Archive for November, 2007

Teenage Sex Offenders without Treatment

Friday, November 30th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Every year, authorities send 700 adolescent sex offenders to the National Children’s Hospital Adolescent Clinic for counseling and, hopefully, behavioral modification. Now, the Social Security Administration (Caja) confesses that the clinic does not have enough staff to perform the service.
The infractors, minors who […]

No New Traffic Law before Christmas?

Friday, November 30th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
It appears Costa Rica can expect no new get-tough traffic law in time for the end-of-the-year holiday highway massacre, thanks to Libertarian Movement congressmen Mario Quiros. The law had been anticipated to raise fines for traffic infractions, punish drunk drivers and to try generally to bring some semblance […]

Alajuela Down 3-0 Against Municipal

Friday, November 30th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
ALAJUELA—This is obviously NOT Alajuela’s year to shine, although usually their fans are better behaved. But this week, the winningest soccer side in the country (historically) found itself down 3-0 in the battle for third place in the UNCAF regional tournament.
So disgusted were […]

Berrocal’s Approval of Cop School Under Fire

Wednesday, November 28th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
A Security Minister Fernando Berrocal’s recommendation that Costa Rican police receive advance training at a school at Fr. Benning, Ga., has stirred an outcry of protest from peace advocates in Costa Rica, the English-language weekly The Tico Times reported recently.
Berrocal visited the United […]

Panama Cops Suspicious of Bank Transfer

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Panamanian judicial investigators are asking the Costa Rican nationalized Banco Popular why a cash deposit from a Panama bank came over the border in a private car. (Narcotics police there are nearly certain that it is not that Panama banks have never heard of Internet money transfers.)
[…]

Weatherman Predicts Rain for Two Months

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Don’t put away that umbrella yet. The National Meteorological Institute predicts rains for the Caribbean and Northern Zone during December and January due to the advance of one cold front each month interacting with a buildup of clouds.
It will not be exactly […]

Nicoya Peninsula Shaken by 5.0 Quake

Monday, November 26th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Nicoya Peninsula residents were shaken at 5:22 p.m. Saturday by an earthquake that registered 5.0 on the Richter scale. Its epicenter was only nine kilometers (about five miles) from Samara Beach. No damage or injuries were reported.
The whole Pacific coast appears to be […]

Mangroves Destroyed with Permit from Biologist

Monday, November 26th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Right Hand Ignoring Left Hand’s Actions Dept. As reported in La Nacion today, functionaries of the Central Pacific Conservation Area of the Environment Ministry thought they had stopped a project that would have destroyed a mangrove swamp in Parrita, Puntarenas province. But they found to their horror that […]

Justice Served: Rosita’s Rapist Imprisoned

Monday, November 26th, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Five years ago, this conservative Catholic country was rocked by the news that a nine-year-old girl of Nicaraguan parents living in the rural Costa Rica area of Turrialba was pregnant. Police acted rapidly, arresting Costa Rican Alexis Barquero for child abuse and statutory rape. One problem: Barquero was […]

Demand for College Entry Exceeds Capacity

Friday, November 23rd, 2007

by Rod Hughes
Costa Ricans want a university education but many are the aspirants and few are called. Look at the figures: University of Costa Rica (UCR) has the same 7,500 new students as last year, although 30,000 took the entrance exam. Autonomous University (UNA) at Heredia is adding space for […]