American Legion Post 10 Meeting
Seech by Service Officer Bob McInnes, noon, Bello Horizonte Country Club, Escazú, 2288-6014, 8355-4488.

French Film Festival:
“Ne le dis à personne,” by Guillaume Canet (2006), Cine Magaly, Barrio La California, Calle 23, Avenida Central/1, 2223-0085.

Lantern making workshop
3:30-4:30 p.m., Desarrollando Mentes, Escazú, 2289-4586, info@desarrollandomentes.com.

In Managua , German tribute to fall of the wall
German Embassy pays tribute to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, murals, photos, text in Spanish, Biblioteca Alemana Nicaragüense Bertolt Brecht, Managua, Linda Vista Norte, (505) 2266-7253.

The path of the commuter train between Heredia and San José doesn't appear to be getting any easier.

On its way to the capital, the new Heredia-San José train hit a bus at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, leaving seven bus passengers injured.

The accident occurred 100 meters west of the Calderón Guardia Hospital. The injured passengers were taken to the nearby hospital. Red Cross officials said that most were being treated for whiplash.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no severe injuries had been reported.

This is the train's second collision with a motor vehicle since its maiden voyage on Aug. 11. On Aug. 13, the train struck a 1992 Hyundai Elantra that was carrying three people.

The three passengers were taken to San Vincente de Paúl Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The railroad crossings for the train do not have gates. Instead, an attendee at each intersection is supposed to alert traffic when the train is approaching.

The train has derailed twice in Tibás, north of San José, since it began service just over three weeks ago.

See the Aug. 28 print or digital edition of The Tico Times for more on the Heredia-San José train.

After nearly three weeks of looking, the Costa Rican Red Cross has suspended its search for David Gimelfarb, the missing 28-year-old Chicago doctoral student.

National and local Red Cross teams retreated from Rincón de la Vieja National Park on Friday afternoon having found no signs of Gimelfarb.

Freddy Román, a press officer for the Red Cross, said the search lasted longer than normal.

“Usually, we leave the search after eight days if we don't find anything because of the high costs,” he said. “But because of the support and help from the family, the U.S. embassy and some private companies, we were able to extend the search to 15 days.”

Friends and family of Gimelfarb began raising funds to aid rescue efforts shortly after the search began Aug. 12. Some of Gimelfarb's co-workers joined his parents in Costa Rica to pass out missing person flyers and run supplies to search teams that were camped out inside the park.

The family hired ResQglobal, a private, U.K.-based search and rescue company to help coordinate missions.

The U.S. government brought in two Blackhawk helicopters to Costa Rica to search for Gimelfarb with infrared technology.

Both the Blackhawks and ResQglobal have since left the country.

Park rangers and local residents are still helping the family search for Gimlfarb. Friends of the family said Gimelfarb's parents might hire a private investigator to help search for their son.

In Chicago, friends hosted an open-mic event on Tuesday night at Dollop Coffee and Tea, a coffee house on the city's north side, to show their appreciation for Gimelfarb's love of the arts. Friends said the coffee shop was one of Gimelfarb's favorite hangouts.

A female representative from Special Ticket, an online ticket sales agency, sold an estimated 1,500 counterfeit tickets to fans hoping to attend the Costa Rica vs. Mexico soccer match on Saturday, the Costa Rican Soccer Federation (FEDEFUTBOL) reports.

The Special Ticket representative has been arrested for fraud by the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ), though her name has not been released.

The arrest comes in the midst of a week of uncertainty for ticketholders, who were told last Wednesday by FEDEFUTBOL that fake tickets had been sold by Special Ticket. Since learning of the counterfeit sales, the federation has required that all ticketholders come to Ricardo Saprissa stadium, located north of San José in San Juan de Tibás, to have their tickets inspected.

“The decision to change the tickets has not been a very popular,” said Eduardo Li Sánchez, president of FEDEFUTBOL, in a news conference Monday. “People don't understand how they could have been sold a fake ticket and they have lost some confidence in the security of ticket purchases.”

The ticket office at the stadium has been open every day since Thursday from 12 noon to 4 p.m. in order to inspect tickets. However, given the anticipated rush of ticketholders in the upcoming days, the office will extend their hours from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and remain open until midnight on Friday. Of the 18,000 tickets purchased for the game, at least 466 were found to be counterfeit as of Tuesday afternoon.

To receive a new ticket, fans must present identification and their original ticket. If the ticket is authentic, the ticketholder is given a new ticket. Unfortunately, for those who purchased a counterfeit ticket, the game is sold out.

“If someone bought a fake ticket, they will not be able to enter the game,” said Pablo Contreras, a spokesman for the soccer federation. “The game is at full capacity and there are no remaining seats. The counterfeit tickets are being handled by Special Ticket.”

According to the Special Ticket Web site, all persons who purchased counterfeit tickets will be reimbursed.

Banco Nacional also sold over 3,000 tickets to the game. Beginning Wednesday, anyone who purchased tickets from Banco Nacional must go to the downtown location to have their tickets reissued. Banco Nacional will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Wednesday through Friday to reissue tickets. To have a ticket reissued, the person who bought the original ticket must present a form of identification and the original ticket to the first floor of the Banco Nacional location in downtown San José.

The match between Costa Rica and Mexico will be played at 8 p.m. at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium on Saturday night. The game is a Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) World Cup Qualifying match and will play a pivotal role in the standings of the six team group. Costa Rica is currently in first place in the group with 12 points, followed by the U.S. and Honduras with 10 points and Mexico with 9.