Expo-Bride
Exhibit of wedding items (cards, cakes, dresses, suits, tour agencies, jewelry, etc.), Feb. 19, noon; Feb. 21, 10 a.m., Plaza Herradura Hotel Conference Center, Ciudad Cariari, Heredia.

Italian-Costa Rican Symposium on Earth Sciences
Dr. Giovanni Barla, of Polytechnic University of Turin, Italy, and Dr. Paolo Bona, director of ENEL Green Power, Feb. 19, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Auditorium Dr. César Dóndoli Burgazzi, School of Geology, UCR. Info: 2511-4230.

National Symphony Orchestra in concert
Feb. 19, 7 p.m., Teatro de la Palestra, Ciudad Colón. Info: 2249-3124.

Orchid festivals
7th National Orchid Exhibit, Feb. 19-20, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and Feb. 21, 8 a.m-6 p.m., Gymnasium of Villa Olímpica, Desamparados. And the 3rd Guaria Morada Festival, exhibits of orchids, birds, food, Feb. 19-21, Jardín Botánico Orquideas, La Garita, Alajuela, 1 km. south east of La Fiesta del Maíz Restaurant. Info: 2487-8095.

International Improvisational Theater Performance
Feb. 19-20, 7 p.m., Atahualpa del Cioppo Theater, Universidad Nacional, Heredia.

Tin Jo's Chinese New Year
Buffet stations, kitchen tour, eggroll workshop, calligraphy, mini chi kung classes, personal Feng Shui, sculpture, origami, chopsticks contest, lion dancers, Feb. 20, noon-3 p.m., Tin Jo Restaurant. Reservations at 2221-7605, www.tinjo.com.

Whales and Dolphins Tour
Organized by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OIT), Feb. 20-21, 2524-0607, 8377-6169, Caño Island. Info: biocursos@ots.ac.cr.

Mardi Gras Masquerade
To benefit children of Haiti, donations made to UNICEF Haiti Relief Fund, with silent auction, Feb. 20, 7 p.m., Corteza Amarilla Art Lodge and Spa, 5 km west of Forum, Santa Ana. Info: 2203-7503, 2203-7490.

Brazilian Carnival
Feb. 20, 8 p.m., Crowne Plaza Corobicí Hotel, northeast La Sabana Park. Tickets at 2222-5753, 2222-9160.

10th Anniversary of the INBIO Park
Face painting, games, butterfly-liberation, piñata, Circus show, cake, Feb. 21, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Inbio Park, Santo Domingo, Heredia.

Run & Ride Costa Rica
Mountain Bike Biathlon, 7 km. cross country race, 21 km. MTB, Feb. 21, 6 a.m., Sabana Larga, Atenas. Further information 2294-8612, 8376-4938, 8890-4329, www.multireto.com.

Perimercados Long Distance Race
10 km., Feb. 21, 8:30 a.m., leaving from Perimercados at Centro Comercial del Sur, Desamparados; finish line at Perimercados Terramall, registration deadline Feb. 20 at all Perimercados. Info: 8340-9673, 2247-2300.

10th Ekiden Relay Marathon
Teams of six, men, women or co-ed, circuit of 5,250 km, Feb. 21, 8 a.m., Cartago, www.hagodeporte.com.

‘Bailando en el país del silencio'
Dance show, Feb. 19-20, 8 p.m.; Feb. 21, 5 p.m., National Theater.

Costa Rica has a solution for the United States' aging baby boomer population.

Send them south where they can enjoy a sunny climate, top medical services, a lower cost of living and a stunning natural landscape.

Seven government agencies are collaborating in an effort to develop retirement communities in the so-called Switzerland of the Americas. Launching a promotional campaign and partnering with private developers, they hope to make their country the next “retiree-friendly” Sunshine State.

“This represents a bigger potential for Costa Rica than recreational tourism represented 25 years ago,” said developer Lou Aguilera, who has spearheaded the initiative from the private sector. “The greying of America is irreversible and Costa Rica is in a position to service this population.”

Aguilera expects to break ground on his own retirement community, a joint project with CIMA hospital, in Guanacaste in May. It would be the first community to include extensive medical services and one of the few of its kind existing to date.

Jorge Woodbridge, competitivity minister, estimates the country can attract 10,000 retirees a year from countries like the United States, Canada and Spain, a population which could contribute more than $340 million annually to the local economy and generate 40,000 jobs.

He said promoting Costa Rica as a retirement destination would be building on a pre-existing niche.

Already the country has three internationally-recognized private hospitals; it's a top destination for medical tourism; the climate is cool and favorable along the country's spine and it's a short plane ride away from many destinations in the United States.

“Costa Rica poses significant competitive advantages in positioning itself as a retirement destination,” Woodbridge said.

The consortium of government agencies, which is calling itself Clúster Retirados, is promoting destinations in the interior of the country for further development, such as Lake Arenal, Miramar, Parque de la Amistad and the volcanoes of Guanacaste.

“The great majority of people (who we hope to attract) are active people that look for things to do,” said Marco Vinicio Ruiz, foreign trade minister. “We want to offer them a better environment than what they have … We want to include them in countrywide initiatives, in issues of research and development and ways in which they can collaborate with small or medium-sized businesses.”

He added, “I see this as an enormous opportunity to collaborate.”

Opposition lawmaker Eduardo Montealegre on Thursday denounced an alleged plot by Orteguista magistrates in the Supreme Court to pass an “illegal” resolution to strip him of his congressional immunity. Montealegre is facing charges related to the 2000-2001 banking bailout scandal known as the “Cenis” case.

Montealegre, who finished as runner-up to President Daniel Ortega in the 2006 presidential elections, said the alleged plot is “yet another expression of the judicial dictatorship” headed by judges loyal to Ortega.

The term “judicial dictatorship” was coined on Feb. 16 by Vice President Jaime Morales, in an unusual, strongly worded statement he delivered as part of the opening ceremony to the International Poetry Festival in Granada.

Montealegre said the alleged judicial plot against him will be executed similarly to the controversial resolution handed down by Orteguista magistrates last October, when they unilaterally decided to revoke a constitutional ban against presidential re-election, which would allow Ortega to run again for office in 2011.

According to the constitution, lawmakers have judicial immunity, which can be lifted only by the National Assembly. The court system has no authority in the matter, but, as Montealegre pointed out, that hasn't stopped judges from overstepping their bounds in the past.

Montealegre denounced the anticipated move by Ortega to use the judicial system as a political tool to “blackmail” him into supporting the president's candidates for Supreme Court, Supreme Electoral Council and other top government posts up for election in the coming weeks. A similar argument was made last month by opposition leader and former President Arnoldo Alemán, following the judicial system's decision to reopen previously resolved corruption cases against him (NT, Feb. 12 ).

“I want to make it clear to the dictator Daniel Ortega that neither Eduardo Montealegre nor any one of the (opposition legislative voting bloc) Nicaraguan Democratic Bloc, nor any lawmaker who opposes this dictatorial regime, will give into this blackmail, persecution or threats of jail, nor will we break the unity we have been building that will culminate with a great alliance of all democratic forces, because in Nicaragua we are all against Ortega,” Montealegre said, with a full lung of air.

Two weeks ago, the Orteguista government launched a “wanted” poster campaign against Montealegre and Alemán, plastering the capital and other cities with old sepia-style wanted signs picturing the two Liberal leaders and accusing them of being thieves.

On Wednesday, the government released an opinion poll in which the public was asked which possible punishment should be given out to Montealegre and Alemán. Of the people surveyed, 28.5 percent said they should be jailed; 16 percent said they should be forced to pay back 18 billion cordobas (about $900 million); 16 percent said they should not be allowed to participate ever again in elections; 13 percent said they should be removed from politics; and 17 percent said they should be left alone.

Plug in: Todd Fischer, right, vice president of engineering for RidgeRun, which is investing in a university software development program in Costa Rica.

Ronald Reyes | Tico Times

RidgeRun, a software and services company, will donate about $80,000 to the Costa Rican Technology Institute (TEC) as part of project to motivate students to develop software applications, the U.S.-based company said on Thursday.

The donation was funded by Texas Instruments (TI), which is the third largest producer of microprocessors in the world. RidgeRun, a third-party developer for TI, was one of the first software companies to operate in Costa Rica.

“About nine months ago I called up Texas Instruments and said “You guys need some more Digitial Signal Processing (DSP) developers. Let's work with the university in Costa Rica to make that happen,'” said Todd Fischer, vice president of engineering for RidgeRun. “And they said ‘Sounds great. What do you want?' ”

The investment in the university will focus on the creation of chips that will be used to manage software for audio, video, automobile, medical equipment devices. One type of software that Fischer said will be produced is a device that films the path of the car as it is driven. Fischer said that such technology could be used to provide evidence of fault in the event of an accident.

RidgeRun and TI are two members of a long list of technology companies with operations or investments in Costa Rica. Hewlett-Packard and Intel, which is the country's leading exporter, also have substantial operations here.

Over the past decade, several foreign technology companies have expanded operations to Costa Rica or invested considerable amounts of capital into projects in the country. Some of that investment is going into education.