Archive for March 5th, 2009
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Terrorists stay away from Costa Rica, now that it has a new anti-terrorism law, that was signed by Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias, on Wednesday, that gives Costa Rican authorities more ammunition to fight organized crime in the country.
The law, Ley de Protección de Víctimas y Testigos (Law on Protection of Victims and Witnesses), and other ther participants of the Intervinientes del Proceso Penal (Criminal Procedure Act) and the strengthening of the Ley de Fortalecimiento de la Legislación contra el Terrorismo (anti-terrorism legislation) were initiatives organized with the support of government, the Legislature and Poder Judicial, the Ministerio Público and the Instituto Costarricense de Drogas (ICD).
The new law, simply known as the Anti Terrorism law, establishes an Oficina de Atención a la Víctima del Delito, an office for the attention of crime victims, through which victims and witnesses can receive support that includes psychological treatments, surveillance and relocation. (more…)
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
JetBlue has announced regular service to Costa Rica from Florida, beginning on March 26. The airline says it will begin flying regular daily round trips between Orlando and San Jose.
The airline will be using its 100 sear Embraer E190 jets on the route and will offer connecting service to San Jose from 14 cities, including New York, Boston, Washington and Austin, Texas.
Costa Rica will be the ninth country served by JetBlue, continuing the airline’s push into Latin America. JetBlue also says the new route bolsters its Orlando focus city.
San Jose will be JetBlue’s 22nd nonstop route from Orlando.
In a press release, JetBlue says it “will further expand its commitment to Central Florida” with previously announced new service to Bogota, Colombia, and to Nassau in the Bahamas.
“JetBlue is picking up the route from Dutch carrier Martinair, which pulled out of Orlando earlier this year,” the Orlando Sentinel writes in its Tourism Central Florida blog. Steve Gardner, the executive director at Orlando International, says JetBlue’s Costa Rica route “further establishes our city as a gateway to the Latin American markets.”
JetBlue notes that it still must get the OK from the Costa Rican government operating authority before it can begin the service, but Costa Rican officials sounded supportive of the new route. “The United States is still our biggest market, and the arrival of JetBlue and its new Orlando route opens new possibilities for Americans to visit us and for Costa Ricans to have more options to visit the U.S.,” Costa Rica Tourist Minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides said.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Nicaragua has reneged on a 150-year-old treaty by hampering Costa Ricans from using a vitally important river, the world court heard Monday.
Relations between the two countries have been strained for years over access to the San Juan River, which forms nearly half of the border between the two countries.
Costa Rica filed the case to the International Court of Justice in 2005. Costa Rica argued that Nicaragua has illegally hindered its use of the river since 1998 in defiance of an 1858 treaty.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Disney announced a series of layoffs this week, and one economist said it may be just the beginning of more bad news for the tourism industry.While this recession is not quite as severe as the drop in travel after Sept. 11, it’s lasting a lot longer and that means the negative impact on the tourism industry will likely get worse, an economist told WESH 2 News.
Disney plans an undisclosed number of layoffs after profits in its parks fell 24 percent in the first quarter.
Union workers, including characters, custodians and many people on the front lines have been told their jobs are safe, but University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said he wouldn’t be surprised to learn of more layoffs in the year ahead.
“Recession begins and then at a later date, that’s when the layoffs start so we’re just getting into that cycle when we’ll see more layoffs,” Snaith said.
Tourism accounts for almost 200,000 jobs in the metro Orlando area and 62,000 of them are at Disney alone.
Snaith said a recession usually hits the tourism industry last, which means it will also take longer for tourism to recover.
“Until people become confident that their jobs are not threatened or if they’ve lost their job, until they find a news job, that type of spending is likely to remain suppressed,” Snaith said.
A union leader said the Disney Casting Center continues to hire and there’s been no word of a hiring freeze. That leads him to believe the layoffs are truly a consolidation and he’s hopeful the rank and file workers will keep their jobs.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
Thursday, March 5th, 2009
Prices of basic goods and services during January and February combined rose by 0.82 percent, slowing by 1.85 percent from the same period last year, according to the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC).
Inflation in February alone was 0.44 percent, below the 1.11 percent registered the same month in 2008, the institute said in its latest Consumer Price Index (IPC). The index details price changes in different areas from services to products to entertainment.
Last month, the groups that increased the most included food and beverages consumed outside the home (0.76 percent), clothing and footwear (0.75 percent) and house rental fees and services (4.68 percent).
The IPC tracks the basic consumer basket, which includes more than 292 essential or commonly used products and services.
From that basket, 65 percent registered a hike in their prices when compared to January’s prices, while only 28 percent showed a decrease. The remaining 7 percent of products and services showed no variation.
In a statement released on Tuesday regarding the INEC monthly report, the consulting firm Aldesa said the moderation of economic activity worldwide along with the drop of prices of commodities and the increase of interest rates on a local level would continue to temper inflation.
Posted in Costa Rica News | No Comments »
