Archive for March 29th, 2010
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Tiger Woods will have his faithful caddy by his side when he plays at the Masters tournament – but not his wife.
Elin Nordegren will be winging it to her Swedish homeland while her louse-of-a-spouse makes his much-hyped return to professional golf on April 8.
“Elin does not want to go to the Masters and is preparing for a trip to see her family and friends in Sweden,” a source in Nordegren’s camp said.
“She is also being asked by Tiger to attend the Masters, even if for a half day, to look like she is interested in supporting his return to golf. But she would rather not be there.”
Woods has been desperately trying to repair his marriage to Nordegren – and reclaim his good guy public image – following revelations he cheated with a legion of shady ladies.
While Nordegren visited Woods while he underwent sex addiction therapy, she was nowhere to be seen when the world’s greatest golfer publicly apologized for being a heel.
Nor has Nordegren returned to the family mansion outside Orlando, which is where the scandal broke on Nov. 27 after Woods drove his SUV into a tree while apparently trying to escape his furious wife.
And when Nordegren flies home, she’ll be flying commercial – not on the family jet.
“Tiger’s plane is too ‘in your face’ for her now,” the source said. “She really does not want to go to Augusta, and it is easier for her to be far away than home in Orlando.”
Woods will be reunited on the green with caddy Steve Williams, a New Zealander who has made millions toting Woods’ clubs.
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Monday, March 29th, 2010
Nearly 20,000 cell telephone customers are entitled to compensation because their service failed, according to the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones.
That is the agency that regulates telecom services, and the target of the criticism for the massive outage is the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad. The Superintendencia cited a section of the new telecom law that gives users the right to compensation when there are outages.
The former monopoly known as ICE said it was making a list of the services that were affected in the second week of march to see how much the compensation should be.
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Monday, March 29th, 2010
The Costa Rican culture is a gentle, friendly one with its own curious courtesies. It is a non-confrontational, slower-paced society that is easy to adapt to if you understand a few basics.
Avoiding confrontation: Costa Ricans are very courteous. In general, confrontation and accusations are considered impolite, and Costa Ricans don’t like to stir the pot. You probably won’t see irate patrons at the customer service window and if you do, they certainly won’t be screaming obscenities or loudly threatening to call the Better Business Bureau.
“Could be” culture: Along the lines of avoiding confrontation, Costa Ricans are loath to say “no.” For example, if you ask a friend to dinner and he doesn’t want to go, he will probably say “puede ser” (maybe) instead of giving you a flat-out no. This is not an attempt to lie or mislead you; it’s simply the Costa Rican way of not hurting your feelings.
Kissing friends: It’s traditional to greet friends, family and personal acquaintances with one kiss on the right cheek. Many times, this is a light kiss or even an air kiss accompanied by a kissing sound. Costa Ricans also say goodbye with a cheek kiss.
Tico time: Costa Ricans are famous for their lack of punctuality to appointments, dates, and anything but the movies (to which they always line up hours in advance!). Everything is “ahora” – in standard Spanish, “now,” but in Costa Rican culture meaning “later” or “manana” (tomorrow). Your best strategy is to adjust to Tico time and always tell your friends to arrive an hour or two before you’d really like to see them. The exception to this rule is in business, where Costa Ricans take appointment times seriously.
Pura vida: Pura vida means “pure life,” but more than anything, it’s a way of living. This phrase symbolizes the Costa Rican idea of letting things go, taking things slow, and enjoying all of life’s pleasures. You’ll hear it used as an answer to “How are you?”, as well as to say “Thank you,” “You’re welcome,” or simply to greet your friends.
Dress code: Costa Ricans take pride in their appearance and dress well. In business situations, both men and women dress conservatively, and for women this usually means a pantsuit. Outside the office, locals dress informally, though men rarely wear shorts except at the beach. Women of all sizes wear very tight and revealing clothes – bras are often color-coordinated to match an outfit’s accessories (shoes, belt, and jewelry).
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Monday, March 29th, 2010
Five beaches lost their “blue flag” in 2009, meaning they did not perform up to standard when measured for pollution and the health of their ecosystem.
The beaches include Bejuco, El Rey, Hermosa de Garabito and Quesera, all in Puntarenas.
Of the 81 beaches participating in the program, 61 were recognized with blue flags.
Topping the list with five stars are Guanacaste’s Punta del Madero and Playa Blanca de Punta Leona near Jacó.
Flags were also awarded to communities, protected areas, schools and watersheds in recognition of activists’ commitment to environmental protection and conservation. Three hundred and thirteen entities were recognized with blue flags in total.
“Since 1996, the Blue Flag Ecological Program has been a national distinction, with international significance, for these communities, beaches and institutions that excel in the common objective of living in a better Costa Rica,” said Ricardo Sancho, president of the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA).
“Today, I celebrate with the winners, who have accomplished their highest hopes for the environment and the protection of water resources … making Costa Rica an environmental leader, which is where we want to be.”
President Oscar Arias, who was present at the award ceremony in INBio Park on Friday morning, said, “We’ve done everything possible to contribute to sustainable development in Costa Rica. Each one of the millions of trees planted … each square kilometer of forest we’ve protected … each school that received the Ecological Blue Flag, each beach we’ve cleaned, each river we’ve rescued, each species we’ve defended are testimonies to a government deeply committed to environmental issues.
“Today, our country – Costa Rica – is greener than it was four years ago, and the world knows it.”
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Monday, March 29th, 2010
Drivers not buckling in children, or not having a first aid or emergency kit won’t be fined by the Policía de Tránsito according to the ministro de Obras Públicas y Transportes, Marco Vargas.
The minister made the announcement with the start of the Semana Santa exodus, as traffic officials begin their Semana Santa spot checks on all major highways and bi-ways across the country.
The new Ley de Tránsito that went into effect on March 1, 2010, calls for a driver to ensure that children 12 years of age and under are in the proper child restraint, in addition to ensuring that the vehicle carries a first aid, emergency kit that includes a triangle and a fire extinguisher, among other items.
And it is just that, minister Vargas explained, the no clarity in the law of what is to be contained in the the kits and the type of appropriate seat.
Article 32 of the Traffic Act stiputales a fine of up to ¢293.400, plus costs, for not restraining a child in an appropriate seat and ¢146.700, plus costs, for not having an emergency and safety kit in the vehicle.
Another item on the “temporary exclusions” list is air bags, jumper cables and jack and wrench to change a tire.
However, the minister was quite clear that speeding and reckless driving and driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs will be punished to the letter of the law.
Speeding over 20 kilometres the posted limit, driving over 120 kilometres per hour and/or with alcohol blood reading of between 0.50 and 0.74 all come with a fine of ¢293.400 colones for each offence. Driving with a 0.75 or over means a direct pass to the nearest jail and courthouse.
Not respecting a traffic signal, like running a red light, making a “U” turn, talking on a cell phone phone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt, etc, are subject to fines of ¢220.050 colones.
Minister Vargas said that “all” the articles of the Traffic Act will be applied once the legislators approve the respective reforms.
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Monday, March 29th, 2010
The new Ley de Tránsito has been a hot topic for the past 26 days, as the high fines, new point system and zero tolerance by the Policía de Tránsito has made the headlines and has begun a change in Costa Rica’s social culture.
However, to enterprising Tránsito (traffic) officials decided to take advantage of the new law and accused of trying to fill their pockets with “mordidas” (bribes).
As such, the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) responded to charges filed against two Tránsitos who on Thursday were detained in Jacó for allegedly extorting money from a foreigner to avoid a traffic ticket.
The accusation was that the two officials, identified by the last names Jiménez Herrera and Jiménez Chavarría, were “hunting” for “foreigner clients”.
One the them Jiménez Herrera is not stranger to accusations of accepting bribes as he has a history of accusations.
For now the two officials have been suspended from duty for a month waiting a preliminary hearing.
Article 340 of the Código Penal (Penal Code) calls for a prison term of two to eight years for a public official who abuses his or her authority.
The investigation of the two officials had been ongoing for several months, as various drivers had complained of being asked to pay a bribe but never filed an official complaint.
The man who filed the complaint that led to the arrest on Thursday was not identified but said to be a North American who did not want the officials to go without being punished.
The North American filed the complaint Wednesday night, saying that he was intercepted by three traffic officials from Jacó who gave him a breathalyzer test that proved negative.
The tourist, who was travelling with his wife and daughter, said the official demanded us$1.000, the reduced it to $600 when told him he did not have that kind of cash on hand and finally handed over $100 to the official.
The OIJ explained that the man could not say what offence he had committed as he was never told by the officials.
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