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Francophone Festival
March 10, concert and talk on Claude Debussy, by Jacques Sagot, 8 p.m., National Theater.

Bonanza 2010
Horse exhibit, Spanish breed, March 10-13, Club Hípico La Caraña, Santa Ana. Info: 2291-6810.

International Business Strategies Conference
March 10-12, Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura, Ciudad Cariari, Heredia, www.estrategiasempresarialescr.com.

7th International Writers Conference
March 10-17, San José, Alajuela, Cartago, Heredia, Ciudad Quesada, Turrialba, San Ramón, Puntarenas, San Isidro de El General and Buenos Aires de Osa. Info: 2257-0470, ccamon@gmail.com.

Women's Club Monthly Meeting
With cooking demonstration by chef Doris Goldgewicht, March 10, 9:30 a.m., Tips cookware store, Pavas. Info: 2268-2182, www.wccr.org. 

With citizen safety dominating discussion on the campaign trail, president-elect Laura Chinchilla's choice for the post of public security minister drew much speculation and friendly wagers, until Tuesday.

In a conference room at Hotel Corobicí, Chinchilla revealed her pick to replace Janina del Vecchio, the current minister in the administration of President Oscar Arias.

José María Tijerino, an intellectual and former attorney general, was tapped to head the ministry upon Chinchilla's inauguration on May 8, thus inheriting the problem of greatest concern to the Costa Rican people.

“We all want the Costa Rica of before,” he said in accepting the appointment. “We want the Costa Rica where we could walk in the streets, the plazas, the parks in absolute peace … Perhaps this is our last opportunity to rescue safety without losing our liberties.”

He said his first goal will be to build police presence in the streets. He also stressed collaboration with the international community and improved technology as initiatives he would pursue.

Chinchilla appointed Mauricio Boraschi, presently director of the Costa Rican Institute of Drugs; Mario Zamora, immigration director; and Jorge Chavarría, international consultant, to accompany Tijerino as members of her security team. Boraschi will occupy the new post of Drug czar, while Zamora and Chavarría will be vice ministers in the security and interior ministry.

Chinchilla also took advantage of the press conference to announce her chief of staff, a position known in Costa Rica as the minister of the presidency.

Calling him a “close advisor” and accessible, Chinchilla announced that Marco Vargas would be the next minister to the presidency. Vargas currently holds the post of Public Works and Transportation minister. Before that, Vargas served as Coordination minister, with responsibility for the port privatization project in Limón. Vargas has also occupied the position of minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce.

“We have a trusting relationship (developed through years) of sharing ministerial roles. We know each other well enough to know what we want, and, furthermore, we have an immense capacity to negotiate and look for points in common,” Chinchilla said.

Lawmakers voted this week to soften key points of Costa Rica's tough Transit Law, which came back into effect this month after its implementation had been suspended by lawmakers.

On Monday, legislators voted 32-20 to approve a motion to raise the permitted drinking level among drivers from 0.5 to 0.75 percent blood-alcohol content. The amendment was advanced by the ruling National Liberation Party (PLN) and drew fire from opposition lawmakers from the Citizen Action Party (PAC) and the Libertarian Movement Party (ML). “The main objective of this law was to be more rigorous with drivers who had problems with alcohol consumption, but with this proposal, that is lost,” said PAC legislator Grettel Ortíz.

Among the motions voted on Tuesday, lawmakers green-lighted a move to lower some of the fines for traffic violations, which many Costa Ricans considered draconian for being set as high as $400 – as high as some citizens' monthly salaries.

Legislators slashed fines for such violations as driving without license plates and passing cars on the right side instead of the left, from ₡ 99,756 (about $185) to ₡ 40,847 ($75), according to a Legislative Assembly bulletin. Other violations such as failure to show a driver's license dropped from ₡ 41,076 ($76) to ¢ 20,538 ($38).

Lawmakers had presented more than 200 motions against the law and continued voting on them as of late afternoon Tuesday.

See the March 12 print or digital edition of The Tico Times for more on this story.

See Related Story
Transit Law Stalled

Although there has been no formal announcement from Guns N' Roses or Time 4 Fun, the agency in charge of the band's 2010 world tour, a Costa Rican production company, 28 Producciones, opened up ticket sales in Costa Rica on Tuesday at noon for a concert date they say is on the books.

In a press conference on Monday, Juan Carlos Campos of 28 Producciones said that the band will play in Costa Rica on Friday April 9. On the Guns N' Roses website, however, there are no tour dates listed after an April 1 show in Quito, Ecuador.

Campos showed an email to a room full of journalists during the conference that he said he had received from Time 4 Fun, confirming the April 9 show. He said the date will appear on the band's website under the Tour Dates section soon.

After rumors started circling last week about the possibility of Guns N' Roses bringing their 2010 Chinese Democracy Tour to Costa Rica, the band's lead singer, Axl Rose, wrote in his online blog and on facebook that the band will not be stopping here.

Campos insisted on Monday there is a contract signed between Time 4 Fun and 28 Producciones. As of late Tuesday afternoon, no further tour dates had appeared on Guns N' Roses' website.

For those interested in purchasing tickets, despite the controversy, visit: www.todoticket.com

Tickets begin at ₡ 15,750 ($28.99) for the south end seats at Saprissa Stadium, furthest from the stage. Upper deck seats on the east and west sides of the stadium cost ₡ 23,100 ($42.52); ₡ 36,750 ($67.65) for middle and lower deck seats along the side; ₡ 63.000 ($115.98) standing room floor seats in front of the stage.

The stage will be at the north end of the stadium, should the concert be held.