Fill up your tank soon, because Saturday gasoline will cost more at the pump. In the third hike this year, regular gas will rise ¢13 to ¢453 per liter.  A standard car tank of 45 liters will cost ¢20,385. (about $40)

Super will go from ¢463 to ¢475 and diesel will cost ¢13 more, or ¢326. A 45 liter tank would cost ¢14,670. (less than $30).

At the beginning of the year super gasoline cost ¢422, regular ¢402 and diesel ¢303, so these fuels have risen ¢55, ¢51 and ¢23 respectively in 3 months.

This week President-elect Oscar Arias has been busy naming Ministers and presidential advisors to cabinet positions. Arias is not putting untested newcomers into positions, as most are people who have served as minisiters or deputy directors in previous administrations.  The lucky winners:

Leonardo Garnier Minister of Education  - Garnier was Minister of Planning in the Figueres Olsen presidency (1194-1998)
Karla González Minister of Public Works and Transportation (MOPT) – González was deputy minister of transportation in the Rodriguez administration (1998-2002)

Laura Chinchilla – Minister of Justice, she is also the First Vice-President. She has served as a PLN legislator previously.

Rodrigo Arias – Minister of the Presidency, brother of the president elect, will be the key man in Zapote.

Bruno Stagno – Minister of Foreign Affairs, 35 years old and is the current UN ambassador for Costa Rica.

Guillermo Z̼̱iga РMinister of Finance, will have to get busy on a new tax plan.

Kevin Casas – Minister of Planning, Second Vice-president.

Francisco Morales РMinister of Labor, who was also minister in the Jos̩ Figueres Ferrer (1970-1974) and with Daniel Oduber (1974-1978), and was Minister of Agriculture with Luis Alberto Monge (1982-1986).

INCOFER announced this week that following Easter, a new train line will open, running from the Latina University in San Pedro to Tibas. This is the first portion of a line that will eventually run to Heredia, and it includes the construction of a 100 million colon bridge.

The new train will leave from Cuatro Reinas (Tibas), and stop in La Colima, Cinco Esquinas, Calle Blancos, the Atlantic Station, University of Costa Rica and the Latina University. The executive president of INCOFER, Miguel Carabaguíaz, stressed that the
money for the Heredia – San Pedro route is funded in a large part by a European Union donation of 667,000 Euros.

Roberto Fonseca Chanto, of the National Blue Flag Commission Nacional, sponsored by the Tourism Chamber, awaded the Caribbean community of Cahuita the prestigious Blue Flag, saying it was an important day for the area and the country.  “It is special and important when a community prepares itself for the evaluation and passes it. ”

Cahuita recieved the Blue Flage as proof of the purity of the water and safety of the area.  Next week, Playa Gandoca to the south, will receive its Blue Flag.

Despite an offer to plea-bargain, Erlyn Hurtado will face charges related to the Monteverde massacre. He will faces 20 charges, including 6 murder accusations.

Hurtado would face 50 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.  50 years is the maximum sentence allowed by law. The defendant’s lawyers had asked for a plea and sentencing in order to avoid a lenghty trial. However, the victim’s representatives argued that a trial was necessary “so that the country would know what happened in Monteverde”.
William Hayden, General Manager of Banco Nacional, will not face criminal charges, as the judge considered that no criminal responsibility exists on the part of the bank.  However the judge did not rule out the possibility of civil liability for the institution.

On Sunday, May 8th, you might want to check out your local park, as on Tuesday 56 mayors met with the Inauguration Commission to organize community festivals. Vivian Quesada, member of the Commission, explained that “We want the inauguration to be a party for all Ticos, with popular music and fireworks.  We hope our international visitors will go and see how Ticos celebrate and enjoy our democracy. ”

In some communities, the festivities will start on Saturday with artistic expositions.  In Mora, for example there will be a fruit and artesan fair.  In San José, in front of the La Soledad church there will be a concert and light show, and in Cartago they will have bands, parades, fireworks and local dishes.

The mayors and the commission agreed to choose the most outstanding students in each county to be present in the National Stadium during the ceremony.

Commission head, Alfredo Ortuño, confirmed that 4 heads of state are planning on attending the ceremony: Vicente Fox (México), Elías Antonio Saca (El Salvador), Chen Shui-bian (Taiwán) and the Prince of Asturias, Felipe de Borbón (prince of Spain).

Letters from the Robert Portman, United States Trade Representative and from the US Embassy are being used to provide unions with evidence that the CAFTA pact must go through as is, or be rejected as is.  The letters urge Costa Rica to approve the pact as soon as possible, as well as the accompanying legislation.

“What I ask the unions is that in our representative democracy we are going to dialogue with civil society, but in the end, it is the Assembly that must decide.”  said President-elect Arias.  Then he played another card in a meeting with the Limón unions by naming Francisco Morales as the Minister of Labor.

Abundaron sonrisas, incluso de sindicatos como JAPDEVA, de Limón, que, pese a reiterar su rechazo al TLC, se mostraron dispuestos a dialogar. Arias prometió una comisión para analizar los problemas de Limón.

At the meeting, these union leaders denied a rupture with ANEP and ICE groups, who refused to visit Arias’ house. “We respect them, but they don’t necessarily represent our movement”, said Rolando Coto, of the Central Bank union.

Easter Week is nearly upon us and already retailers and hoteliers are trying to maximize their Holy Week profits.  The local press this week warned that hotels are almost fully booked and reminded consumers of past consumer complaints relating to hotels.  Most of the complaints are tied to false advertising or hidden charges.  Phantom swimming pools, surcharges, “lost” reservations and higher than advertised prices are all common during this ultra peak week.

Back in the capital and local markets, Holy Week products are flooding the shelves. Heart of Palm, Salmon, and “chiverre” honey are all prominently displayed.  You can still get canned products at reasonable prices 2 weeks out from the key dates, but INCOPESCA (Fisheries Institute) divulged that prices traditionally rise 30% for Holy Week.

Hugo Solano, INCOPESCA spokesman, explained that supply remains constant, but demand skyrockets and merchants take advantage. So, a Sea Bass filet in Puntarenas costs consumers 3000 colones per kilo, while in the Central Market of San José, it costs  ¢5,676 per kilo. In Alajuela, the price of Sea Bass was ¢4,500 per kilo.

The Consumer Protection Ministry reminded shoppers to compare prices and brands, which vary widely from shop to shop.

The CNE, volcano experts, and MINAE have decided to re-open the Poás Volcano on Saturday.  Activity at the volcano peaked over at the beginning of the week, then stablilized.

Access will be restricted however and authorities on alert.  Only groups of 50 people will be allowed to visit the crater, no minors will be allowed in, and groups can only stay 45 minutes. Since last Friday the volcano has had 16 eruptions, after laying dormant for more than 12 years.

30/3/6

Nothing very exciting for a while now. I’ve been working on the sidewalk, it’s done, and Jose helped me fix the shower. I think I can do the rest of the work on my own, and have been working away at it. When I take my breaks, and at night for diversion I go on the net and play poker or backgammon. It’s expensive, as I pay by the minute, but I haven’t been going out at night since Linda went home. Last month, I found out there was a 36 hour limit on my internet use. It was necessary to send RACSA, the sole internet service provider here, a copy of my passport, a copy of my phone bill, and a signed letter stating that I wanted more than 36 hours of internet per month. That took 4 days to straighten out, but I thought everything was fine. Wrong! Saturday, my line was blocked again. I phoned technical support to find out why, and they informed me that I had been given a new limit of 100 hours, which I had surpassed. I had to wait until Monday to phone customer service to find out what to do. 7:30 am I called and talked to Fernando’s supervisor. He said he would check my passport, phone bill, and letter, and call me back in the afternoon. When he hadn’t called by 2 pm, I phoned and talked to Fernando. He was the first person to tell me, and I had talked to 5 or 10 people at RACSA, that I could have unlimited service for $15 per month. I have been paying 10.6 colones a minute, or over $1.00 an hour! He explained that if I went to ICE, the national phone and electric company, deposited 5,000 colones, and signed a contract, I could get this unlimited time contract. In the meantime, he talked to his supervisor and assured me he would phone me back later in the afternoon. He never called. Tuesday morning, I checked, and my line was unblocked. Two hours later, I tried again, and it was blocked. On Tuesday I talked to 2 more people, and on Wednesday morning, another one. Everyone assured me that I only needed to take a copy of my passport, deposit 5,000 colones, and sign a contract to get unlimited time for $15 per month. Wednesday morning I went to the ICE office in Puntarenas. ICE staff were very helpful, but said I needed to show my passport, as well as provide them with a photocopy. Normally, this would be a simple request, but as my passport expired recently, I had only an embassy-stamped, consular-signed copy of my passport. After the nice gentleman at ICE phoned RACSA to see if this was okay, and I talked to Fernando and a woman from another department, they refused to allow me to sign up for unlimited service. The gentleman at ICE was apologetic, it was totally RACSA’s fault. The law requires me to carry a copy of my passport for identification, the Tico Times recommends I carry only a copy because theft of passports is rampant here, indeed the law was changed for this reason, the embassy assured me their official copy was as good as my passport, yet RACSA would not accept this. Needless to say I am very angry with RACSA. They should have told me long ago about the plan, they should have told me I would need my passport to sign the contract, and they should have accepted my copy. I have withdrawn completely from politics, and when I lived in Canada I was against the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S., but I believe that one benefit that will come from CAFTA when Costa Rica eventually ratifies it, will be competition for this poorly run monopoly.