Madera Nueva
Salsa, El Observatorio, Barrio California, San José 

Healing with Frequencies Concert
Manuel Obregón, Carlos Rapado, Duo australiano Samjjana, Yoga Lamat´s. 7:30 p.m. Costa Rican – North American Cultural Center, Barrio Dent, San José

Andres Cañas
Sculpture, Sofia Wanamaker Gallery, La Sabana

National park personnel and Costa Rican Red Cross volunteers continued searching on Sunday for David Alexander Gimelfarb, 28, a missing Chicago doctoral student who was last seen on Aug. 11 entering Rincón de la Vieja National Park in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

Gimelfarb's parents, Ludmilla and Roma Gimelfarb, flew to Costa Rica last Thursday and are helping local officials with the search.

The dense forest canopy has made air searches difficult, but officials said that several teams are also combing the mountainous area on horseback and foot. Searchers from the San José Red Cross joined Liberia Red Cross teams on Saturday to expand the search area.

As of Sunday afternoon, no signs of Gimelfarb had been reported, but officials said they will continue looking.

Gimelfarb is a post-graduate student in psychology at the Adler School of Professional Psychology in Chicago, Illinois. He works with his mother at the Kraft Foods Research and Development Center in Glenview, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago, said friend and co-worker Benjamin Dias.

Dias said that two co-workers from the research center accompanied Gimelfarb's mother to Costa Rica last week and are assisting in the search and passing out flyers to local villagers.

Gimelfarb arrived in Costa Rica about one week ago to go hiking and was staying at the Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin in Guanacaste, according to a communiqué written by the 28-year-old's mother.

After nearly a week of searching, park rangers have informed Gimelfarb's parents that infrared scanning may be the only way to locate him.

Gimelfarb has blonde hair, light brown eyes and is 5 feet, 6 inches tall, according to a police report filed by his father.

Anyone with information regarding Gimelfarb's disappearance is urged to contact the Liberia Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) at tel. 2690-0218 or the Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin at 2665-3212.

Forty days before a new law goes into effect that would require every driver to travel with a first aid kit, the transport ministry is launching an effort to modify the requirement.

Given the difficulty in enforcing the law and the potential for medicine within the kit to go bad, officials are pushing legislators to make changes before the law takes effect on September 23.

“What we want from the new Transit Law is to protect Costa Ricans,” Transport Minister Karla González told the daily La Nación. Fining people who don't comply “is irrational,” she said, explaining that medicine left for long periods of time in a car could pose a risk for people's health.

“We would be causing injury to people,” she said.

The Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT) leapt into action after a study conducted by the Costa Rican Pharmaceutical School was brought to their attention by the daily newspaper La Nación. The study revealed the type of medicine used in a first aid kit should be kept at temperatures less than 86 degrees Fahrenheit, but internal car temperatures within Costa Rica can reach 122 degrees, causing deterioration of quality and effectiveness.

The law, which was part of a package of transportation reforms, would allow transit police to issue ¢80,000 ($137) tickets if drivers do not have a first aid kit in their possession.

“The intentions of health officials and legislators are good,” said Carlos Rivas, a lawyer with MOPT. “But medications within the kit risk spoiling if they are kept in certain climates or beyond their expiration dates.”

If the law does go into effect and includes the requirement to carry a first aid kit; drivers can purchase kits at the Red Cross, 100 meters west of Casa Presidencial for 9,800 colones ($17). They are also permitted to assemble their own, provided it has basic medical supplies, Rivas said.

With more than half the country's fire hydrants in need of repairs or upgrades, the agency that regulates public services in Costa Rica has proposed imposing a higher fee on residents to finance the improvements.

In a statement to the press Friday, the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) announced its plan to raise the tax charged to residents. As the hydrants fall under the umbrella of public services, ARESEP is given the authority over the maintenance of the hydrants as well as the power to set fees.

A meeting to discuss the proposal will take place today.

Residents served by the Public Services Company of Heredia will see a 5.05 percent increase in the fee, while customers of the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA), will be charged an additional 4.56 percent. If approved, as expected, residents will see a few cents added to their water bill each month.

According to Costa Rican firefighters, there are only 6,126 operating fire hydrants in Costa Rica. The firefighters say the country needs almost double that number, and plan to put in place more than 12,000 new hydrants – of which 1,666, located near hospitals, industrial centers, or other heavily trafficked areas – are a top priority.

According to ARESEP, the increased fees will cover the purchase and installation of the new equipment.