31,000), the repairs project involving help from community residents restored potable water to some 101,000, AyA said.

Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) announced Tuesday it will offer credit options for those afflicted by the Jan. 8 earthquake.

The options will consist of various types financing for homeowners and businesses.

The home financing credit will be available to those who have income and who are interested in rebuilding their lost homes, fixing their damaged ones, or building a new home from scratch.

BCR will also offer financing to quake victims who have limited income.

In addition to these two financing options, BCR is also offering affected families who are considered to be extremely poor 100 percent financing to rebuild homes. BCR said the bank would offer financing as soon as possible to developers who are rebuilding damaged homes.

Another credit option will consist of BCR identifying small and medium-sized businesses that were affected by the earthquake with the goal of restructure their credit lines and loosen up conditions.

For questions on these new implementation, call BCR, Vivienda Interés Social (Social Benefit Home) at 2287-9000, ext. 1104.

Disgraced former President Arnoldo Alemán Wednesday denied that he is involved in a secret political negotiation with the Sandinista Front (FSLN) to give the ruling party control over the National Assembly in exchange for his unconditional freedom.

“My liberty is not subject to any type of negotiation,” said the boss of the opposition Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC), who is currently serving out a 20-year prison term under house arrest for corruption.

The PLC on Wednesday reiterated its position that it will not renegotiate the terms of its aging power-sharing pact with the Sandinistas, despite growing speculation that the two majority parties are up to back room antics.

The National Assembly has been paralyzed for more than two months following the explosive Nov. 9 municipal elections, in which the Liberals claim the Sandinistas stole 44 mayoral seats, leading to weeks of street violence. Though the assembly was supposed to reconvene Jan. 10 to elect its new directorate, neither of the two parties have been able to come up with the 47 votes needed to elect their candidates, so the legislature remains shutdown.

Meanwhile, local news media Wednesday reported that the Sandinistas, who already control three of the four branches of government, are trying to negotiate control over the National Assembly in exchange for Alemán's freedom.

Alemán, however, insists he is innocent and says his freedom is a demand, not a bargaining chip.

“My human rights are being violated by the Nicaraguan judicial system,” Alemán said. “I am a political prisoner of the FSLN.”

With the National Assembly scheduled to meet Friday to try again to elect its new directorate, rumors have been swarming about backroom shenanigans.

Liberal lawmaker Enrique Quiñonez told The Nica Times yesterday that if the Liberal alliance is able to win control of the National Assembly, the first act of business on the year will be to put forward a law to annul the Nov. 9 municipal elections. Meanwhile, the Sandinista-controlled Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) yesterday swore-in 105 new Sandinista mayors, deepening the country's political crisis.

Read Friday's Nica Times, an eight-page publication of The Tico Times, for more on this story.