Archive for July 2nd, 2010
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
The U.S. Embassy says it will be closed Monday, the day set for celebrating the birthday of the United States is this Sunday the 234th.
In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain.
Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States
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Friday, July 2nd, 2010
Public school mid-year vacation begins today, but transport officials say they won’t be able to open the Autopista del Sol for vacationers because work on the highway will continue into the middle of next week.
The section between Atenas and Orotina has been dropping rocks into the highway from the steep slopes, and officials closed that stretch. It was designed as a faster route to the Pacific beaches.
You may want to think twice before going to the beach this weekend.
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Friday, July 2nd, 2010
A former Cheboygan man will soon be in Federal Court after he fled the country to avoid sentencing on federal water pollution charges.
Wayne Duffiney was convicted by a federal jury in April 2009 stemming from an incident two years earlier.
Duffiney was convicted of violating the federal Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into Lake Huron when he tried to get rid of his boat by sinking it in 2007.
Duffiney fled the country and was recently arrested by Special Immigration Officials in Costa Rica. He appeared in a Texas court on June 22. The U.S. Marshall is responsible for transporting him to Federal Court in Bay City for sentencing on August 9.
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Friday, July 2nd, 2010
The standoff between the government and the Porteadores (pirate taxis) ended in agreement late Wednesday, meaning an end to road blocks and violence on the streets, as the porteadores fought for their right to continue to work without reprisals from authorities.
The agreement reached last night between the government of Laura Chinchilla and the porteadores union ends an eight-year standoff.
The agreement calls for the government to remove the word “person” from the reforms to the Commerical Code that would have prohibited porteadores from carrying passengers, the main point of contention by the porteadores.
The agreement also means that the porteo will, for the first time, be regulated.
Although the full details of the regulation were not given, the main points is that porteadores will have to be licensed and carry insurance, for example.
The licensing does not mean they can operate as a taxi, picking up customers at the curb, rather their licensed service will be limited to providing transportation services door-to-door.,
Germán Lobo, head of the Camara de Porteadores, was pleased with the agreement reached last night, ending once and for all the “totuguismo” protests.
Of course, the deal means nothing if the government does not rally support by legislators to make the changes to the law. Presidenta Chinchilla is expected to call on her closest rivals in the presidential elections of February, Ottón Solís and Otto Guevara, to support the agreement.
As expected, there is a group of porteadores who are not in favour of the agreement.
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