Archive for December 11th, 2008
Thursday, December 11th, 2008
This is December. The month of the aguinaldo, the avenidazo, crowds, lots of traffic and the Zapote Fair in San José, school vacation and time to head for the beaches and mountains.
The central government will shut down for the holidays on December 19 and re-open on January 5. Any dealings with the governments will be suspended during that period.
Autonomous government agencies, like ICE, Racsa, CCSS, follow their own closing times, some following the lead of the central government, while others not.
Best to check ahead before heading for a doctors appointment or clinic. Public hospitals and clinics will be open regular hours except for December 25 and 31. All emergency services will operate as normal 24 hours a day, every day.
Banks also close during the holiday period. Most private banks follow the lead of the state banks closing only December 25, 31 and January 1.
At the Acueductos y Alcantarillados (water and sewer) and the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (telephone and electricity), they inform that they will close the central offices and many regional offices from December 19 to January 5, however, customer services offices and booths will be open save for December 25, 31 and January 1.
Only December 25 and January 1 are legal holidays in Costa Rica. However, many businesses and professionals, like doctors, dentists, lawyers, accountants, etc. shut down from a few days to a week before Christmas and re-open in the new year.
Always call ahead and save yourself a trip.
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Thursday, December 11th, 2008
The Comisión Especial de Seguridad Ciudadana del Parlamento (special legislative commission on citizen security) said it has completed discussions on the motions and that the Ley de Protección de Víctimas y Testigos bill is ready to be presented to the full legislature for voting come January.
The proposed law will give the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) extended powers to protect victims and witnesses to crimes and send to prison petty criminals when the theft of loss to the victim is less than “one base salary”, as well as establish a process of speedy trials for criminals caught “en flagrancia del Delito” (red handed).
The proposal includes harsher penalties for recurring and professional criminals, like sending a suspect to preventive detention (jail while waiting trial) if the individual already has to open cases.
The Ley de Protección de Víctimas y Testigos is complimentary to the bill “Ley de combate contra el crimen organizado” (law combating organized crime) which is still in the motions process.
The Ley de Protección de Víctimas y Testigos still has some challenges when it hits the legislative foor.
Legislator Evita Arguedas is one who wants to see greater limits on interrogations by the OIJ, by making a motion that would impede authorities to interrogate a suspect for the first six hours of the arrest.
Luis Antonio Barrantes, party whip for the Movimiento Libertario and president of the commission confirmed that he ordered a new publication of the initiative in the official government publication, La Gaceta, since the bill includes a tax on securities in foreign currencies which would go towards finance the operation of an office to for the protection of victims and witnesses which will be operated by the OIJ.
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Thursday, December 11th, 2008
JetBlue Airways Corp. said Wednesday it will begin daily nonstop flights between Orlando and San Jose, Costa Rica, on March 26.
New York-based JetBlue also said it would begin daily nonstop service from Orlando to Bogota, Colombia — its first South American destination — Jan. 29, and to Nassau, Bahamas, Feb. 1.
For the San Jose service, JetBlue’s first in Central America, the airline will operate 100-seat Embraer E190 jets. The service is dependent on approval from Costa Rican authorities.
JetBlue said it has begun selling one-way tickets to Costa Rica starting at $99 through Dec. 23, with fares otherwise starting at $139 each way.
International service has been stronger than U.S. travel, although some carriers have reported a recent falloff in international traffic, especially premium business- and first-class seats.
Shares of JetBlue fell 7 cents to $5.50 in afternoon trading.
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