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Play “Un Día Menos”
Theater and dance show performed by 15 inmates of the Women's Jail El Buen Pastor, June 25, 2 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, CENAC.

Didactic Concert for Children
San José Band is performing for children and teenagers with some storytellers and actors, July 25, 9 a.m., Melico Salazar Theater.

2009-2010 National Surf Circuit
Grand final, Playa Hermosa, Central Pacific, June 25-26, www.surfingcr.net.

French Contemporary Short Film Festival
“Lisa” by Lorenzo Recio, “Boulevard Océano” by Céline Novel, “El corazón de Amos Klein” by Michal and Uri Kranot and “Los paraísos perdidos” by Hélier Cisterne, June 25, 6 p.m., Alliance Française.

Bingotour 2010
Organized by CANATUR, June 25, 6:30 p.m., Crowne Plaza Corobicí Hotel, San José.

5th Expo-Feria Miramar
Handicrafts, cultural shows, talks on ecology and recycling, June 25-27, park, amphitheater, Miramar, Puntarenas.

“Hasta que el miembro nos separe”
Monologue by Mauricio Castillo, June 25, 8 p.m., National Auditorium, Children's Museum, www.entradasparatodo.com.

Traditional Food and Beverage Contest
Dishes, beverages, and desserts prepared based on traditional products (roots, vegetables, and fruits) from Heredia, participants must present their dishes in a typical way and have bring the recipe, June 26, 10 a.m., Museum of Popular Culture, Santa Lucía, Heredia. Registration at 2252-1522, 2255-3523,2223-2553.

Educarte Fair
Plays, clowns, balloons, face painting, food sales, live music, June 26, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Guatemala School, Alajuela. Info: 8312-1610, 8829-1227, educarterevista@gmail.com.

Kids' Nutrition Workshop
For parents, how to feed your kids an optimal diet, June 24, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; June 26, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., United World College, Santa Ana, info with Julie Godfrey, 2214-2515, 8854-5274, www.foreverhealthyco.com.

Canada Day Pig Roast Party
Old-fashioned pig roast, cash bar, with dancing, swimming pool, vineyards, fishing pond, nature trails, June 26, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Zamora Estate, Santa Ana, purchase tickets in advance before June 24 at ARCR, San José, 2233-8068, www.canadianclubcr.com.

Speed Cross
Car exhibit and parade, June 26, 6 p.m.; competition, June 27, Guácimo, Limón, 2552-0917, speedcross2010@hotmail.com.

“Castiluce”
Play for kids, June 26, 10 a.m., Spanish Cultural Center.

Doki Live
Show featuring Discovery Kids character, June 26-27, 10 a.m., 2 and 5 p.m., Palacio de los Deportes, Heredia, www.todoticketcr.com.

Concert by Suzuki Students
More than 80 kids that study the Suzuki Method are performing on June 27 at 3 p.m. at the National Auditorium, Children's Museum.

Peace Festival
Theater, concerts, dance, food, June 27, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., old market, Ciudad Colón.

“El Húmedo Cuento”
Play for kids, performed by César Meléndez, June 27, 11 a.m., Escuelita, EARTH University, Guácimo, Limón, 2713-0444.

“Odisea”
Puppet show based on Homer's “Odyssey,” performed by Moderno Teatro de Muñecos, through June 27, Fri.-Sun., 7:30 p.m., Teatro 1887, CENAC, 8311-8321.

Don't look now. Or stare either. But a second Hooters restaurant has opened in San José.

The casual sports bar and diner famous for waitresses with big smiles rolled out its second establishment in the capital. It opened June 14 south of the Rotonda de la Bandera in the eastern San José suburb of San Pedro (across from the University of Costa Rica ).

Reports say the restaurant required an investment of more than $2 million. The new Hooters is much larger than the original in Plaza Itskatzú in Escazú, west of the capital.

Ivannia Fernández, who manages the Hooters girls, said the restaurant employs 35 of the famous Hooters icons. Dressed in short orange shorts and white tank tops, the girls dish out wings and beer to patrons.

Signs on the walls have cheesy sayings like “Hooters girls are flattery operated” and “Warning: Blondes at Work.” Some of the waitresses wear hokey orange angel wings.

The new restaurant installed two dozen television screens in time for the World Cup, giving guests something else to gawk at while waiting for their meals.

“We open in the morning at 11 a.m. And at 12:30 (when two games are played), the restaurant is full,” Fernández said.

A revolving door takes guests into an expansive dining and bar area. The restaurant is two stories, and has a patio. Some, though, might prefer the view inside.

A wise man once said: “Nobody goes to Hooters for wings. But they must be going for something.” Already, business is booming.

“On the weekends, we had people waiting for an hour and a half outside,” Fernández said. “We've already had a bunch of people coming here.”

Costa Rica's Labor Ministry offered a proposal for a minimum-wage increase for the private sector this week that aligns more closely with the position of employers than that of employees.

On Monday, June 21, Labor Minister Sandra Piszk proposed raising the minimum wage for employees by 4.2 percent.

Early last week, private-sector employees and private unions proposed a hike of between 6.7 and 7.2 percent.

Late last week, private employers and the Union of Private-Sector Chambers and Associations (UCCAEP) proposed a 3.96 percent boost in pay to the National Wage Council.

Employees claim that the government and private employers have been using an out-of-date formula from 1998 to calculate wages, and that a nearly 4 percent raise does not reflect the rate of inflation.

Press officials from UCCAEP denied the claim, and said that formulas are current and that 3.96 percent is a fair rate. Employers can offer more than a 3.96 percent increase if they wish, officials asserted.

The National Wage Council will consider each of the proposals and is expected to offer a final ruling July 1, at the start of the second half of 2010. The council's approved increase would take effect immediately.

The Social Security System (Caja) is pleading with the country's resident doctors to put an end to a 12-day strike that has brought the country's medical system to a near standstill.

Yesterday, the striking residents were joined by doctors, who stopped working between 7 and 11 a.m. in a show of solidarity.

Rosa Climent, medical director of the Caja, claimed the strike “had no purpose” because the institution has already given concessions and remains willing to negotiate.

The disagreement centers on a proposed practice to guarantee that medical residents carry out their Caja assignments. As a response to the problem of a lack of specialists in rural clinics, the Caja wants to require that resident doctors pay a deposit of ¢ 32 million (about $61,000), which would be forfeited if they refuse to work where the Caja assigns them.

Residents have objected, saying they shouldn't have to pay at the outset of a job, especially as the Caja isn't paying for their schooling to begin with.

“No worker in this country takes on a debt to work,” said Ana Belén, a resident who spoke to The Tico Times from the doctor's union headquarters. “And that is what is happening with us here. We are incurring a debt with the Caja.”

On Tuesday, the Caja revised its proposal and eliminated the up-front fine, but said if residents refused to work in places assigned to them by the Caja, they would receive a 6 percent pay cut.

After the second day of the strike, the Caja requested that the Labor Tribunal force resident doctors to suspend the strike, but the tribunal has yet to take action.