Archive for January, 2010
Thursday, January 21st, 2010
The Red Cross of Costa Rica has so far received 429,000 U.S. dollars in donation from Costa Rican enterprises and individuals for quake-torn Haiti, the organization said Wednesday.
Costa Ricans in a national campaign also donated 10 tons of food, medicine, water and other necessities which were collected and packed by the national youth commission and other 117 groups.
The money will go directly to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, according to Miguel Carmona, president of Costa Rica’s Red Cross.
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) have confiscated 3,000 jewels valued at $3 million from United States citizen John Felix Bender’s home in La Florida de Barú, in the Southern Zone region of Pérez Zeledón, 10 days after he was found dead there.
Officials did not know about the treasure when they found Bender with a bullet wound to the head on Jan. 8.
Initially, officials considered Bender’s death a suicide. He was found with a 9-millimeter gun next to his body. But a forensic examination that analyzed the bullet trajectory determined that the shot could not have been taken by Bender’s own hand. The OIJ is now investigating the case as a homicide.
Officials on Monday interrogated Bender’s widow – whose last name is Patton – at a hospital in Escazú, west of San José, where she has been interned since Jan. 9. On Tuesday, the Prosecutor’s Office ordered four months of preventative prison for Patton for the suspected murder of John Bender.
According to the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT), both Bender and Patton received “investor resident” status in Costa Rica on March 16, 2001, and became permanent residents here in April 2009. Bender founded the private Boracayán wildlife refuge in 2002, which has been recognized by the Environment Ministry.
The Public Security Ministry flew the jewels by helicopter to the ministry’s San José headquarters in two shipments, one last Friday and one on Monday. They have since deposited the valuables in a vault in an undisclosed bank. Press officials said the OIJ will investigate the type of business Bender was running from his property in Pérez Zeledón.
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
A strong earthquake has again struck Haiti, shaking buildings and causing panic as international efforts to help those affected by last week’s devastating quake continued.
There have been no reports of injuries from the magnitude 6.1 quake Wednesday.
The United States is sending more ships to Haiti to help with recovery from last week’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake, which killed an estimated 200,000 people.
This will include a vessel designed to clear debris blocking the main port in the capital, Port-au-Prince. The debris has prevented larger ships with food and other vital supplies from making deliveries.
Some damaged buildings in the Haitian capital have been ransacked by people searching for supplies as they await more relief. American troops have been providing security for food and water deliveries. About 3,500 additional U.N. security personnel are also being sent to Haiti to help prevent looting.
The World Food Program says it will try to get fresh aid to as many people as possible Wednesday. But officials say relief efforts have been hampered by blocked roads, bureaucratic confusion and the collapse of local authority.
Survivors have been living in makeshift camps on streets littered with debris and decomposing bodies. Doctors are struggling to treat thousands of injured with limited resources.
Search and rescue teams from several countries have freed 90 people buried under collapsed buildings, including an elderly woman on Tuesday who was trapped under rubble for a full week.
Officials estimate the earthquake affected an estimated three million — about a third of Haiti’s population.
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Thursday, January 21st, 2010
Star Clippers will be offering cruises from Costa Rica, on the 170 passenger Star Flyer, starting in November this year.
Star Flyer is a four-masted sailing clipper with auxiliary engines, like all the Star Clippers fleet, and she will be offering alternating seven-day round-trip cruises from the port of Puerto Caldera. The first cruise will be visiting the verdant and little explored coastal paradise of Nicaragua and the second will travel to Panama. The first itinerary calls at San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua, then Cuajiniquil, Playas del Coco/Flamingo, Puerto Carrillo and Islas Torguas in Costa Rica. The second cruise, being offered on alternate weeks will visit at Isla Coiba, Panama; and Golfito, Isla del Cano/Drake’s Bay, Quepos and Islas Tortugas, all in Costa Rica. Each itinerary includes a day at sea which gives the passengers a chance to really experience what it is like to sail on a tall ship. The cruise offers a range of activities such as snorkelling and diving, both of which are ideally suited to the rich marine ecosystem around Nicaragua and Star Flyer has dive tanks and snorkelling equipment and has a fully qualified Dive Master on board. There is also sport-fishing, tours of the mainland’s forest canopy by jeep or horse, kayaking, rafting, and surfing.
It’s the first time Star Clippers has undertaken cruises in this region and one reason for the choice is the need to avoid the Gulf of Aden/Indian Ocean routes that have recently been troubled by piracy. The seven night cruises to the region begin at £1,303 which doesn’t include port taxes or flights.
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Costa Rica earns its reputation as the easiest country to buy property in Central America. The political stability and volume of expats help keep surprises to a minimum, while there are ample bi-lingual resources.
The actual process is fairly similar to the United States, with a certified escritura (title) and plano (survey) required for most transactions. Title insurance is available. Agents don’t have to be licensed, but the Costa Rica Chamber of Real Estate Brokers and other groups are helping to bring standards and the NAR’s ethical code to the industry.
Moving and living in Costa Rica is on the rise today. A lot of people are opting for Costa Rica as one of the best places to spend the best years of their life. Costa Rica is an enthralling country located in the isthmus of Central American between the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. When this country was discovered by Christopher Columbus in the 1500s, he named the country “Costa Rica” which means “rich coast” in English. This is because this lovely country has a rich and vast coastline.
Let’s look at what makes Costa Rica so attractive for expats. A very low rate of crime (no society is crime free), a low cost socialized health care system, inexpensive housing, a wealth of every imaginable activity to stay busy and happy, with a few excellent online English newspapers top10costarica.com, amcostarica.com, and ticotimes.net, cable and Direct TV with all of the U.S channels, high speed internet, wonderful state of the art malls, the latest movies (lucky for us all the movies here are kept in English with Spanish subtitles), buy whatever new cloths you need from brand name chains, all the fast food chains from North America (KFC, MacDonald’s, Burger King, Taco bell, subway to name a few), state of the art hospitals and cosmetic surgeons, lots of bilingual college students at the bars, great surf for the novice beginner to the veteran surfer (competitions going on yearly), simply put there’s plenty to do. This is the land of unlimited and exciting business opportunities for enterprising a foreigner. Moreover, most people can live on less than $1,500-2,000$ monthly excluding rent. Some live for less and some for more depending on their lifestyles.
When you take into account all of these factors and such intangibles as a more peaceful and laid back way of life – no price is too high to pay for living in a unique tropical paradise like Costa Rica. Housing is only a fraction of the cost and it is in most prime area of Central America not to mention hired help to keep that house tardy is a steal. A full-time maid costs around $10-20 per day. Utilities such telephones, electricity and water are much lower than in North America (much, much lower). Public transportation (taxis) is excellent and very inexpensive, so you don’t really need a car.
Faced with the spiraling cost of living, oppressive taxes and a slew of government regulations in the U.S., people of all ages including baby boomers and entrepreneurs, are searching for an affordable place to reside outside of the United States without sacrificing their current lifestyles. Costa Rica may be the place you are seeking. (more…)
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Another 4.7 earthquake hits the Panama – Costa Rica border yesterday at 07:06
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
The Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), Laura Chinchilla, has filed suit in the Tribunales de Justicia, Otto Guevara, candidate for the Partido Movimiento Libertario (ML).
Chinchilla considered insulting that Liberatio candidate questioned the origin of the funds used to buy house in the residential community Villa Real, located in Santa Ana, where she resides with her husband and son.
Chinchilla says that the claim by the Liberatarian that the house is valued at ¢500 million colones is false, as well as implying the money came from questionable sources.
Doña Laura made it clear that her house is valued at ¢167 million colones, which she was able to buy thanks two mortgage loans, one to buy the lot and the other to build the house.
“I do not have have great wealth, I have my house and a 1999 model vehicle. My only asset is my honour and honesty, and that is priceless”, said Chinchilla.
The PLN candidate said that her opponent has crossed the line in his political attacks in this campaign, saying she will not tolerate being accused of corruption that has been common in the country, referring to the Caja-Fischel case that recenlty saw a former president of Costa Rica and high profile government officials and businessmen sentenced to prison.
Chinchilla has hired former Fiscal General, José María Tijerino, to argue the case in court.
“I am saddened that this is happening at this point in the campaign. I have led a responsible campaign and have not provoked any personal attacks against my person and want to assure all Costa Ricans that they will never be ashamed of the person (she) they will elect to govern”, said Chinchilla.
If the Libertario’s retract, the former vice-president said she will ask for damages from Otto Guevara, which undisclosed amount will be donated to the Hospital Nacional de Niño (children’s hospital).
“I don’t want to receive any compensation from this. I will not touch a single penny coming from that party”, said Laura.
In the ML camp, Christian Arguedas, heading the campaign for Otto Guevara, considers the Chinchilla action one of a desperate woman due to rise in popularit of the Movimiento Libertario.
Arguedas was firm in his assertion that Chinchilla is lying about her personal finances, that some of the most influential people in the country live in Villa Real, where homes go from us$1.5 to us$2 million dollars, and that she and the party are panicking with the results of the latest polls.
Although Chinchilla continues to lead the polls, her popularity has dropped some points, while that of Guevara is rising quickly and steadily, in what many are beginning to believe that there may be a run off election.
In 2006, Oscar Arias was considered, like Chinchilla, a shoe-in for the presidential chair, but almost lost it to Ottón Solís on election day. Arias won the 2006 elections by a margin of less than 1.000 votes.
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Wednesday, January 20th, 2010
Nearly nine months after arriving at Buen Pastor women’s prison in San José, Christine Wenger-Bartee was taken back to the United States in handcuffs earlier this month.
According to the U.S. Embassy, she and her husband Linn Morris Bartee, both of northern California, were arrested and transferred on tax evasion charges.
For the better part of 2009, Christine fought off attempts to return her to her home country, while living on rice and beans in prison and bunking with women convicted of far more serious crimes than her own.
Her lawyer, Arcelio Hernández, successfully blocked three prior extradition attempts while Bartee lobbied for refugee status. Yet this last, successful attempt, on Jan. 9, was allegedly done without due notification and outside of normal business hours.
“It was basically kidnapping,” Hernández wrote in an e-mail to The Tico Times. “(The Osa court) made sure I had no chance to file a habeas corpus … and did not let my clients call me.”
The Bartee’s case is being prosecuted by the Eastern District of California Bankruptcy Court, where they are being charged with conspiring to evade the payment of federal income taxes, making false statements in a bankruptcy case and fraudulently concealing property in connection with a bankruptcy case, according to U.S. attorney Philip Ferrari. The maximum sentence the Bartees face is five years.
In May, Bartee, 51, was taken from her home in Tres Ríos de Coronado and separated from her husband and granddaughter. She was wanted on tax evasion charges, the result of a bankruptcy filing gone wrong, she said. During the process of filing for bankruptcy, she said she was “cheated and tricked.”
In her absence, she said, the U.S. government seized her ranch and drained her of her assets. She told The Tico Times in a September interview, “Any debts I left behind were more than paid off with what they took.”
While in Buen Pastor, Bartee said she survived in part because of the company of Ellen Stubenhaus, who was arrested weeks after Bartee on charges of conspiracy against the U.S. government. Stubenhaus, who came to Costa Rica in 2001, remains at Buen Pastor.
According to the U.S. embassy, the number of extradition requests made to Costa Rica varies from year to year, but average from 10 to15 annually.
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
President Ma Ying-jeou said Tuesday that Taiwan will consider canceling debts from earthquake-ravaged Haiti, a move that could add to Taipei’s cachet in a region where rival China is making inroads.
While Ma’s statement follows a French call for debt relief among Haitian creditors, it also serves to reinforce Taiwan’s positive reputation among its remaining diplomatic allies in Latin America and the Caribbean.
For much of the six decades since the two sides split in a civil war, China has tried to isolate Taiwan internationally by getting countries to forswear diplomatic relations with Taipei. It persuaded Costa Rica to switch recognition to it in 2007, leaving Taiwan with only 23 diplomatic allies.
Twelve _ Dominican Republic, Haiti, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Belize, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis _ are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Speaking to a group of supporters in Taipei, Ma said that he wanted Taiwan to carefully consider the Haitian debt question.
“I have already asked the foreign ministry to conduct the necessary reviews to help Haiti to pass through this difficult time,” he said.
The foreign ministry declined to quantify the size of the Haitian debt to Taiwan, though the figure is believed to be substantial.
In the wake of last week’s quake, Taiwan pledged $5 million in cash assistance and dispatched 23 rescuers and 33 medical personnel to help Haiti cope with its worst natural disaster in 200 years.
China also offered substantial assistance to Haiti, and suggested that Chinese and Taiwanese teams operate under a single banner to help with relief efforts _ a move that Taipei rejected.
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
A private trial held in the Tribunales de San José sentenced a Jamaican national to 32 years in prison for killing the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) agent, Randall López, last November 3, in a shootout in Escazú.
López was killed after being hit by a bullet from an AK-47 being used by the Jamaican gang who was being investigated by judicial agents for the murder of a woman in San Pedro a week earlier, and other crimes.
The hearing was held in private as the accused is a minor.
Another Jamaican, identified as Perkins, will also face a trial for taking part in the shootout.
The minor, whose identity was not disclosed, received a sentence of 15 years for being a conspirator in the crime, 8 years for attempted murder of another OIJ agent, who was hit by a bullet in the arm, 8 years for attempted murder of a passerby and one year for resisting arrest, for a total sentence of 32 years.
The court also requires the minor to complete 2 years study and work for carrying an illegal weapon.
Under Costa Rican juvenile law, the 32 year sentence is automatically reduced to a maximum of 15 years for a minor.
Last November 3, OIJ agents got into a shootout with the Jamaican gang in a quiet residential community in San Antonio de Escazú, when the gang attempt to flee the home when they saw judicial agents coming, crashing into several vehicles.
Agent López was assigned to the Stolen Vehicles department of the OIJ and died in the emergency room at the hospital San Juan de Dios after being impacted with a bullet from the AK-47, an automatic weapon that is illegal in Costa Rica.
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
We were just wondering whether or not countries are really able to push back on the US’s attempts to export draconian anti-competition/anti-innovation copyright and patent policies elsewhere. Michael Geist points us to two cases where US trade representatives are going overboard in trying to get foreign countries to put in place stringent intellectual property rules. The first is in Costa Rica, which is included in the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Yet like with other free trade agreements that the US has agreed to elsewhere, this one includes draconian intellectual property law requirements. I still cannot understand why intellectual monopoly protectionism — the exact opposite of “free trade” — gets included in free trade agreements. At least in Costa Rica, a lot of people started protesting these rules, pointing out that it would be harmful for the economy, for education and for healthcare. So the Costa Rican government has not moved forward with such laws. How has the US responded? It’s blocking access to the US market of Costa Rican sugar until Costa Rica approves new copyright laws. Nice of the US, right? Bankrupting Costa Rican farmers to force Costa Rica to put in place a copyright regime it does not want.
Then there’s the Bahamas, where US trade representatives are demanding new intellectual property laws, claiming that the country is not in agreement with WTO treaties. Apparently, the USTR is particularly upset about the police force in the Bahamas not cracking down on the sale of unauthorized DVDs, CDs and counterfeit clothing. However, as the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce president notes, nearly all of those counterfeit products actually originated in the US — and that the majority of people doing the buying are US tourists. In other words, the issue is really with the US, but it seems to want everyone else to deal with it.
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Costa Rica on Monday kicked off the process of opening its cell phone market to private companies, ending the state telecommunications company’s more than four-decade monopoly.
The telecommunications regulator, known as Sutel, said it will open up bids in April and hopes to complete the award of the new concessions in the second half of the year.
“We believe that in September, we’ll be giving the operators the new concessions,” said Sutel’s president, George Miley.
Companies interested in bidding include America Movil (AMXL.MX) (AMX.N), Latin America’s leading cellphone operator, Spain’s Telefonica SA (TEF.MC), and privately-held regional mobile operator Digicel, Sutel said in a statement.
Company officials were not immediately available to confirm their interest in bidding although all three are active in other Latin American markets.
The state-owned Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, or ICE, has dominated the telecommunications sector for more than 45 years and controls fixed line, cell phone and Internet service in the Central America nation of 4 million people.
There are currently 1.8 million cell phone lines in Costa Rica, where third generation, or 3G services, were introduced last month.
Costa Rica, which has traditionally had strong state control over utilities and other important parts of the economy, was obliged to end the telecommunications monopoly under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which went into effect last year.
“They’re coming here to compete with us,” ICE spokesman Elbert Duran told Reuters, adding that the company welcomes the competition.
The ICE currently operates 88 percent of Costa Rica’s cell phone frequencies, with the remainder reserved for non-comercial uses.
After the concessions process ICE will have approximately one-third of the available frequencies.
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Lin Bartee, 65, and his wife, Christine Bartee, 51, made an appearance in Federal Court in Sacramento Monday after being extradited from Costa Rica on charges of bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion.
The couple was returned to Sacramento by U.S. Marshals on Sunday.
The couple, originally from Grass Valley, are the subjects of a grand jury indictment on conspiracy to avoid paying federal taxes, making false statements in a bankruptcy case and concealing property in a bankruptcy case, according to a release from Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Ferrari, who is prosecuting this case.
The indictment states the defendants failed to file a tax return in 2001, and then after earning a lot of money in 2002 also failed to file a tax return for that year. They did, however, transfer about $240,000 to Christine Bartee’s parents, who transferred about half of it to a bank in Costa Rica. In 2003, the couple declared bankruptcy without naming the Internal Revenue Service as a creditor and without identifying money they received the year earlier, according to the release.
The bankruptcy court denied the discharge of the debt in the winter of 2004, and soon thereafter the couple moved to a remote area of Costa Rica.
The case was investigated by the IRS, which got an indictment in May and began extradition. The couple fought extradition but lost those efforts.
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Jaco Costa Rica is clean and not polluted shows the labs results from AyA which tested the water last month. AyA is the Costa Rican ministry that is responsible for drinking water and water treatment. However, the AyA lab results just release showed that 6 other Costa Rican Beaches are still contaminated.
Before stepping foot in the water, best to be sure that the beach or river is not on the AyA list of the contaminated, following the findings by the water and sewer utility high contaminations of fecal matter in at least six beaches in Costa Rica.
Testing by the Laboratorio Nacional de Aguas de Acueductos y Alcantarillados (AyA) shows that the beaches of Los Baños, Portete and Cieneguita, in the province of Limón; the Tárcoles, Giacalillo and Quepos beaches in the province of Puntarenas, have a high level of contamination of fecal coliforms. These AyA lab results indicate that the above beaches are not fit for swimming.
In the meantime, Jaco Beach and Tamarindo passed the lab test after three years of water of very publicized water pollution problems. There was a huge effort by the Jaco community and the Canton of Garabito to clean up the water problems in Jaco. The result is Jaco is no longer on any of the polluted beach lists and continues to pass water tests. The condos Jaco Beach has built brought many residents to the clean up effort, who were concerned about the past water problems. Jaco Beach clean water lab results proves a community effort of engaged residents can make the difference.
The accepted level in Costa Rica of coliform in the water is 240 coliforms per 100.000 milliliters of water.
Some results to highlight where beaches are still polluted are Portete beach which the lab results showed 10.000 coliforms & Los Baños tested at 7.500 coliforms which are very elevated. Other moderate polluted beaches are Cieneguita beach tested at 700 coliforms, Tárcoles 850, Gucalillo 500, and Quepos 400.
One of the problems faced by these communities is the lack of local organizations to work in correcting the problems. The AyA tests the water quality of the beaches around the country as part of their “Bandera Azul Ecológica” program.
This story is from the good people of Coldwell Banker in Jaco ” Original post here”
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
For those looking for the ultimate adventure vacation whether it is by one’s self or with one’s family, look no further then the beautiful and exotic country of Costa Rica, with its golden sand beaches, active volcanoes, lush dense rain and cloud forests, and amazing vibrant seaside towns. With something for everyone, this tiny Central American country has today become one of the world’s hottest tourist destinations, with plenty to do and much to see.
Offering fantastic adventure vacations for one and all, Costa Rica combines a laid-back lifestyle with stunning natural beauty and a friendly local Tico population to provide a truly memorable and unforgettable holiday. With an impressive wealth of national parks, which cover more than a quarter of the country’s land surface, Costa Rica provides adventure lover’s with a thrilling stage; hosting everything from mountain biking to white water rafting, and jungle treks to canopy and rappelling tours of the verdant forests here. For those who enjoy the ocean in all its glory, Costa Rica has some of the best surf breaks and swells in the world, with incredible snorkeling and underwater diving opportunities as well.
For those who enjoy endless meandering trials set amidst some of the most lush and magnificent forests, Costa Rica has some incredible hiking and trekking possibilities. Visit the beautiful Manuel Antonio National Park or take a hike in the wonderful Parque Nacional Rincon de la Vieja to become truly one with nature. However, if you prefer you can visit the secluded and remote jungles of the Corcovado National Park, which is home to the last remaining coastal Pacific rainforest.
White water river rafting and kayaking opportunities are also abound in Costa Rica. Kayak out in the open ocean or raft down the roaring rapids of the Rio’s Pacuare, Revenatzon and Naranjo for wild ride. But if surfing is your thing, then head on down to the fantastic beaches that Costa Rica has on offer. Visit the Salsa Brava, Ollie’s Point, Witches Rock, Pavones or Playa Hermosa in Puntarenas for some of the most superb surf breaks in the world.
To explore some of Costa Rica’s most gorgeous sceneries underwater, dive along the coast off Bahia Drake or Drake Bay or visit the lovely Isla del Caño, home to some of the most fabulous underwater and marine life in the country. Along the Guanacaste Coast of the Nicoya Peninsula excellent snorkeling opportunities can be found at Playas del Coco, Playa Ocotal and Playa Hermosa. And if all this is not enough, try rappeling down some of Costa Rica’s beautiful waterfalls around the areas of Puerto Jimenez and Cabo Matapalo.
As you can see Costa Rica’s versatility not only extends to its landscape, but its fantastic adventure opportunities as well. So come on down to this gorgeous tropical country to experience Pura Vida or the ‘Pure Life’ and have the adventure of a lifetime!
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