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Free Film Festival
“25 Watts,” comedy/drama, directed by Juan Pablo Rebella, Pablo Stoll, June 14, 7 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center, Barrio Escalante, Av. 13, Ca. 31. Info: 2257-2919, www.ccecr.org.

Mundoloco Concerts
Features a concert by Sege, chants, percussion, African dance, June 14, 9:30 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro. Info: 2253-8933.

Art Exhibits
Nefertiti Ingalls shows her photography work “Identity is the way I look!”, through June 15, Sophia Wanamaker Gallery, CCCN.

Rodolfo Uder
“Guardianes: vigilantes del arte, la naturaleza y el espíritu.” Through June 17, Sophia Wanamaker Gallery, CCCN.

In response to a pilot's strike, Spirit Airlines has cancelled all of its flights through Tuesday, June 15.

Spirit pilots stopped work on Saturday, June 12 as part of an ongoing contract dispute with the airline that has lasted for more than three years.

According to a note posted on its web page, the discount airline is offering affected passengers credit for a future flight on the airline for the full amount of the unused ticket plus an additional credit of $100 for future travel on the airline, or a full refund for tickets purchased.

In a press release, the airline said that the pilot's union turned down an offer of a 29 percent pay increase over five years as well as other benefits. In the release, Spirit Airlines President and CEO Ben Baldanza said “I am concerned that our employees are being used in a broader political game that may not be in the interest of their careers or their families.”

According to The Associated Press, Spirit pilots said their pay lags behind that of pilots of other discount airlines such as AirTran Airways and JetBlue. On Sunday, the news service quoted Paul Hopkins, strike committee chairman of Spirit's unit of The Air Line Pilots Association, as saying that "None of the planes are moving and none of our pilots have crossed the picket line."

In addition to San José, Costa Rica, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based airline serves Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala.

The president of Guatemala, Alvaro Colom, announced Sunday that he will promote a “strong” tax reform in order to obtain the resources necessary to finance the country's reconstruction after the destruction caused by tropical storm Agatha.

The leader told local news sources that the tax reform, which is being developed by the Finance Ministry and which will be presented shortly to the legislature, will be “much stronger” than the “ reformita ” that his government has pushed without success since last year.

Colom did not indicate whether the proposal will include the creation of new taxes or an increase in the rates of existing taxes, but he assured listeners that with the new measure the nation's tax burden would increase between 1.5 and 1.9 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).

The president emphasized that Guatemalans are responsible for the reconstruction of their country, and ruled out seeking international aid for this purpose.

“I´m not going to go out and ask for money as long as we continue collecting a miserable 9.8 percent (of GDP) in taxes, which is an embarrassment,” Colom said.

Although the government hasn't defined the amount that will be needed to rebuild the country's infrastructure destroyed by the storm, Colom indicated that it would be more than $250 million.

In its wake, Agatha left a toll of 174 killed and over a hundred missing, as well as the destruction of 20 major and almost a hundred secondary bridges, as well as damage to close to 500 schools and dozens of roads and aqueducts.

Costa Rican fishermen will create Central America's largest “responsible fishing area” near the Osa Peninsula, in the southwestern part of the country.

The Costa Rican Fisheries Institute (Incopesca) said Friday that it will collaborate with the Costa Rican Federation of Fishing Tourism (FECOPT) and seven other fishing organizations in an attempt to make the Golfo Dulce, the gulf on the eastern side of the Osa Peninsula, the largest responsible fishing area in Central America. The zone will cover 750 square kilometers.

The statement comes on the heels of 10 months of investigation in the region aimed at improving fishing practices. On Aug. 7, Incopesca and collaborating organizations began research into the region's fishing practices in an effort to reduce contamination, diversify the catch, reduce the fishing of potentially endangered species, increase the sustainability of the fishery, and raise funds to support their efforts.

According to Incopesca, 190 fishermen in the area have agreed to modify their fishing practices and tools in order to work in a more environmentally friendly manner.

“If we don't unite to take care of our (fishery), it will soon collapse,” said Víctor Julio Rocha, the President of the National Federation of Fishing Organizations (Fenopea). “We know that this is the first time in the history of our country that a group of humble fishermen have been in charge of a very big responsibility.”

Golfo Dulce fishermen have been concerned about diminishing catches in recent years. They claim that 10 years ago they could catch 100 kilograms of shrimp on a single outing, but that since then the number of shrimp has declined between 60 to 70 percent.

The Golfo Dulce area is of the most naturally dynamic marine regions in the country and is home to a variety of whale, dolphin and shark species, including the tiger shark and whale shark.