Suzuki violin festival
Thursday through Feb. 14, National Music Institute, Moravia, 100 meters west, 100 m south of entrance to former Lincoln School, info: 2234-0456.

Australian motivational speaker Nick Vujicic
On motivation and leadership in business, 9 a.m., Hotel Radisson, Salón Zurquí, Barrio Tournón www.todoticketcr.com.

Free show ‘Somnolencia'
Dance and theater, 7 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center, Avenida 13, Calle 31. Info: 2257-2919, ext. 118.

Viuda Negra in concert
Rock, 9 p.m., Latino Rock Café, Barrio La California, south side of La Primavera Gas Station. Info: 2222-4719.

Marta Fonseca in concert
Pop rock, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro, 2253-8933, www.jazzcafecostarica.com.

In a victory for Costa Rica's taxi drivers, President Oscar Arias' administration agreed yesterday to crack down on unlicensed taxis and forbid car services from escorting passengers.

The decision came late Wednesday following a meeting at the government's Casa Presidencial in southeastern San José, where taxi drivers had been striking outside since 8 a.m. in protest of unauthorized taxis, known as piratas, and lawful car-service businesses, or porteadores.

The agreement, signed by Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias, Transport Minister Karla González and leaders from both the car service and traditional red taxi sectors, will prohibit newly registered porteadores from transporting people. The law will allow existing porteadores to continue operating.

The agreement also said transport authorities will take a “zero tolerance” stance on unlicensed “pirate” taxis, but it did not give details about specific measures the government will take to crack down on the illicit activity.

The taxi strike was also called off as part of the agreement.

The reaction was mixed. Gilberth Ureña and José Luis Quesada, of the National Taxi Drivers Forum, were greeted by cheers and angry jeers upon announcing the verdict.

Hundreds of taxistas blocked traffic along several major streets starting early Wednesday, and many remained parked outside Casa Presidencial until as late as 8 p.m.

“Having the piratas and porteadores sharing our clientele has become a problem,” said taxi forum member Javier Cortés.

The agreement also calls on the Legislative Assembly to form a special committee to debate and pass the reform within a month.

Some taxistas were skeptical.

“We're not going to give them four or five months to actually make these changes,” Quesada said. “If they don't produce results within this month, we will act.”

Carlos Rojas, who has been driving taxis in San José for the past 11 years, seemed content. “We may not have gotten everything we were hoping for,” he said, “but, at least we got something.”

Michael Sosa, however, from the National Federation of Taxi Cooperatives, was less optimistic.

“I guess we'll see you next month,” he said, gesturing to the press.

Prices increased by 0.38 percent in January, a 0.4 percentage-point decrease from December and a significant drop from the 0.73 percent inflation registered in January 2008, according to the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC).

The sectors that MOST affected inflation last month were transport, with declines in gas prices, airline tickets and diesel; home rental and domestic services, including hikes in electricity; and higher education.

Airline ticket prices fell 30.66 percent last month as a result of the 15.02 percent slash in fuel costs.

Inflation over the last 12 months was 13.5 percent, up from 10.56 percent during the same period the year before.

Costa Rica's highly diverse wildlife and ecosystems have another global green crusader on their side after the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on Tuesday named this country one of 13 new natural “BioGems” it seeks to defend.

It is the first time the council has designated a country as a BioGem since the program was begun in 2001. Its usual practice has been to designate specific sites or individual species. Other new sites on the list include the Carrizo Plain National Monument in central California and the Peace-Athabasca Delta in Alberta, Canada.

NRDC said members are working with Costa Rican environment officials to help the government meet a pledge to become the world's first carbon-neutral nation by 2021. The council has also initiated renewable energy projects with the Costa Rican Electricity Institute. NRDC has also teamed up with the Tropical Agricultural Research and Training Center (CATIE) to plant 30,000 trees as part of a rainforest rejuvenation project, according to an NRDC press release.

“These BioGems are some of the last wild and unspoiled places left in the Western Hemisphere,” NRDC senior attorney Robert Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “By naming these places as BioGems, NRDC is empowering hundreds of thousands of concerned individuals to take effective action to save these natural treasures for generations to come.”

For more information, see www.savebiogems.org.