As of today, the TSE can announce the next President of Costa Rica.  But we are still not sure when that will be.  The time permitted for appeal the manual scrutiny of the final polling stations has expired.  The TSE has 695 appeals in total to resolve, and currently 210 of those are pending.  Once this task is finished, the TSE may announce the winner officially.

Most presidential candidates have not waited for the initial announcement and have visited the Oscar Arias residence in Rohrmoser to congralute the PLN candidate.  The latest was Antonio Alvarez Desantí, who broke from PLN to form his own party when Arias announced that he was running.  Alvarez did not rule out a return to PLN in 2010 from his own party, but did confirm he would run in either case.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the TSE has denied most appeals by PAC to rescrutinize polling stations.  While some have qualified PAC candidate Solís as a sore loser, for the “excessive” appeals, magistrates did find 3000 of the alleged 3900 ballots that PAC qualified as missing according to their observers and TSE statistics.  TSE officials had denied that 5000 ballots were missing when the accusation came to light, but the missing ballots were in bags holding votes for legislator and were discovered during the scrutiny of these ballots.  8 of the missing voter rolls were also found in these bags.

While most of the appeals have been rejected, some have been passed along to the Electoral Inspection oversight board. There it will be determined whether or not tampering was involved, and whether or not criminal charges may be filed.  If election crimes have occured, the cases will be passed to the Public Ministry for action.

In a weekend conference the PAC party re-emphasized its ethics code for the 18 legislators that will take congressional seats on May 1st.  Although the new reps were familiar with the code, Marta Zamora, the current fraction leader, said that after training courses it was necessary to “replant certain points”.

The reinforced points dealt with voting legislative vacations, expense accounts, and overseas trips.

Zamora said, ” Our code prohibits the use of Congressional cars, and the approval of recesses longer than 15 days.”

After an initial rise at the beginning of the year, gas prices are to drop this week.

Super from 488 to 463 Colones
Regular from 466 to 440 Colones
Diesel from 335 to 313 Colones

Dollar per Gallon Conversion (Super) 463 / 500 Colones per dollar = $ 0.926 per liter
$ 0.935 per liter X 3.785 liters per gallon = $ 3.50 per gallon

The reductions are due to reduced tensions over Iran and lower international prices.

Reductions also were announced in prices for gas cylinders and LPG gas for cars:

21 liter cylinder from 7864 to 7627 colones

LPG Gas from 293 to 286 per liter

The national soccer team began an incredible journey Sunday and was to arrive after midnight Costa Rica time to Tehran.  They were scheduled to test the pitch at 6:30 am our time. 24 hours later is game time, where temperatures were expected to be near 60 degrees at the start of the match.
Players had to do isometric exercises and stretches in their seats to combat travel fatigue. The journey was of epic proportions, and even included a bus transfer in the US.  The players left Juan Santamaria aiport in Alajuela at 2:30 pm on Sunday. The plane flew to Guatemala, then to Washington DC, and then they took a charter bus to New York City for the flight to Dubai.  From there a commuter flight to Tehran. A total of 40 hours!!

Psych War
When the Tricolor contends with Iran in Tehran it will put an exclamation point on what some Iranis are calling a psychological war.

A few days ago, a government spokesperson accused “The West” of launching a psych war against Iran’s national team.

According to an ISNA news wire, the leader Gholan-Huessein Elham affirmed that the refusal of westerners to play friendly international matches with Iran is a psychological war, and the purpose is to isolate Iran before the world.

Prior to negotiating a friendly with Costa Rica, Iran failed to find any team willing to face its all stars, because of the government’s refusal to put an end to its nuclear program, according to officials.

Countries such as Rumania, the Ukraine, promised to play but backed out of friendlies in the Azadi stadium. Spain also said no, thank you. Belarussia, Colombia, Turkey and Switzerland have all been asked to play, but have not replied.

So tomorrow’s match may be Iran’s final warm up in preparation for the World Cup.

RESULTS

Liberia - Cartago 1-1
Brujas - Puntarenas 1-1
Pérez Zeledón - Carmelita 1-1
Heredia - Santos 2-0
Saprissa - Alajuela 0-0

STANDINGS

NEXT ROUND

WEDNESDAY MARCH 1st
San Ramon hosts Santa Cruz, 8 p.m., Guillermo Vargas Roldán Stadium
Cartago hosts Carmelita, 8 p.m., Fello Meza Stadium.
DOMINGO 5 DE MARZO
Carmelita hosts Heredia, Carlos Alvarado Villalobos Stadium
Santos hosts San Ramon, Ebal Rodríguez Aguilar Stadium
Santa Cruz hosts Cartago, Cacique Diriá Stadium
Saprissa hosts Liberia, Ricardo Saprissa Stadium
Alajuelense hosts Brujas, Alejandro Morera Soto Stadium
Puntarenas hosts Pérez Zeledón, Miguel Lito Pérez Stadium

Víctor Núñez, Cartago 18
Álvaro Saborío, Saprissa 15
Kurt Bernard, Puntarenas 12
Esteban Bolaños, Santos 10
Josef Miso, Heredia 10
Rónald Gómez, Saprissa 10

On Sunday President Abel Pacheco claimed credit for a 45% increase in tourism during his term.  The average growth was 11.2% each year, more than double the projected numbers.

2/27/6

Jim and Gary returned to Sardinal. Jim went on an excellent ride through the mountains, and Gary took Spanish lessons. They stayed for lunch and said the meals were excellent. They enjoyed the people and the place so much, they returned on Tuesday for more. This time they took the 4×4 up a trail and were very impressed with the views, and the flora and fauna. Jim was happy that the naturalist was very knowledgeable about the birds, and that he carried a book to show Jim the pictures and the names of the birds. Sometimes they argued about the type of bird, and when Jim was right a couple of times he was happiest of all. When they left on Wednesday for San Jose, they had seen much of the country around here, and wanted to come back for more.

I renewed my passport at the Canadian Embassy in San Jose on Thursday. It was my understanding the closest embassy was in Guatemala, but I was happy to find one here, and the process was quick and painless. Then I drove Linda to the airport as she has returned to Canada for 3 more months. I can’t believe how much we’ve done in 3 months; construction, cleanup, paperwork, company, new friends, and the best holiday she ever had.

My car started making noises Thursday, and got worse on Friday. The mechanic looked at it yesterday, and thinks it might be the water pump. I will take it to Puntarenas tomorrow, as the surveyor is coming today to survey this lot for title registry, and the new lot next door, which came with title, but the markers are gone and the boundaries are in dispute already.

A law approved yesterday in second debate in the Congress authorizes citizens to approve or to defeat some kinds of laws, like reforms to the Constitution.

The bill passed unanimously. Referendums may not address the approval or removal of laws relating to budgets, taxes, changes in monetary and fiscal policy, international loans, pensions, national security and administrative contracts.

The results of the referendum are binding if at least 30% of citizens registered in the electoral registry (currently 765,000) participate. If the matter to be voted on may be passed by a simple majority of legislators.

The results of the referendum are binding if at least 40% of citizens registered in the electoral registry (currently 1,020,000) participate if the matter to be voted on requires 38 votes.

A call to a referendum may happen if 5% of citizens registered in the electoral registry (currently 127,000) sign a petition.

President Abel Pacheco inaugurated a new “one window” service platform in the National Registry in Curridabat this week.  Certifications issued by the registry can now be obtained in one stop, and in one fell swoop, whereas previously vehicle and real property certificates had to be requested seperately and in advance.

“We united the service to give people direct access, so that they will save a substantial amount of time with fast service. “, said the director, Dagoberto Sibaja.

The service platform will operate from Monday to Friday at the main entrance of the Registry building from 7:30 a. m. to 3:30 p. m.

This week the Bandera Azul steering committe awarded 57 Blue Flags for 2006.  Beaches and communities earn this distinction by passing a rigorous inspection which includes testing water quality in the surf, residual water and sewage treatment, access to drinking water, availability of trash cans, environmental education programs in the community and a local committee in charge of the beach. These communities receive an A rating and can be awarded the Blue Flag.

Additional points and ratings up to AAAA can be awarded to communities that have lifeguards and warning signs,  camping rules, handicapped access, first aid stations, showers, recycling programs and an emergency committee.

The highest scoring beaches this year were: Manuel Antonio ( Espadilla Sur, Puerto Escondido and Gemelas in the National Park) and Playa Blanca (in Punta Leona) which had the highest score.