CINDE the office of export and development, announced that 4 U.S. companies involved in medical services and products will expand operations here in 2006.  Inamed (silicon implants), Arthrocare (surgical equipment), Point Tecnologies (metallic implements) and PPC Industries (plastics) will invest a combined total of $30 million and create 700 new jobs here.  In the bilingual employment fair, service companies announced that they need 5000 bilingual employees during 2006.  English of course, but also French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Mandarin speaking employees are needed.

The Minister of Tourism, Rodrigo Castro, said that tourism increased by 15% this year, with a projection of 1.6 million tourists by the end of 2005.  60% were from the US.

Today there will be no ferry service from Puntarenas to Paquera, since repairs will be carried out on the dock at Paquera. 

The Costa Rican government will slash taxes by half on hybrid vehicles, electric cars, and some motorcycles that enter the country.  Fortunately, the measure is to take effect by decree, so does not need to go to the assembly for debate.  The Finance Ministry has the decree, cutting the tax from 30% to 15%, but does not know when it will take effect since it must be published by the Executive Branch.

The Toyota Prius is the only hybrid car sold here currently, and the tax cut will slash 2.7 million Colones from the current price tag of 18 million.  ($36,600)  The car has a suggested price of $21,725 in the US. The importers of used cars oppose the measure, calling it discriminatory. 

At 5 pm yesterday, Rigoberto Alpízar was buried next to his mother in a ceremony attended by his wife, family, friends and concerned citizens wishing to express their condolences.  It was one week ago that US Air Marshals shot dead the Costa Rican, a naturalized US citizen, on the jetway at the Miami airport.

His wife, Anne Buechner, did not make any statements to the press, but his siblings expressed their appreciation for support shown by people worldwide and remembered their brother as a special person who always helped the family and was kind.

Saprissa never recovered from a fast goal by the European champions at the 2 minute mark.  Liverpool will take on the Brazilian side Sao Paolo on Sunday in the championship match, while Saprissa will look to recover some pride as they take on the Saudia Arabian team Al Ittihad, who lost to the Brazilians yesterday.  The match begins at 1:00 am Sunday local time, and the final will begin at 4:20 am the same day.

Liverpool kept Saprissa’s top players under a close watch and local analysts felt that the Costa Rican side gave the English team too much leeway throughout the first half.  Saprissa was more aggressive in the second half, but a 3rd goal sealed their fate. 

The local press compared the payrolls in pre-match coverage.  They noted that the Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard makes more money in 7 days than any Saprissa player makes in an entire season (10 months +)