Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, May 12, 2006 DYNAMIC Dancing: These traditional Bolivian folk-dancers, Grupo Centro Cultural Boliviano, are among international groups scheduled to perform at this year’s Fourth International Folkloric Show to be held Saturday and Sunday at the Melico Salazar theater in San José. The event, which seeks to preserve traditional art and dance from around the world, will also include the groups Huntulha, from Honduras, and Soundstage Cloggers, from the United States. Photo courtesy of Grupo Tiquicia. Get The Tico Times Daily News Updates automatically every morning (Monday-Friday) in your e-mail. Just give us your e-mail address below. To unsubscribe or to change your email address, please email subscriptions@ticotimes.net Thank you. Contest Winner Invents Magnets To Keep Sharks Out of Fishing Nets The solution to preventing thousands of sharks per year from getting snared on fishermen’s hooks and dying could be magnets. (Click for more) Costa Ricans Arrested In U.S., Italy Authorities in the U.S. state of New Jersey arrested José William Quintero, a Costa Rican accused of aggravated sexual abuse, according to a statement released by International Police (INTERPOL) yesterday. (Click for more) Manuel Antonio Hotels Study Water-Saving Measures Representatives of hotels in the Central Pacific beach towns of Manuel Antonio and Quepos recently met to discuss water conservation techniques for the area, which continually faces water shortages, at a conference organized by the Central American Biomass Users Network (BUN-CA), according to a statement from the organization. (Click for more) UNA Graduates 200-Plus Students From Country’s Poorest Areas Of the approximately 1,400 students who will graduate from Universidad Nacional (UNA), in Heredia, north of San José, this month, 242 are from two of the poorest regions in the country, according to a statement from the university: the indigenous reserves of Chorotega, in the northwestern Guanacaste province and Brunca, in southern Costa Rica. (Click for more) May 12 Today Presentation of Rutherford County´s Cripple Creek Cloggers of Murfreesboro U.S. folkloric group, 7 p.m., Community Hall in Filadelfia; 7 p.m., Paso Tempisque community hall, Saturday, 7 p.m. Info: 669-0659. Youth Film Festival Today and Saturday, films shown at 4 p.m., 7 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, National Cultural Center (CENAC), San José. Roundtable discussion, 4 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center; awards ceremony, 8 p.m., El Observatorio, Barrio La California, San José. Info: 832-8839. First National Day Against Cancer Health Fair, today and tomorrow, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Plaza de la Cultura, San José. Teleconference on the Psychological and Economic Impact of Cancer, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.; workshop for health-care professionals, 8-4 p.m. Info: 253-0886. Saturday Dance Therapy Workshop 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Kapoli, Escazú, west of San José. Info: 383-6784. Afro-Caribbean Culture Celebration Featuring concert by Manuel Monestel, art and traditional food from Limón province, 4-7 p.m., MADCafé, National Cultural Center (CENAC), San José. Cantoamérica Caribbean music, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro, east of San José. Concert by the Urdes/Morgenstein Project 7 p.m., National Auditorium, Children’s Museum. Tickets at www.mundoticket.com Sunday Fun Walks in Escazú Pico Blanco. Info: 228-0183. María Pretiz in Concert Playing trova, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, east of San José. Edited By Amanda Roberson Tico Times Staff aroberson@ticotimes.net Return To Top Of Page Click here to subscribe Contest Winner Invents Magnets To Keep Sharks Out of Fishing Nets By Amanda Roberson Tico Times Staff aroberson@ticotimes.net The solution to preventing thousands of sharks per year from getting snared on fishermen’s hooks and dying could be magnets. Michael Herrmann, a research associate at the U.S. organization Shark Defense, won the International Smart Gear Competition, a contest sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that invites people from around the world to design fishing gear to reduce the problem of “bycatch,” or fish and mammals accidentally getting caught by fishermen, according to a statement from WWF Costa Rica. The problem of bycatch has pushed some shark species to the brink of extinction, with some populations down by 90%. Recognizing that sharks can detect magnetic fields, Herrmann discovered that placing strong magnets just above fishermen’s hooks on long lines can repel certain species. As the winner of the contest, Herrmann was awarded $25,000 to put the idea into practice, said WWW spokeswoman Cinthya Flores. “He’s already proved that the magnets work, and now he can make them available for other people to use,” Flores said. Asian Pacific waters have the highest incidence of bycatch, which affects seabirds, mammals, sea turtles, tuna, sharks and other fish, Flores said, while in Latin America, it occurs the most in Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Mexico. In this year’s Smart Gear Competition, WWF received more than 80 entries from 26 countries around the world. The entries were judged by an international panel composed of gear technologists, fishery experts, representatives from the seafood industry, fishermen, scientists, researchers and conservationists. Through the Smart Gear Competition, WWF seeks to find, reward and promote inexpensive tools for fishermen to reduce the problem of bycatch, the statement said. Return To Top Of Page Click here to subscribe Costa Ricans Arrested In U.S., Italy Authorities in the U.S. state of New Jersey arrested José William Quintero, a Costa Rican accused of aggravated sexual abuse, according to a statement released by International Police (INTERPOL) yesterday. A Costa Rican judge in Pérez Zeledón, in the Southern Zone, issued an international order to arrest Quintero in August 2002. Quintero, who worked as a teacher in Pérez Zeledón in 1992, was allegedly caught by a fellow teacher sexually abusing three eight-year-old girls; he awaits trial in Costa Rica. International police in San José issued a red alert, extending the search for Quintero to the 184 member countries of its Criminal Police Organization (OIPC-INTERPOL), the statement said. At the beginning of April, police received information that Quintero might be living in New York. He was later discovered in the neighboring state of New Jersey, where he was arrested by authorities. Police determined that Quintero was residing in the United States illegally, and he faces deportation to Costa Rica, the statement said. On Wednesday, international police also located Costa Rican Mario Antonio Niel, who escaped from prison here in 1989 while serving a 16-year sentence. Niel was discovered and arrested in Fogia, Italy. Niel, who was convicted of aggravated robbery and abduction on March 3, 1985, was deported to Costa Rica, where he must complete his prison sentence and faces new charges for evading it, the statement said. Return To Top Of Page Click here to subscribe Manuel Antonio Hotels Study Water-Saving Measures Representatives of hotels in the Central Pacific beach towns of Manuel Antonio and Quepos recently met to discuss water conservation techniques for the area, which continually faces water shortages, at a conference organized by the Central American Biomass Users Network (BUN-CA), according to a statement from the organization. An increase in tourists to the area during the dry season resulted in periods with no water available, said BUN-CA consultant Agustín Rodríguez. “This lack of water affects the development of the hotels’ normal activities, and, on many occasions, hotels have had to contract trucks to bring in water from other areas,” Rodríguez said. Twenty representatives from the area attended the workshop, entitled “Good and Efficient Practices in the Use of Water Resources” and learned conservation strategies such as using low-consumption toilets and showers. Treating and recycling pool water rather than draining it was another suggestion made. Data obtained at the seminar indicates that some hotels pay more than $2,000 per month for water, another reason to make conservation efforts, Rodríguez said. The seminar was part of BUN-CA’s Energy Efficiency in the Tourism Sector Program. Hotels that participate in the program qualify for a Certificate of Sustainable Tourism from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), the statement said. -Tico Times Return To Top Of Page Click here to subscribe UNA Graduates 200-Plus Students
Of the approximately 1,400 students who will graduate from Universidad Nacional (UNA), in Heredia, north of San José, this month, 242 are from two of the poorest regions in the country, according to a statement from the university: the indigenous reserves of Chorotega, in the northwestern Guanacaste province and Brunca, in southern Costa Rica.
Yesterday and today, graduation ceremonies are being held in Liberia and Nicoya, in Guanacaste, at which 52 students from the Chorotega indigenous reserve are receiving diplomas. 190 students from the Brunca reserve, in the Southern Zone, also graduated earlier this month.
Of UNA’s 1,400 graduates, 240 received degrees in science, 293 received liberal arts degrees, 295 received degrees in education and 314 received social science degrees, according to the statement.
-Tico Times