Archive for March 16th, 2010
Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Blake ‘Bilko’ Williams placed third at the weekend’s X-Knights event in San Jose, Costa Rica in the first competitive outing since his 2009 X Games triumph.
Back on the bike for just a month, the event kicked off a busy schedule for the Victorian in the coming weeks.
Riding a borrowed bike, he advanced through the initial stages before lining up for his final run where he discovered a bolt had come loose in the front of his seat.
The technical hitch limited the tricks he could perform and he was forced to consolidate and finish third with a score of 91.5. The event was won by Dany Torres with Eigo Sato finishing runner-up.
“I had a great time there and would love to do all of the X-Knights events if my schedule lets me,” said Williams.
“I was on a borrowed bike and a bolt at the front of the seat came undone and the seat started flapping in the final run which meant my trick selection was dramatically reduced.
“Playing on my mind also was the fact that this is where my very good friend Jeremy Lusk died last year, but I kept going and did a couple more tricks and a 360 to round it out.
“All in all it was really good preparation for my next competition which is the opening round of X-Fighters in Mexico on April 16.”
Bilko returned to Australia this week to prepare himself for his next international challenge which will be followed by the highly-anticipated Nitro Circus Live evets.
Intermingled are the remaining events on the X Fighters tour which visit venues in Egypt, Moscow, Madrid, London and Rome.
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
The price of the dollar fell ¢14 colones yesterday, dropping to a low that not been seen in over a year, hitting a low of ¢521 for buy and ¢531 for the sell, at some banks.
The Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) posted this morning, Tuesday, an exchange rate of ¢523.05 for the buy and ¢532.59 for the sell, ¢13.67 and ¢13.9 less, respectively.
According to economist Alberto Franco, speaking to Al Día, the reason for the sharp drop is the difference between the short term interest rate for savings in colones and that for dollars.
This difference, says Franco, has led to the “colonización” of investments.
With the lower demand for the dollar, the exchange rate drops.
If we look back to the exchange rate in the last six months, the dollar was trading at ¢585.90 for the buy and ¢595.37 for the sell on September 17, 2009.
Since then the drop and rise has been sharp and gradual, with a net drop of ¢62.85 for the buy and ¢62.78 for the sell.
On March 16, 2009, the exchange rate was ¢561.18 for the buy and ¢570.76 for the sell, a year earlier, on March 16, 2008, the exchange rate as ¢492.19 and ¢498.15.
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Costa Rica’s attorney general said French telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent has followed through with a payment of $11 million last week to settle a corruption case in Costa Rica.
Alcatel deposited the funds on March 9 in payment for “societal damages” — money the attorney general said should be funneled into public programs. This would help pay society back after the French company allegedly paid kickbacks to former President Miguel Angel Rodriguez and other government officials in return for a 2001 contract to provide cellular phone equipment here.
“We confirm the deposit of money and we’ve sent a note to the head of the Finance Ministry to inform them of the transaction,” Attorney General Ana Lorena Brenes said in a statement issued Friday. She added that her office is recommending that government officials spend this money with “the interest of the collective” in mind. “We would expect that it is invested in projects that have a direct impact on the population,” Brenes said.
Payment for societal damages is a recent concept in Costa Rica and is rare throughout Latin America, according to the attorney general. “(Societal damages) confirm recognition by a company or individual that they participated in acts of corruption that affect the collective,” said Brenes.
The settlement came as former President Rodriguez, who was in office from 1998 to 2002, prepares to go to trial for corruption after allegedly taking kickbacks from Alcatel to help secure a 2001 contract for the French company to supply cellular phone equipment here.
Rodriguez was expected to attend a preliminary hearing on Monday, but the court date was suspended after the judges received new evidence in the case.
The ICE-Alcatel trial, which is scheduled to begin on April 13, will be the second time a former Costa Rican president is placed on trial on criminal charges. Former President Rafael Angel Calderon was sentenced to five years in prison for embezzlement last October.
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
A terminally ill Ottawa man is appealing to the federal government to allow his Costa Rica-born wife to remain in Canada and care for their Canadian-born son, who has brain cancer.
David Barry, who also suffers from cancer, has about six months to live. He has been waiting to hear if his wife’s application for permanent residence status will be accepted before he dies. If not, Jorleny Vargas Campos and her two children from a previous marriage, who are also not Canadian citizens, will be deported.
Barry fears that not only will his family be torn apart after his death, but also that his young son, Joshua, will not get adequate medical care if he is forced to go to Costa Rica with his mother.
“I don’t have the time anymore. I can’t wait years and years and years. My final wish, indeed I beg the government, do the right thing. Protect my wife.”
Barry met Vargas Campos 13 years ago in a park in Costa Rica, and the two settled in Canada with her children. They then had Joshua.
The family’s lawyer, Zak Tatomirovic-Manula, said Vargas Campos has applied for residency through a humanitarian and compassionate application because of Joshua’s medical needs.
“The family has been under enormous physical, emotional stress,” Tatomirovic-Manula said. “She cannot bring him (to Costa Rica) because there’s no medical treatment.”
Paul Dewar, NDP MP for Ottawa-Center, has been helping the family through the application process.
“Nobody is asking anyone to go beyond the present rules that exist,” Dewar said. “What we just need to do is ensure the time-lines are understood.”
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney’s office would not comment on the family’s case, but did say it is aware of their application.
While they wait to hear about the application, Vargas Campos says she tries to remain strong but admits: “I’m scared. I’m very scared.”
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
If you don’t have travel reservations for Semana Santa, you’d better act quickly. According to a study by the National Tourism Chamber (CANATUR), hotels, tour operators and car rental companies are expecting an 80.2 percent occupancy rate during Semana Santa, or Easter week, which runs from March 28 through April 4.
Using a survey sample of 61 nationwide tourism companies, CANATUR found that the expected occupancy rate for hotels is 81.9 percent, 70.6 percent for Tour Operators and 93.6 percent car rental companies. Of all reservations, 27.5 percent were made by national tourists.
“It is important to know how the tourism sector is shaping up for Semana Santa,” said Juan Carlos Ramos, the president of CANATUR. “The week has generally represented an increase in national tourists as well as foreign tourists that come to Costa Rica to enjoy vacation during this time of the year. So far, we are seeing positive results in many areas of the country.”
The study surveyed businesses throughout the country. Of the sites surveyed, CANATUR found that hotels in the central Pacific are reporting the highest expected occupancy rates at 91.6 percent. Travel companies in the Caribbean and northern parts of the Guanacaste province also reported an expected occupancy over 85 percent for the week.
Of the tourism companies surveyed, 18 percent said their tourism outlook for Semana Santa is “much better” than last year, 28 percent said it was “better” and 38 percent said it was about the same.
In 2009, tourism fell 8 percent in Costa Rica, as over 166,000 fewer tourists visited the country than in 2008.
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
For Costa Ricans in the Central Valley, the beginning of the week will be more scorchers.
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional said that a stable mass of dry air is hanging over the country bringing hot weather just as the country experienced last week.
Temperatures along the coast are expected to be in the mid-30s with highs in both Puntarenas and Liberia predicted to be 36 today. That’s 97 degrees F. Alajuela is expected to be high in the Central Valley with 32 C, which is 90 F.
There may be some relief for the Central Valley. The weather institute said that winds will increase cooling some sections of the mountains.
Costa Ricans in the Central Valley are uncomfortable with temperatures in the mid-20s or about 78 to 80 F.
That there is little cloud cover allows the direct rays of the sun to reach the ground.
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Tuesday, March 16th, 2010
Light commercial vehicles can now circulate San José without respect of the vehicular restrictions. The change was included in a recent decree published in La Gaceta, lifting the prohibition of light commercial vehicles from entering San José depending on the last digit of the license plate.
Light commercial vehicles are those vehicles that have a white license plate with red lettering beginning with “CL”.
Light commercial vehicles include pick up trucks.
However, there is a catch.
Rosaura Montero, vice-ministra de Transportes, explains that owners of such vehicles must apply for a permit, showing the need to enter San José during the restriction period. The vice-ministra said that owners with permits do not have to dear the long arm of the traffic officials.
For his part, Germán Marín, the director General de la Policía de Tránsito, explained that for a vehicle owner to obtain such a permit, he or she must demonstrate the need, a contract to make deliveries or pick ups, for example, with a business within the restricted area.
In addition, Marín explained, the applicant has to have a “carga y descarga” permit with is only issued by the Ingeniería de Tránsito. These are permits issued vehicles licensed to carry freight for a fee, similar to taxis for passengers.
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