by Rod Hughes

Bar codes, such as used on supermarket merchandise, will mark a hundred trees to be planted in ditches and river banks in Moravia, Goicoechea and Tibas cantons over the next five years. The reforestation will rectify a chronic erosion problem in these three cantons.

A regulation exists that such runoff areas are supposed to be protected by trees which break the force of the rain with their leaves and soak up excess water that would otherwise run off, carrying soil with it and causing landslides and flooding. But this was not done in these three cantons and residents have a paid the price with frequent flooding during cloudbursts.

“This technology is to give a first and last name to each tree so growth can be monitored and the exact coordinates of their location can be fixed,” according to Guillermo Varela of the GS1 Organization of Costa Rica. “It’s a strong ally in the national reforestation process, he added.

The process also may be used in creating “biological corridors” linking habitats of wildlife that would ordinarily be isolated in “islands” as their natural environment is encroached by human poplation growth.

by Rod Hughes

A tax on luxurious homes costing 100 million colones or more to aid in erdicating slums was passed yesterday in its first reading by the Legislative Assembly. If Sen. Barak Obama had proposed such a measure in his U.S. campaign, his rival would have shouted, “Socialism!” and “redistribution of wealth!” but the bill gained a unannious vote.

In fact, the only controversy surrounding the initiative was how much money would be generated by the special tax which is limited to a 10-year duration. The Ministry of Housing estimates some 25 billion colones annually, the Fiance Ministry 21 billion and a study by the lawmakers only about 10 billion. The tax would not be levied on the land surrounding the home but only one the structure, thus saving farm properties from a back-breaking cost.

The bill must still go through a second debate and final vote. But it would seem that only a constitutional challenge can stop it from becoming law. Eradication of slums has been a goal of successive administrations since former President Luis Alberto Monge’s term in office. At that time, the 1980s, the country had a housing shortage that forced up rental fees. The Housing Ministry was created with property downpayment endowments and extremely soft loans.

Urban housing shortages have been traditionally a Latin American bane, caused by the migration of rural residents to the cities. This country was probably the first to confront it headon but the goal of zero slums has been elusive. The housing program has chronically suffered from abuse as people transferred their home titles to family members, then applied for new housing. Theoretically, one is barred from the program if one already owns property.

by Rod Hughes

Saprissa head coach Jeaustin Campos told the daily paper La Nacion that all effforts will be dedicated to beating Marathon of Honduras in San Pedro Sula to advance in the regional Concacaf champion´s league tourney. By pulling out all stops, the Tibas club hopes to advance in the tourney while reducing to lesser importance the Costa Rican First Division match Sunday against Brujas. If Saprissa beats Marathon or ties, they are assured entry to the next round. If they lose, it’s goodbye.

Fresh from a victory over Mexico’s Cruz Azul club Wednesday, 1-0, Saprissa has to win over the tough Marathon to advance into the next round of the tourney. But Campos is banking on the figures: Saprissa is only in third place in Group A of the Costa Rican championship season with 17 points against 21 for Brujas and 18 for Liberia. But both the latter clubs have played two more matches, so things may even up this early in the season.

Saprissa managed a 1-0 victory over Mexico’s Cruz Azul club in the Concacaf tournament of national soccer champions in this region Wednesday. That match was also a win or get left behind situation for the Tibas club and why Costa Rican soccer always seems to be coming from behind is beyond me. It isn’t good for the heart or blood pressure!

Saprissa, Marathon and Cruz Azul have left poor D.C. United twisting in the wind in Group A. Saprissa wound up leader Wednesday with 13 points and Cruz Azul and Marathon tied with 10 points. United had miserable single marker. But the situation was in doubt Wednesday until 2/3 of the match was over, when Alejandro Alpizar headed in a masterful pass from the other Double A of the club, Armando Alonso.

That Saprissa did not attain a wider margin Wednesday against Cruz Azul was not due to a lack of offensive spirit or active ball control but because of an understandable anxiety to score. That led them into some silly miscues. This is what happens, fellas, when you leave things til the last minute.

Women´s Under’17 Side Trounced by Germany

Meanwhile, the under-17-year-old girls’ soccer team was stunned Tuesday in a 5-0 drubbing by Germany in the World Cup of youthful girl soccer players. It was a sad opening in Christchurch, New Zeeland, with Germany’s speed catching the Ticas flatfooted. Any illusion that the European club would be made up of hefty Valkyries inflated by too many potatos in their diet was dispelled quickly. The Germans were lithe, long legged and ran circles around the Ticas.

And the Central American lasses still have to meet North Korea and Ghana to try to salvage something. Good luck.

by Rod Hughes

The Social Affairs Committee of the Legislative Assembly is studying a bill to increase aid to Costa Rica’s hard-pressed Red Cross. The organization serves the country with its ambulances, the only ones available except for two private companies in the Central Valley, plus providing medically trained and rescue personnel for far-flung emergencies.

To do this job, the state provides dribbles of money from diverse sources such as document stamps, traffic fines and a slender portion of a liquor and cigarette tax. In addition, the organization accepts donations and raises added revenue from a nationawide Tico Bingo, selling cards with the promise of prizes to a few winners. They also rent their ambulances to haul Social Security and National Insurance Institute patients to medical appointments.

But the Red Cross finds itself continually strapped and maintenance of ambulances as well as other necessities suffer the consequences. This reporter can personally testify to the need for such important parts as shock absorbers and basic emergency equipment inside such as ocygen. When an ambulance is wrecked, as happened recently when a huge falling tree crushed an ambulance, killing the patient and injuring the paramedics, the loss of the vehicle is a major disaster to the local committee.

The bill would add 1% for the Red Cross from the monthly telephone bill after the first 5,000 colones, (not to exceed 500 colones, about a dollar) and would bring in an estimated 2.2 billion colones annually. The bill’s sponsor, Libertarian Movement lawmaker Carlos Gutierrez, notes that backers of the bill have already warned the Red Cross that 95% of the extra income must be dedicated to bolstering local committees and only 5% will go to the central offices for administrative costs.

But the organization has received sharp criticism from the Ministry of Health and the Comptroller General’s Office to better monitor its use of public funds and to shore up its sometimes haphazard bookkeeping practices.

by Rod Hughes

A free music festival of baroque music will feature international musicians and be held in Santa Ana, Cartago and Sarapiqui in north-central Costa Rica. The Tico Times staffer Elizabeth Goodwin, writing in the Weekend section, secinctly describes this kind of music as “different voices and instruments echoing each other in various pitches.”

Even if you have a nodding aquaintance with classical music, you may have heard only a few baroque pieces, unless you were living between 1600 and 1750 when it was the dominant style. You may be somewhat conversant with Johann Sebastian Bach and Antonio Vivaldi but less so with G. F. Handel’s work. These concerts are funded by Santa Ana’s Municipal School of Integrated Arts (EMAI), Alliance Francaise with some private businesses.

It will feature two young attractive sopranos, Alejandra Ulate and Susana Velasco as well as U.S. trumpeter Fred Sautter and Venezuelan violinist Anthony Vivas of the Simon Bolivar Symphony. For a complete schedule, consult: festivalbarroco.blogspot.com or pages W14 or W15 in the current edition of The Tico Times on sale as this is written.

Warning: Some intellectuals have found baroque music addictive and wind up buying many CDs of the Brandenburg Suites and such. Don’t worry, many people have been listening to it all their lives without suffering any harm.

by Rod Hughes

National Liberation Party presidential nomination aspirant Johnny Araya seems unable to make up his mind. This week he told the daily paper La Nacion that he was quite comfortable being “independent” of administration backing of his candidacy. Today’s edition has him accusing Liberation administration officials and lawmakers of pressuring local party leaders to back former Vice President Laura Chinchilla.

Chinchilla resigned two weeks ago to officially enter the primary rasce leading to the 2010 national elections. Her candidacy caught nobody by surprise and earlier this year President Oscar Arias had hinted archly that he was not at all adverse to a woman president. This was as close as he could come to an indorsement, under election rules presided over by the Supreme Elections Tribunal. Elected officials are not permitted to openly favor candidates.

Araya, San Jose’s mayor, has accused President Arias of favoritism in the past but this time extended the courtesy to Liberation party deputies in the Legislative Assembly. “There are phone calls from the Presidential Offices (Casa Presidencial) to people to pressure them,” he charged.

But presidential press secretary Pablo Gueren replied, “Absolutely no comment.” Liberation’s floor leader Oscar Nunez emphatically denied Araya’s charge, calling it the equivalent of a “fairy tale.” Araya maintains he has received complaints from local party officials about pressure, mostly from Guanacaste province but the three sitting Liberation lawmakers also denied knowing anything about the matter.

Guanacaste Liberation deputy Maureen Ballestero scoffed that primaries are not supposed to be a “battle” and that “we’re all Liberationists.” She added that pressuring local leaders “isn’t the best way anyway to get people’s favor.”

One National Liberation nomination hopeful does not have to worry about Presidential favor. Fernando Berrocal knows he won’t have it. Berrocal was fired as Security Minister earlier this year for making incautious statements that infuriated his boss.

by Rod Hughes

The Union of Chambers of Private Enterprise in Costa Rica has issued a public protest against tightened credit. Manuel Rodriguez, its president, protested that the new credit policies of state-run banks are a brake on the forward advance of the 44 companies and six associations of private businesses the Union represents.

Both the Central Bank and public financial regulatory entities reacted to the declaration with astounded denials, the daily newspaper La Nacion reported this morning. National Finance System Supervisory Council chief Alberto Dent confessed to being “surprised” and stated flatly that his agency “has taken no decisions to limit credit.”

Central Bank President Francisco de Paula Gutierrez responded, “The reduction of internal credit growth is not the result of new limitations on the part of the Central Bank, or (the Council) or Sugef (another regulatory body) but rather, principally, the past accellerated expansion of credit and restrictions established by the world financial situation.”

Dent attributed the Union of Chambers statement to “citizen insecurity” in a troubled and uncertain international economic climate. Although unavailable for comment on the recent statement, Sugef superintendent Oscar Rodriguez told the daily paper last week that, “credit hasn’t been stopped. It has grown some 40% to 50% in past years and the first half of this year grew 30% which is quite robust.”

Update: Gutierrez, interviewed by La Nacion the day after this item was written, clarified the actual credit growth figures. He said that the credit growth was only 17% as of September, it was desireable for an economy that will only grow some 3.5% this year and suffer an inflation rate of 14-15%.

But he admitted that recently a slowing in the construction sector has caused 20,000 to become unemployed and resulted in fewer applications for credit. Construction Chamber president Juan Jose Castro concurred with this assessment, estimating that for every 10 building projects, two have been halted for lack of national or international financing.

Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz also expressed concern in credit cutbacks’ effects on exports. Ruiz, speaking recently at a trade-related gathering, warned that “it appears that the banks have not been careful not to hurt the goose that lays the golden eggs.” He warned that credit cutbacks would result in layoffs and hamper companies that lost ground now in re-entering the fray again when the markets begin to improve.

Monica Araya, president of the Exporters’ Chamber, was even more emphatic, warning that credit limits effect mainly small and medium sized export firms. “The majority of these ‘pigmies’ are already in debt and have signed international contracts and can’t obtain credit because it is blocked,” she told La Nacion. “How can they pay their old debt if they can’t generate new income or employment?” she asked.

The export promotion agency Procomer announced this week that export companies in this country employ more than 409,000 persons. Of these, 212,171 are in the industrial sector while nearly 189,000 are in agriculture, according to the 2008 Procomer census. Another 8,400 are in livestock and fishing export.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C., the U.S. Federal Reserve has announced a two-day meeting to consider a lowering of credit by 1.5% to try to jump start the ailing economy. The Fed, the equivalent of Costa Rica’s Central Bank, lower the prime rate half a point Oct. 7 in conjunction with six industrial nations’ central banks in a concerted effort to stave off an even worse economic downturn in world money markets.

October 28, 2008

Summer is here! After the incredible rain we had two weeks ago, it has turned nice. I wondered if summer was arriving early, and the radio confirmed today that we have entered the transition period between winter and summer. We have had a few showers at night, but nothing hard, and nothing during the day but sunshine. The fact that they call the upcoming season summer was a bit confusing at first. I looked up the words repeatedly in the dictionary, but could not seem to get it right. We are still in the northern hemisphere, and I figured December 21 was the beginning of winter. Not here. This is the season of good weather and school holidays. The children get two months off school starting before Christmas. Therefore we are starting verano now, as Canada and the U.S. start invierno. They also have words for spring and fall, but don’t use them, as there are really only the two seasons here.
We didn’t get very many rainy days this year. Probably less than seven days that I couldn’t dry a load of laundry, at least. The beach is already filling up on the weekends. The town is getting busy, and the bars, the restaurants, and the cabinas are all going full tilt now. It’s like Muskoka after the long weekend in May, all of a sudden it’s crowded.
The dogs are doing fine. Peaches seems completely recovered, and manages to get through my “perfect” fence within minutes of my leaving. The car has been doing fine, but the starter might be going. It wouldn’t even click at the beach on Sunday, but we gave it a push and turned it enough to, I think, get it off the dead spot. Most places have a hill to park on, and I shall have to remember to use them in case of another occurrence, at least until I take it to a mechanic.
The roof on the house hasn’t leaked again. The last leaks were coming down where the air conditioners were piped through the roof. The problem wasn’t the silicone, as I thought, but the fact that there was a sponge rubber insulation around the tubes, and the water was going down this sponge rubber inside the silicone. We cut it and sealed between the two pieces, and I believe the problem is solved. Mike finished the drywall taping on the piece he replaced in the living room, and this week I will sand the final coat, and paint. I hope the other six smaller stains can be covered with paint, as the drywall didn’t go soft, and I don’t want to replace it. They don’t have shellac here, but I did find a good sealer paint, I hope.

By Rod Hughes

Pity the poor San Rafael de Alajuela hospital. Only four years old and an ivalid.

The hospital cost $40 million and the residents of Alajuela had waited 23 years to get it, making do with a too-small, rickety structure. Last week, the hospital administration made a unique announcement: all surgeries had been rained out. Or rather, flooded out by leaks in the roof. And the operating rooms are still inoperable.

But the ORs are not the only place where rains filter in. In a sardonic story in the daily La Nacion, journalists Angela Avilos and Francisco Barrantes reported that for the last two very wet weeks patients have been eating soup laced with rainwater coming through the ceiling of the kitchen. And the structure isn’t the only problem.

Despite years of promises, the Social Security Administration (Caja) still does not have its 700 staff positions filled, despite an excess of qualified doctors in the country. Only 345 positions are filled in four years and the reporters write that the scene of patients waiting in beds and chairs in the emergency room several days is not uncommon. This was the case, like the leaks, with the old hospital.

Due to staff shortages, the wait to see a specialist is much longer than the regulation limit of three months. But a whole floor complete with unused medical machinery exists, vacant due to a lack of personnel.

But that is not the only situation in which the Caja, so often admired from abroad, is falling down on its job. Today, the same paper reported that that the Comptroller General’s Office has taken the Caja to task for what the Comptroller charges is a lack of quality control on the medicines it prescribes.

by Rod Hughes

The plight of Alajuela was eloquently summarized by the headline in La Nacion’s sportspages today, “Sometimes Not Losing is Good Business.” La Liga (Alajuela) could barely hold its own against a resurgent Heredia that played the entire second half with only 10 men on the pitch and still threatened constantly. (The headline probably was directed at Heredia about having the disadvantage but they really didn’t need sympathy.)

The 1-1 score does not do justice to what former international soccer star Paolo Cesar Wanchope has done with this previously troubled club as head coach. When Mauricio Solis was expelled in injury overtime of the first half, it was as if it had never happened. Wanchope obviously is not only a strategist but a good psychologist as well.

Alajuela’s Windell Gabriel scored at minute 29 on Marco Urena’s pass. But Heredia was back 10 minutes later with Kenny Cunningham’s reply on Robert Arias’s pass. Who won with the score tied 1-1 most of the match? The fans, who saw a first class example of soccer played by two strong sides, that’s who! And Heredia striker Oscar Briceno, who got weel-deserved praise for keeping the Alajuela defense both occupied and preoccupied.

Perez Zeledon Upset by Cartago 1-0

Perez Zeledon failed to advance its fortunes against Alajuela in Group B Sunday, being topple by the group’s last place club, Cartago. The match’s only goal was scored by Bill Gonzalez after the encounter had been played only four minutes. It was a stunning loss for the southern warriors.

The role of Cartago goalie Donny Grant so outstandingly contributed to the victory that frustrated P-Z striker Diego Pais twice congratualed him on a circus stop of a sure goal. With the loss went P-Z’s golden opportunity to take clear possession of the Group B lead and remains in third place in that tightly packed race.

Brujas Takes Lead Back, Blasting Liberia 3-0

Brujas regained the lead in Group A with its 3-0 pasting of a bewildered Liberia Mia club Sunday. This was bad news for Saprissa as last year’s champions slid back into second spot. This broke a streak of four matches where Brujas had been unable to win. What went wrong for Liberia? Nearly everything, although they played well for the first 30 minutes

But at minute 31, Jorge Barbosa headed in a pass from Yosimar Arias. Early in the second half, Lucas Gomez was assisted by Barbosa for the second marker. At 73 Arias scored again. To make things worse for Liberia, Pablo Salazar had been sent off for a rough foul of desperation in staving off a Brujas attack. Although this was later evened up when Kraesher Mooke of the Brujas was expelled for an accumulation of yellow cards, it was a psychological blow.

University of Costa Rica Downs San Carlos 2-0 in 20 Minutes

The University of Costa Rica did not believe in waiting until the iron had grown cold Sunday, beating San Carlos with two goals in the first 20 minutes of play. Esteban Armijo blasted in a pass by Marvin Chinchilla after only seven minutes followed 12 minutes later by Diego Madrigal’s scoring shot on a pass by Armijo.

UCR’s head coach Johnny Chavez told La Nacion’s sportswriters that his club’s recent improvement has been the result of slow, steady hard improvement and no brilliant strategy. Whatever. It’s working.

Carmelita Blows Lead, Tying 2-2 with San Ramon

When you’re as accustomed to losing as Carmelita is, it’s hard to break the habit, even while leading. The hapless side from Tibas tied with San Ramon 2-2 after having been up 2-0 at the end of the first stanza. It should have been an exciting match but play was lackluster. Carmelita picked up a point in the standings with its goals but remains solidly in last place in overall standings.

People sat up and took notice when Carmelita’s David Diach scored after 11 minutes with Maruicio Mora’s help. Then they stood up at minute 23 when the visiter’s Wilmer Lopez scored with Rigo Ramirez’s assistance. But San Ramon got back into the match at minute 75 with Bryan Solorzano’s goal with the assistance of Rodrigo Cordero. And, in the last minute of regulation time, the veteran Cordero tied it with the aid of Solorzano. The stands gave a sigh of relief.

Standings: Group A, Brujas is on top with 21 points, ahead of Saprissa with 18 and closed trailed by Liberia, Puntarenas, San Ramon and Carmelita (with only six points.) Group B finds Alajuela and San Carlos tied at 20 points but with the lattrer having played a match more. They are followed by Perez Zeledon with 19 and by Heredia, University of Costa Rica and Cartago.