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| A.M. Costa Rica Second newspage |
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| Costa Rica Expertise Ltd http://crexpertise.com E-mail info@crexpertise.com Tel:506-256-8585 Fax:506-256-7575 |
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 Ministerio de
Gobernación,Policía
Goods confiscated from the arrested many Seguridad Pública photo One-man crime wave
finally put behind bars By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The 56th time is a charm, according to the Fuerza Pública in San Pedro de Montes de Oca. Finally after 56 arrests in 2008 alone, a man has been put behind bars. The man, identified by the last names of Esquivel Soto,
The crimes left many vehicle windows broken and all sorts of items taken from parked cars. But the crimes never seemed to rise to the level that would cause a judge to place a suspect in preventative detention or jail. Sunday two men, 21 and 24, were robbed of cell telephones in Barrio Pinto, San Pedro. The men told police that the robber put a firearm to their heads to encourage compliance with his wishes. Fuerza Pública officers detained Esquivel, and a judge ordered him to be held for four months of preventative detention. But in several earlier appearances in court, the man escaped jail. He was detained by police Oct. 2 in Calle de la Amargura carrying a car radio that had just been extracted from a nearby burglarized vehicle. A judge did not jail him but ordered him to community service in a Zapote educational institution. Dec. 5, the same man was detained after someone busted a car window in Calle de la Amargura. Police said they confiscated a number of items usually found in cars, such as a hydraulic jack, a safety triangle and tools. A judge did not confine him but began a court case. Dec. 7 police said they stopped Esquivel in a San Pedro park and found that he was carrying a wallet with documents and credit cards belonging to someone else. A judge did not confine him but sentenced him to six months of conditional release. The man was ordered to stay out of Barrio Roosevelt and La Granja, the location where stickups had been reported. Illegal fireworks light up city skyline as year changes By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Fireworks are supposed to be illegal, but early Thursday the sky over San José was lighted by hundreds of rockets fired from all the barrios of the city. Still, police continued to crack down on retail sale. Near the Paco commercial center in Escazú Tuesday night they confiscated nearly 2 million colons worth (about $3,650) in fireworks, they said. The seller, identified by the names of Delgado Rodríguez, had been turned in by neighbors, police said. Police and health officials have cracked down on fireworks sales for several years because they said they are trying to halt conditions that might lead to a child being burned. Several cases have taken place with illegal fireworks already this holiday season. The basic rule is that if a device explodes, it is illegal. That includes skyrockets. Several legal displays, one at the Zapote holiday fiestas and another at the Parque de Diversiones, were put on over Christmas. Police at checkpoint stop kidnapping and carjacking By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
A man stopped at a police checkpoint in Pavas told officers he was being held by two robbers, and officers detained two minors, one 16 and the other 17. Police said the two men held up the driver in Centro Comercial Plaza América in Hatillo 4 and forced him to go with them in the vehicle. The man said that the two boys were taking him to the countryside where they said they would leave him. Police identified the two suspects by the last names of Bonilla and Araya. The car owner was identified by the last names of Polanco Valverde. Police said they confiscated a .38-caliber revolver.
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| A.M. Costa Rica third newspage |
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Police officer shot thwarting
robbery at San José hostel
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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Four men held up a budget hostel in north San José Tuesday night, and one robber as he fled shot a policeman in the eye. The confrontation took place on Calle 7 some 250 meters north of Parque Morazán. This is an area popular with budget tourists where a handful of moderately priced hostels and hotels are located. Fuerza Pública officers managed to detain two men, including the suspected assailant, but two others escaped in a car, said the Ministerio de Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública. The Poder Judicial identified the two detained men by the last name and ages of Morales Aguilar, 41, and Miranda Vásquez, 36. They have been jailed for investigation. They face allegations of aggravated robbery and attempted murder. Wounded seriously was the police officer, José Malespín |
Chávez, 50, a 20-year
veteran of the force. He was shot in the right eye and was in Hospital
Calderón Guardia. Four men entered the Kabata hostel on the west side of Calle 7 about 10:30 p.m. and threatened a woman working there, said the Fuerza Pública. Somehow police were alerted and a patrol car containing Malespín and another officer were first on the scene. Two robbers fled but Malespín got out of the police vehicle and confronted the two remaining individuals as they were leaving the hostel. One man ignored a demand that he drop his weapon and shot Malespín in the eye, said Carlos León, commander of the Barrio México Fuerza Pública station. Then the man fired three shots into the parked patrol vehicle and shattered the windshield. One of the fleeing men threw a pistol in the direction of a sewer, but police managed to recover the weapon. The area along Calle 7 is heavily traveled by tourists en route to the downtown. There are frequent street robberies there, too. |
| Looking back on making the move to live in Costa Rica |
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| Last
year at this time I was living in the Residencia, an assisted living
facility in San Antonio de Belén. I had moved there
because my friends were really worried about my health, and I began to
worry, too. Mainly I was worried that I was going to become a
burden to them and my family before I knew I was being one. Living in the Residence gave me an opportunity to see into what my future might be, and better yet, the chance to write about assisted living facilities in Costa Rica. There are not many, in good part because there have not been government regulations and licenses for people interested in building such facilities to apply for. There has been little demand for them in the past. Now I am back in San José in the same building where I used to live, but in a smaller apartment, living happily alone. I may be a pain in the neck to my friends, but I am not a burden. By smaller apartment, I mean two bedrooms, instead of three. But it is still much larger than the two rooms and a bath that was my home for over a year. What I most appreciate is having a kitchen again. It is my haven. It is where I go when I am at loose ends or in a dither. I don’t go there to eat, although I do try to get another glass of water, which I will forget to drink. I cook something and happily lose myself in the process. The joy is being in charge of my own life, of coming and going when and where I want, and cooking and eating what I want and what I think is healthy. As a woman living alone in Costa Rica, I am not that much of a rarity. In many ways, Costa Rica is the ideal home abroad for many women who no longer can afford or want to live in the countries where they were born. Some of the women are divorced or widowed and have retired here. Others have had or still have professional jobs. Some do volunteer work. Many, wisely, already know or begin to learn Spanish. I knew Castilian when I arrived, but that is not what they speak. I still have problems understanding Tico slang and the accents outside of San José. Enrolling in a school that teaches Spanish and also offers homestays with a local |
family solves two problems at once: where to live and what to do in the early months. That is the time to begin to get an idea where you want to
live. Visit
different parts of the country, check out city life and town or country
life, the beach or the Central Valley. Costa Rica has different
climates; check them out. These are the things I did in the early months of my
arrival. It does
not mean that I was not lonely or frustrated or didn’t question my
decision. I still had plan B if things did not work out. |
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For many Miami Cubans
Castro's celebration evokes sorrow
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By
the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Cuba's government is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the victory of guerrilla forces led by Fidel Castro over dictator Fulgencio Batista. For the nearly two million Cubans who have fled the Communist-ruled island since then, the day evokes difficult memories. Nearly half of Cubans who have fled the Communist nation in the past 50 years have settled in the Miami area. Some sought to leave through official channels, often waiting years for approval from Cuba's government. Others escaped on smuggler's boats or defected while on approved travel outside the island. For many Cubans, the details of the ordeals matter less than the knowledge they are free from Communist rule. The hosts of Miami-based Radio Republica discussed the latest efforts of Cubans to leave the island during a program that was beamed into Cuba this week. They said Cubans were lined up at the Spanish embassy in Havana, hoping to take advantage of a new law that grants citizenship to the grandchildren of Spanish immigrants. Julio Estorino, who directs the radio show for the pro-democracy group Cuban Democratic Directorate, says Spanish citizenship offers the hope of living in a place with freedom and rights. He says it is sad that so many Cubans see no hope if they remain in Cuba. For many Cubans the United States has given opportunities for education, work and travel they would not have in Cuba. Miami restaurant owner Ailin Fernandez left Cuba more than 20 years ago. She longs to return home and open a restaurant in the beach town of Varadero but not under the current government. |
She says there are opportunities
here for people who work hard, but the same is not true in Cuba. Others, like Giselle Palacios, 18, have come to Miami to escape political persecution on the island. As the daughter of prominent dissidents, she fled after being kicked out of college for her political activities. She says she hopes to finish her studies in Miami and return home someday to help rebuild the country. She says all Cubans should be able to go home. Giselle's parents remain in Cuba, where her father was recently jailed for his political involvement. For her, the policies of Cuba's revolutionary government have meant the forced separation of her family, as well as many others. Comedian Bonco Quinongo left Cuba nine years ago to advance his career. His decision prompted the government to label him a deserter, making it nearly impossible to return home to visit his two daughters and his ailing father. He says he may have found success by leaving Cuba, but there is something else that is missing, and it pains him deeply. Like many Cuban exiles, Quinongo is not following the 50th anniversary celebration planned in Havana. The day stirs difficult memories of what has been lost in the past five decades. He says the word revolution is supposed to mean renewal and progress, but in the case of Cuba, it really means a rejection of those things. When Fidel Castro claimed victory 50 years ago, few expected his revolutionary forces to remain in power as long as they have. For many Cuban exiles, the question is how much longer can the Communist government continue. |
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Cuba marks 50 years of the
Castro Brothers' dictatorship
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By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
Thursday Cuba marked 50 years since Fidel Castro took control of the country in the Communist revolution. President Raúl Castro was in the eastern city of Santiago at the same spot where his older brother proclaimed victory Jan. 1, 1959. After ousting dictator Fulgencio Batista, the elder Castro ruled Cuba for 49 years, resisting what he viewed as U.S. imperialism. Raúl Castro formally took over from his ailing brother in February, promising reforms for the economically-strapped Cuba, which is now one of the world's last Communist strongholds. On the eve of the anniversary Wednesday, a White House spokesman, Gordon Johndroe, said the United States will |
continue to seek freedom
for Cubans. He said the Castro brothers have not treated their people
well, noting that many political dissidents are in jail. Under Fidel Castro, Cubans experienced a range of advances and setbacks, from improvements in education and health care to a U.S. economic embargo that has contributed to the country's financial hardships during the past five decades. Many Cubans are hoping for an improvement in U.S.-Cuban relations when U.S. president-elect Barack Obama takes office Jan. 20. The 82-year-old Fidel Castro has not been seen in public since undergoing intestinal surgery in 2006, but maintains a strong presence in Cuba and around the world. He has become the model for a new generation of leftist leaders in Latin America, including Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Bolivia's Evo Morales. |
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being felt in San Francisco By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services
There are now laws all over the world — from China to Bangladesh to Ireland — banning, restricting or taxing plastic shopping bags. In the United States, San Francisco, California, in March became the first American city to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags. Sunset Scavenger dump is home to the waste of some 820,000 San Francisco residents, waste that is made up of untold numbers of plastic bags. They are cheap to produce, but hard to recycle, and they often end up in places they should not be, said Robert Reed, spokesman for Sunset Scavenger Waste. "They're very lightweight. They blow into marshes, and onto farms. They wind up in the Bay, and in the current, and they wind up out in the ocean. They are a threat to marine life," Reed said. These hazards, and the fact that the city was trashing roughly 180 million plastic bags a year, are what prompted San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi to write a bill banning plastic carrier bags from all major chain supermarkets and pharmacies. But he hopes the law will inspire people to do more than that. "The ban is also not just about not using plastic bags," Mirkarimi said. "But it's about not using paper as well, so that the goal and the thrust would be: hey, use neither paper nor plastic, bring your own." 'Bringing your own' is a concept shopper Sabina Talia-Ferro was already familiar with. "In Holland, they never give you a bag, you have to bring your own bags, so I was accustomed to that already," she said. Other shoppers have happily cooperated with the ban. Grocers too. Store owner Sam Mogannam says he now pays 10 times more to provide paper bags to customers than he did with plastic. "The only impact was the increase in cost, and it wasn't a cost we were opposed to taking," he said. Not all grocers feel that way. The California Grocers Association, which represents about 500 members, does not support the ban, said spokesman Dave Heylen. "The intention of the ordinance was to move consumers away from bags and to begin to have them look at alternative ways of shopping," he said. "But we don't think that this accomplishes that. All that it has done is that consumers have just shifted from a plastic bag to a paper bag." The next step? To extend the ban to small grocers and retailers. Supervisor Mirkarimi also says he's working on a bill to ban plastic bags on newspapers. |
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