Archive for December, 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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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
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Wednesday, December 10th, 2008
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Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen have revealed to close pals that they’re planning to tie the knot in a secret ceremony in Costa Rica. “They’re not going the traditional route,” an insider said. “There will be no engagement, just a small wedding in mid-March.”
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
WASHINGTON, Dec 08, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ — A room manager of a telemarketing call center operating out of Costa Rica was sentenced today to 11 years in prison for his participation in a massive, Costa Rica-based, telemarketing fraud scheme that targeted thousands of U.S. residents, resulting in victim losses of more than $10 million, Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich of the Criminal Division announced today.
Juan Luis Llamas, 33, of Yuba City, Calif., was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney of the Western District of North Carolina. Judge Whitney also ordered Llamas to pay restitution of $4.2 million jointly and severally with co-conspirators. (more…)
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Tourists flying into Costa Rica will soon have to pay a new $15 tax.
The new tax replaces a 3 percent tax on hotel rooms. It was approved Nov. 20 and is expected to take effect later this year.
The new tax should generate $25 million a year to help the government’s Costa Rica Tourism Institute encourage more visitors to try the Central American nation.
The 3 percent hotel tax only generated about $10 million a year and was hard to enforce.
Tourism is a $2 billion a year industry in Costa Rica. Each year, nearly 2 million people visit the country known for its eco-tourism.
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
African migrants let out of detention in Malta have left the country and have ended up as far away as South America in an attempt to illegally gain entry to the United States, an investigation carried out by the Costa Rican immigration police has revealed.
Costa Rican authorities have uncovered what they say is a network trafficking African migrants from Europe to the United States, using Latin America as a bridge.
As a result of the investigation, the Costa Rican authorities this year deported 25 Eritreans, four of whom were apprehended just two weeks ago while posing as tourists near the Costa Rican-Nicaraguan border. (more…)
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
Thousands Of Foreign Prostitutes Work in Costa Rica
Many got papers by being married to local men, but didn’t even know their husband’s names.
SAN JOSE — Some 4,000 foreign prostitutes are employed at nightclubs in Costa Rica, with many of the women marrying Costa Ricans to obtain their residency, the press reported Sunday.
The majority of the women come from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Nicaragua, while a smaller number are from Panama, Guatemala, Mexico and El Salvador, the La Nacion newspaper reported, citing immigration service figures.
Women from more distant countries, such as Romania and Russia, have also been identified at clubs in Costa Rica’s tourist areas.
The foreign prostitutes, according to police reports, range in age from 20 to 35.
The immigration service’s director, Francisco Castaing, told La Nacion that several operations have been carried out in recent weeks targeting the nightclubs. (more…)
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Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
The telethon launched Friday and ended yesterday morning, and before all donations were counted funds had already reached 477 million colones, equal to more than $870,000.
The event had a little help from pop singers, including Spain’s Chenoa, Venezuela’s José Luis Rodríguez El Puma, Mexico’s Nikki Clan and Colombia’s Alicastro.
The money will finance new medical equipment for the hospital’s burn treatment unit.
Cristal Pérez, 11, was this year’s telethon poster child, having suffered second- and third-degree burns on her face, arms and legs in an accident that occurred at a school science fair.
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Monday, December 8th, 2008
The Costa Rican State Banks have announced that they will be operating their ATM’s with a special schedule starting this week until around mid January. A specific end date hasn’t been announced but will most definitely be after the holiday season.
The Banco Nacional de Costa Rica, Banco de Costa Rica and Bancredito have all agreed on shutting down ATM operation from 10pm to 5am as an extra precaution in order to reduce crime rates during late hours.
In Costa Rica, workers from the private and public sector alike receive what is called an aguinaldo. The aguinaldo is the equivalent of a 13th month’s paycheck that is granted as a sort of Christmas Bonus so to speak. In addition to the holiday season money transactions and commerce that goes on, many citizens are unfortunately victims of ATM scams.
The State Banks made the decision as a contribution to social safety and encourage the private sector to do likewise. If you will be in Costa Rica during the holiday seasons and rely on the use of ATM’s for cash, please be aware that the majority of the ATM’s will not be operating from 10pm to 5am.
So far only the State Banks have confirmed their new schedule. Private Banks such as Scotia Bank, Citi Bank, Promerica and others have not yet announced if they will be following in this new measure.
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Monday, December 8th, 2008
German engine builder MAN Diesel has received a contract from Fideicomiso Garabito, a trust created by Costa Rica’s state-owned electric power utility Grupo Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad and Banco de Costa Rica, for the design and construction of a diesel power station at Garabito near the city of Puntarenas in the west of the country.
From December 2010, 11 of MAN Diesel’s most powerful medium-speed engines, the 18-cylinder, vee configuration type 18V48/60, will feed 200MW of electrical power into Costa Rica’s national grid, said MAN Diesel.
When completed, the power plant is expected to be the biggest in Costa Rica, supplying approximately 10% of the nation’s total installed electrical capacity. The value of the contract for MAN Diesel is more than E190 million.
MAN Diesel will equip the new power station at Garabito with exhaust gas treatment systems. An electrostatic particle precipitator will use electrostatic separation to remove particles from the engine exhaust gases.
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Friday, December 5th, 2008
Although there were rumors and hints that the current Costa Rican president Oscar Arias was interested in negotiating a free trade agreement with Singapore, it wasn’t until the president’s recent visit to this country that the news was official.
Arias along with Singapore’s president, Sellapan Rama Nathan, announced the free trade negations during Arias’ first day at Singapore. According to a communication from the Presidential House, Singapore’s Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong was pleased with the announcement.
The press release went on to mention that the free trade agreement will be a way to bring Costa Rica’s and Singapore’s economy together. Singapore enjoys a very good relationship with Asia and is very interested in strengthening its ties with Latin America. Arias also expressed his approval and satisfaction by saying that the agreement will open new markets for Costa Rica.
Singapore’s negotiations with Latin America have grown 30% in just over three years. Currently, Costa Rica represents the 6th largest market in the region. In 2007, trade between Singapore and Costa Rica exceeded the US$247.2 million.
On Tuesday, Arias and other members from his staff sat down with local industry leaders to negotiate the possibility of bringing investment to Costa Rica. Arias mentioned that the industry leaders from Singapore were pleased with Costa Rica’s political and economical stability as well as with the people’s level of education and productivity.
During his visit to Singapore, Arias also took the time to officially inaugurate the Costa Rican Embassy in Singapore that has been open for a little over a year.
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Thursday, December 4th, 2008
Two U.S. military disaster-relief teams from Joint Task Force-Bravo, based at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, have delivered more than 278,000 pounds of relief supplies to victims in flood-affected communities in Panama and Costa Rica.
The teams, composed of 68 U.S. military personnel from the task force, have been supporting U.S. relief efforts in both countries since Nov. 26. During the past week, the teams have flown 95 missions, using eight “Chinook” and “Blackhawk” helicopters to distribute aid and evacuate 17 flood victims in need of immediate medical attention. (more…)
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