Archive for January, 2007

Leaders Emphasize Free-Trade, Education

Monday, January 29th, 2007

Leaders from Spain, South America and Costa Rica concluded a meeting of the Montevideo Circle Saturday in San José by recapping the topics of education, development and free-trade discussed during their two-day encounter.
“Promoting education to improve access to knowledge and build Latin America as more competitive in the global market” was the theme of the […]

Mayors, President Join Forces

Friday, January 26th, 2007

In an unprecedented show of cooperation between central and local governments – at least in recent memory – the administration of President Oscar Arias is promising the country’s mayors-elect funding that’s been withheld for years, increased communication, and, if the Legislative Assembly plays along, legal reforms to give local governments more power.
                                              –The Tico Times

New Signs to Direct Tourists

Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007

Tourists on their way to beaches, volcanoes, national parks and other popular Costa Rican attractions will have new road signs to help them find their destinations, thanks to a joint project by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.
The ¢300 million ($582,524) project will put 1,300 new signs […]

PAC Leaders on Washington D.C. Tour

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Two prominent Citizen Action Party (PAC) politicians, faction head Elizabeth Fonseca and leader Ottón Solís, are scheduled to arrive today to Washington D.C. for a five-day visit aimed at promoting Costa Rica’s development model of “solidarity” rather than the controversial Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), according to a statement released yesterday […]

Passports Processed in Liberia

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Residents of the northwestern Guanacaste province no longer have to make the long trip to San José to request passports – as of Friday, they can do so from the province’s capital of Liberia, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

Groups Plan CAFTA Protests

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

Groups opposed to the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) announced yesterday that they haven’t given up their fight against the controversial pact and are planning a protest Feb. 26 to urge leaders to renegotiate it.
President Oscar Arias’ administration should “take advantage of this occasion to sit down at the table and […]

Mayors, Central Gov’t Leaders Meet in San José

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

By Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
The 81 mayors set to take office Feb. 5 converged on Casa Presidencial in Zapote, southeast of San José, yesterday to meet with President Oscar Arias and most of his Cabinet at the first-ever National and Local Government Coordination Meeting.
Rodrigo Arias, the President’s brother and spokesman, told the assembled authorities […]

Complaining

Friday, January 19th, 2007

19/1/7
The New Year’s Eve party was a success. Lot’s of people, food, dancing, and even some drinking. We didn’t go to the party in Coyolito, although I did drive Rafa’s family up there. There have been no parties since then, although we did go to a Rosario del Nino party last night at Jose’s, but […]

4 lanes for Sabana

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

In March, contractors hired by MOPT will begin to widen the road parallel to the south side of La Sabana Park, which runs from the old Agricultural Ministry and the Universal store.  Pedro Castro, Vice Ministro of Public Works, estimated the cost at ¢3.3 billion colones (6.37 million dollars). The 1.1 kilometer stretch contains significant […]

Gas Prices Drop Today

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

Gas prices continued to decline yesterday as the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP) approved the third price reduction so far this year, according to a statement from ARESEP.
Meanwhile, a previous approved decrease went into effect today. The price of one liter of super gas dropped from ¢488 ($0.95) to ¢475 ($0.92), while one liter of […]