Archive for August, 2006

Mother’s Days benefit gift store operators

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Merchants were counting their winnings Monday night after have benefited from two Mother’s Days in the same week.
Stores were doing a brisk business Monday with those who had put off until the last minute a gift for Mom.
Traditional Mother’s Day is Aug. 15. But a law passed last year moves […]

Commission Promotes Region’s Biodiversity

Friday, August 18th, 2006

Environment and Energy Minister Roberto Dobles yesterday became president pro-tempore of the Central American Environment and Development Commission (CCAD) and announced that he will use this position to push forward policies to protect the region’s biodiversity.
“We are going to strengthen the work agenda and promote policies for conservation within the framework of sustainability,” Dobles said.
Actions […]

Poll: Support for CAFTA Declining

Friday, August 18th, 2006

By Blake Schmidt, Tico Times Staff
The number of Costa Ricans who support the controversial Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) dropped from 61% in October 2005 to 41% this month, according to a new CID-Gallop poll for the daily La República.
[…]

Weekly Edition: Vol. VIII, No. 230 - San José, Costa Rica, August 18 - August 24, 2006 More Top Stories Stories in the print edition: Is Sportsbook Closure a Bad Omen for Industry? Mom’s Ordeal Illustrates Problems with System Lebanese Consul Discusses Mideast Conflict Cubans in Exile Comment on Castro’s Illness British Ambassador Displays Global Savvy Airline Restrictions Affect Travel to U.S. Taiwanese Minister Visits, Signs Hospital Donation Press-Freedom Advocates Meet with President Arias OIRSA Investigated in Fumigation Scandal Arias, Borrell Promise More Than a Trade Pact Costa Rica Decides to Move Embassy in Israel Arias Proposes New Location for Offices Indigenous People Suffer Lack of Basic Needs 1,200 BetonSports Employees Seek New Jobs Colombian’s Residency Probed Normal Year so Far for Earthquake Activity Database to Improve Tracking of Sex Crimes Editorial Letters Perspective Weather Crossword Arias’ First 100 Days Get Mixed Reviews

Friday, August 18th, 2006

By Leland Baxter-Neal, Tico Times Staff
To mark the first 100 days of his presidency, Oscar Arias returned to the theme that brought him international fame: peace and disarmament. Before an audience of students, politicians, journalists and foreign dignitaries, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate sliced an AK-47 assault rifle in half with an electric saw and […]

Casa Presidencial to Move Downtown

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006

By Amanda Roberson , Tico Times Staff
After much controversy over proposals to move Casa Presidencial, President Oscar Arias has decided to relocate the presidential offices from their home in the southeastern San José district of Zapote to the city’s center, according to a statement from the Culture Ministry.
[…]

Costa Rica will not accept terror suspect from the U.S.

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006

By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services and local reports

Costa Rica is one of six countries that have refused to accept a 78-year-old Cuban militant who is being kicked out of the United States.
The militant is Luis Posada Carriles. Venezuela’s government has accused Posada Carriles in the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner that killed […]

Japanese sewer loan takes hit

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The legislature’s Comisión Permanente de Asuntos Hacendarios voted out a measure that would allow the country to accept $130 million in Japanese foreign aid to fix the Central Valley’s rotting sewerage.
Mario Quirós, a lawmaker, opposed the measure because he said he didn’t think that municipalities have been consulted on it. […]

Income tax proposal will not get fast track treatment

Wednesday, August 16th, 2006

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A new income tax law will not be fast tracked through the legislature. Instead, the law will face the traditional committee hearings and discussion in the full assembly.
That was confirmed Tuesday by Evita Arguedas Maklouf, leader of the Movimiento Libertario, which wanted a full hearing.
She said that she and her […]

Costa Rica Named to Top 5 Safest Destinations for Women

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006

In its July special report called Women’s Travel, www.smarter… SmarterTrav… named Amsterdam, Ireland, Costa Rica, India and Vietnam as the safest places for women to travel. According to the report, “Women are the leading consumers in the travel market. Now women, young and old alike, are forging their independence, trying out new activities, […]

Women’s volleyball team seeking another sweep

Tuesday, August 15th, 2006

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Costa Rica’s world class women’s volleyball team will be seeking the Copa Centroamericana in a tournament here that starts today.
The matches are being played in the Gimnasio Nacional in La Sabana. Costa Rica meets Honduras at 7:30 p.m. Other matches are between Panamá and El  Salvador at 3 p.m. and […]