Subscribe to our Daily News RSS feed.

Read the Daily News on your mobile device.

11th Siquirres Festival for Moral Values
Children's gathering, Sept. 1, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Santa María Episcopal Church, Siquirres, Limón.

Semana Japonesa 2010
Japanese photography exhibit, through Sept. 23, Alajuela Municipal Theater; “Zentica” art exhibit, Sept. 1-30, opens Sept. 1, 7 p.m., with live painting exhibit, traditional Japanese music and dance show by Ukiha kagura group, Casa del Cuño, La Aduana ; l Haiku Contest, deadline to enter poems Sept. 30. Info: 2232-1255, www.cr.emb-japan.go.jp.

Belly Dancing Classes
Led by Jerusa Alvarado, basics, Tues., 8 p.m.; choreography, Tues., 6:30 p.m., Casa Ames, Los Yoses. Info: 8876-6184, jerusaalvarado@gmail.com.

Karate Classes
Kids, daily, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; adults, Mon., Wed., Fri., 6:30-8 p.m., and Tues., Thurs., 7-8:30 p.m., Heredia, opposite Mercedes Norte cemetery. Info: 8816-8387.

In an effort to reduce the negative impacts of cattle ranching, including its carbon hoofprint, the Rainforest Alliance, an international nongovernmental conservation organization, announced a new standard of certification for cattle farms. The program, which will combat ecological, economic and social problems associated with the industry, was announced at a press conference in San José Tuesday.

Working hand in hand with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Tropical Agricultural Research Center (CATIE), the Rainforest Alliance's stamp of approval ensures the protection of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems in areas surrounding cattle farms.

Chris Wille, chief of sustainable agriculture for the Rainforest Alliance, mentioned the environmentally harmful history of cattle farming, noting that an estimated 90 percent of the planet's deforestation is due to the clearing of land for pasture. He also said that the cattle industry is responsible for nearly 20 percent of the gas emissions that contribute to global climate change. He believes that by encouraging cattle farmers to participate in more responsible use of the land, Costa Rica can further reduce its carbon footprint.

The Rainforest Alliance has been instrumental in establishing standards and practices of low-impact tourism and agriculture in Costa Rica. These guidelines regulate animal treatment, land use and workers' rights, among other related topics.

Tania López, vice minister of the Agriculture and Livestock Ministry (MAG), expressed her excitement for the project.

“This change in attitude … is a demonstration that the world is transforming, and the food industry is not removed from this evolution,” she said.

The Rainforest alliance, USAID and CATIE are convinced that the implementation of this new standard is a major step in making certain that Costa Rica reaches its goal of being entirely carbon neutral by 2021 (TT, May 25, 2007).

A tremendous line of people snakes around the Nicaraguan Embassy in San José – as it did through the week and will again Monday. The embassy, located in Barrio California in eastern San José, is open Monday through Friday, and every weekday morning, rain or shine, more than 100 Nicaraguans stand on the sidewalk for hours upon hours waiting for assistance.  

Those who pass by the building on their morning commutes have to marvel: "What is everyone waiting for?" Every day, a new line wraps around the embassy. 

On Aug. 25, a Wednesday, Jessenia and her mother Adaluz (who asked that their last names not be used) were two of the first people in the line. They joined the line at 3:30 a.m., and by the time the embassy opened it doors at 8:30 they were exhausted.

"We're tired," said Jessenia, 19, as the guards opened the embassy that morning. "We couldn't eat breakfast and we were in the sun."  

By that time, the number of people in line had expanded from a small cluster to approximately 200.

An estimated half-million Nicaraguans live in Costa Rica, and a result of so many immigrants in the country is a painfully slow process at the embassy just to receive appointments.   A man selling fresh-squeezed orange juice near the line said he's been selling juice there for five years now. There's never been a day when he's sold to a "short line."

See the Sept. 3 print or digital edition of The Tico Times for the rest of this story.

After several months of delays and schedule changes, the office of the Telecommunications Superintendant (SUTEL) began accepting applications Tuesday from companies interested in competing in Costa Rica's cellular telephone market. By 12 p.m., SUTEL reported that 11 companies had applied.

The country's cell phone market was opened to private competition with the entry into force of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the U.S. (CAFTA) on Jan.1, 2009. The state-owned Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) has been the country's sole telecom services provider for decades.

Over the course of the next 45 days, applications will be accepted from interested companies that meet conditions set by SUTEL. These include proof of having provided cellular phone service for over five years in at least one country, have a minimum of 1.8 million subscribers, having been involved in the opening of a new market in at least one country and earning over $450 million per year in mobile services.

The window for potential companies to apply will close on Nov. 5. After this deadline, SUTEL will analyze the applications and select three companies, in addition to ICE, to provide cellular phone service in the country. According to SUTEL president George Miley, although the application process will be completed in November, the three new companies are not expected to actually begin providing cellular service until September 2011.

For would-be competitors, the opening of the mobile market has been a slow process, with repeated delays. In January, SUTEL announced that they would begin accepting applications to enter the market in early February. But one day before the application process was set to begin, SUTEL informed interested companies that the process needed to be reworked. After SUTEL and ICE spent several months fruitlessly trying to define which frequencies would be available for competitors, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) in early August ordered the market to open within 90 days (TT Daily News, Aug. 5). The current application process is in compliance with that order.

As of Tuesday, the companies that have applied to provide cell phone service are Cable & Wireless; Amnet Costa Rica; Centennial; Ericsson Costa Rica; Lucent Technologies Costa Rica; Claro Costa Rica; Costa Pacific; the law firm of Soley, Saborío and Associates; Consultores en Telecomunicaciones de Centroamérica; the law firm of Mavin Wiernik; and ICE.