Ecological workshops
Learning About Recycling, Making Compost, Jan. 28; Farm Animal Care, Friday, 9 a.m.-noon, Vivero el Río, Paraíso, Cartago. Info: 2574-6041.

Storytelling Workshop
Today through Friday, National Museum , Calle 17, Avenida Central/2, 2256-4139.

Incubus, Coldplay covers
By Tico band SD, rock, 9:30 p.m., El Observatorio, Barrio La California, opposite Cine Magaly. Info: 2223-0725.

Embattled Libertarian Movement lawmaker Ovidio Agüero got no breaks in a pretrial hearing before Costa Rica's Penal Branch of the Supreme Court (Sala III) Tuesday.

The court ordered the full range of cautionary pretrial measures against Agüero, who is charged with manslaughter after hitting and killing cyclist Víctor Arroyo, 25, while allegedly driving drunk on the highway from Cariari to his hometown of Guápiles on the Caribbean slope in the early morning hours of Nov. 2.

Agüero, 55, must forfeit his driver's license and passport and is barred from leaving the country. He is also prohibited from contacting the victim's family and other witnesses, including for settlement negotiations, and is required to check in with the judicial officials every 30 days.

Agüero's lawyer, J. Pablo Baltodano, said the defense has been unable to reach a settlement with the victim's family since they requested a settlement of ¢75 million ($136,000) in December, but that they hope to have the case moved to a settlement hearing within a month.

Agüero waived his congressional immunity, but, because he is a member of the Legislative Assembly, his case is being handled by Chief Prosecutor Francisco Dall'Anese, as opposed to the local criminal court.

Per the Transit Police, Agüero registered a level of 1.39 grams of alcohol per liter of blood, well above the legal limit of 0.49. Baltodano has said he may challenge the legality of the Breathalyzer test.

However, even if the drunken driving charge were thrown out, Agüero still faces the manslaughter charge, punishable by six months to eight years in prison.

If the drunk driving charge holds, Agüero could also lose his driver's license for 10 to 20 years, though this charge would not affect the prison sentence. A drunken driving charge alone would carry a fine of ¢20,000 (about $36) and six-month license revocation, under the old traffic laws.

The family of José Antonio Solano has come forward recently in the news media with an account in which Agüero allegedly hit and killed José, then 27, as the victim walked on the road in 1991, but Agüero, then a commercial farmer, was never tried.

Judicial Branch press director Fabián Barrantes confirmed a manslaughter charge was filed against Agüero in 1991; however, the file was one of some 500 lost in a 1993 fire that consumed the Guápiles Criminal Court and local Judicial Investigation Police office.

Representatives from Holland, Chile, China, Singapore and the United States are among the companies this week eyeing major port projects on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast.

The Public Works and Transport Ministry on Tuesday hosted interested parties in San José to hear proposals for the Moín and Limón port projects.

With plans as far ahead as 2030, the forecast for the two ports will require an investor with long-term interest in modernizing the two ports.

The companies include China's Hutchinson Ports Development Limited, Taiwan's Evergreen, Colombia's Sociedad Portuaria de Cartagena and the U.S. MIT Panama/SSA International.

In 2007, 81 percent of Costa Rica's exports were done by sea, so the obvious importance of this project is appealing. The projects aim to differentiate the uses of each port, with Limón as a hub for tourists and cruise ships and Moín for cargo. Both of these ports require substantial financial support and construction before administering their separate uses.

As many as 2.4 million Latin Americans could lose their jobs this year in the wake of the global economic downturn, ending a five-year rally of declining unemployment, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said Tuesday.

“The employment crisis has arrived in the region,” ILO's regional director for Latin America Jean Maninat said in Peru. “After five consecutive years of unemployment, until 2008, the rate will go back up in 2009.”

Last year's annual urban unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent from 8.1 in 2007.

Bucking a three-year trend, Costa Rica's national jobless rate increased from July 2007 to July 2008, from 4.6 percent to 4.9 percent. Urban unemployment remained at 4.8 percent.

Outside the region, layoffs in rich nations will also drive down economies here, as migrant workers abroad cut back on the remittances they send home to Latin America each month, which in Central American and Caribbean countries makes up more than 10 percent of GDP.

The slump will hurt tourism too, according to the World Tourism Organization, which said in Latin America the sector saw growth of 2 to 3 percent last year – far below the 6.6 percent growth of 2007 – and tourism looks set to rise at most 2 percent this year, if at all.

GDP growth will fall throughout the region, the Panorama said. In Costa Rica, GDP growth could slow from 3.3 percent last year to just 1.0 percent this year.

Seven million trees were planted in Costa Rica last year, and both the government and residents plan to do the same this year.

The campaign that has enabled the massive endeavor is called “A qué sembras un árbol,” roughly translated “Go Plant a Tree,” and was actually initiated by a group of youth who wanted to aid in the United Nations' worldwide campaign “Planting for the Planet.” That campaign aimed to grow 1 billion trees in 2007 and 3.5 billion in 2008.

“A qué sembras un árbol” aims to promote reforestation, forestry awareness and sustainable forestry management, with larger goals of mitigating climate change, conserving biodiversity, and regaining forest cover.

“The success of the campaign depended on help from everyone: public institutions, privates businesses and volunteers,” Environment Minister Roberto Dobles said.

Most of the trees planted can potentially later be used for wood materials, and their projected CO2 contribution was also taken into account. The three dominant types planted were teca, melina and other native species.

Dobles said careful consideration was taken when deciding when and where to plant the trees. The largest number of the trees (30 percent) were planted in Alajuela, and the second largest amount (about 19 percent) in Guanacaste.

This year the campaign hopes to plant 7 million trees again but in different areas.

“For such a small country, with such a recent dedication to replanting, we've definitely made a lot of progress,” said Dobles. “We're not a large country like the United States. For us, 7 million is a lot of trees.”

Alfonso Barrantes, director of the National Forestry Office, aims to accomplish higher numbers, but added, “We have our limits. Fifty-two percent of Costa Rica is already forest.”