Archive for July 15th, 2010
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
BP says that the cap over the oil well has completely stopped the spill, with no oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico.
The news was released via Twitter and news agencies. A live video feed of the well shows no oil flowing.
BP has been slowly reducing the flow as part of a test on a new cap. Engineers are now monitoring the pressure to see if the broken well holds.
The victory — long awaited by weary residents along the coast — is the most significant milestone yet in BP’s effort to control one of the worst environmental disasters in U.S. history.
Kent Wells, a BP plc vice president, said at a news briefing that oil stopped flowing into the water at 2:25pm local time after engineers gradually reduced the amount of crude escaping through the last of three valves in the 75-ton cap.
“I am very pleased that there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, I’m really excited there’s no oil going into the Gulf of Mexico,” Wells said.
The stoppage came 85 days, 16 hours and 25 minutes after the first report April 20 of an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that killed 11 workers and triggered the spill.
Now begins a waiting period to see if the cap can hold the oil without blowing a new leak in the well. Engineers will monitor pressure readings incrementally for up to 48 hours before reopening the cap while they decide what to do.
Though not a permanent fix, the solution has been the only one that has worked to stem the flow of oil since April. BP is drilling two relief wells so it can pump mud and cement into the leaking well in hopes of plugging it for good by mid-August.
BP has struggled to contain the spill and had so far been successful only in reducing the flow, not stopping it. The company removed an old, leaky cap and installed the new one Monday.
Between 93.5 million gallons (354 million litres) and 184.3 million gallons (698 million litres) have already spilled into the Gulf, according to federal estimates.
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Thursday, July 15th, 2010
The San Pedro location of Hooters opened last month, which means that visitors to the Gringo Gulch can enjoy a “delightfully tacky” meal in the company of some really nice girls without having schlep all the way out to suburbs in Escazu.A Costa Rica frequent traveler known for passing out candy to all the ladies ventured out this week to say hello to the girls. It was a pleasant surprise to also bump into Cindy who you might have met before at another famous bar in San Jose.
Local celebrity Kris Badilla was not in San Pedro as she was recently Sent to Miami to compete in a national competition for the restaurant chain.
The location three blocks behind San Pedro Mall is easy to reach by taxi, and the fare is about $4 from downtown San Jose.
Be careful that the driver doesn’t take you to the Escazu location as that that will run more than $10 and almost certainly get you mixed up in a huge traffic jam.
If there is any doubt, just say San Pedro mall, go around back and then walk three blocks parallel to the main road.
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Thursday, July 15th, 2010
The official move of patients from the old hospital in Heredia, the San Vicente de Paul, to the new hospital which begins to function this morning.
A total of 173 patients of the old hospital will be moved to the new located in the center of Heredia and offering new and specialized services to residents of the “cuidad de las flores”.
A simulation was carried out last week to ensure that the transfer of patients, especially those in delicate condition, would go smoothly.
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Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Seniors will be exempt from paying train fares with the decision by the Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Court) which has ordered the Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles (Incofer) and the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) to make the changes to their fares.
Seniors have been exempt from paying bus fares, but not for the train.
The appeal was made following comments by Miguel Carabaguíaz, president of Incofer, saying that the bus fare exemption for seniors did not apply to the train and the Autoridad Reguladora de los Servicios Públicos (Aresep) did not take action to include the exemption.
The appeal was made by Óscar López, former legislator for the Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusión (PASE) and currently a candidate for mayor of San José.
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