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(506) 2223-1327               Published Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009,  in Vol. 9, No. 204          E-mail us
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Water users to pay surcharge to fix faulty hydrants
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rica firemen say that about 31 percent of the country's hydrants are in terrible shape. That usually means they cannot be turned on in an emergency or that when they are no water comes out.

As part of the reorganization of the Cuerpo de Bomberos into a unit independent from the Instituto Nacional de Seguros, attention has been turned to the hydrants.

Lawmakers took a legislative approach, and the Authoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos established a water user rate, which amounts to a new tax. The surcharges cover the Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, the Empresa de Servicios Públicos de Heredia S.A.  and the Asociación Administradora de Acueducto Rural.

The tax is relatively small. Users will pay a monthly rate of from 280 colons (48 U.S. cents) for Acueductos y Alcantarillados to 325 colons (about 56 cents) for the rural water company. In addition, there is a surcharge of 12 colons for every cubic meter of water used. An average home will use between 10 and 30 cubic meters of water a month. So that could be from 120 to 360 colons.

The price regulating agency said that the water companies should return in a year with a summary of how much money they received and how they spent it. The water companies working with the firemen hope to install 600 new hydrants and repair 1,480 a year.

The money should go a bit further. Presdident Óscar Arias Sánchez signed a bill into law Wednesday that exempts the Asociación Administradora de Acueducto Rural from paying
sick hydrant
sales tax on purchases of pipes and other construction materials.

The report by firemen on the state of the nation's hydrants certainly raises concern. Of the estimated 2,400 hydrants in the Provincia de San José, 1,036 are listed as bad with only 629 in good condition. Of the 6,100 hydrants in the entire country, 1,870 are said to be bad.

The problem developed because no agency was put in charge of maintaining the hydrant system once they were installed.

The legal account of the water surcharge is scheduled to be published in the La Gazeta official newspaper Friday.


Costa Rica still must fight to win World Cup berth
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Costa Rican World Cup hopes are hanging on two games next month against Uruguay. The Ticos tied the United States national team Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and Honduras won its match against El Salvador.

That put Honduras and Costa Rica in a tie for third place in the regional competition run by the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football. But Honduras gets the nod for the third and final regional World Cup berth because it scored more goals in the preliminaries.

The United States scored both its goals in the last 18 minutes of play, and with the team down by one player due to an injury to defender Oguchi Onyewu. Costa Ricans were checking out their travel options to South Africa next year after Bryan

Ruiz scored back-to-back goals in the first half.

Michael Bradley scored the first goal for the U.S. and Jonathan Bornstein headed the ball in as time was running out. 

The U.S. team wore shirts carrying the name of teammate Charlies Davies who was seriously injured in an automobile accident the day before.

Rene Simoes, the manager for the Ticos, missed the final goal. He was escorted off the field by security guards and a policeman after he got in an argument with an official over a substitution. He was ejected.

The United States already qualified for a World Cup berth, so there was not a lot riding on the game for the U.S., except home field pride.

Honduras won its first World Cup berth since 1982 with a single goal against El Salvador.


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New security plan aims
to cut crime in Limón


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Top government officials are meeting in Limón a week from today to present an integrated plan to increase the citizen security in the province, Casa Presidencial said Wednesday.

The meeting officially will be one of the Consejo de Seguridad, which also includes members of the judicial branch.

Rodrigo Arias Sánchez, minister of the Presidencia, said that officials have been working on the plan for two months. He said the government has the obligation to provide a concrete reply to the needs of the people of Limón in security and in aspects like the permanent presence of the Fuerza Pública.

Limón province covers the entire Caribbean coast. But the area with most crime is around the city. Government officials have a big reason for being concerned by lawlessness in Limón. The Arias administration is seeking to buy out the government dock workers and turn the project over to a private concession holder.

Criminality is a blemish on that project. Rodrigo Arias said that he also would be meeting with dock workers who favor the government plan. Many are in line for big payoffs and might even obtain jobs with the concession holder.

The project Limón Ciudad Puerto is one of the key priorities of the administration.

However, Limón has been ravaged by criminal gangs and drugs. Some professionals at the Hospital Tony Facio have been threatened so badly that they have left their jobs there. Meanwhile in the streets there is frequent gunfire and murders several times a week.

Outside of street crime the area is a many transit point for drugs heading north and also for smuggled goods coming from Panamá.

Violent crime also is reported increasing further down the coast in laid back beach towns like Puerto Viejo.

Periodically there are police efforts in the area, including a much lauded 100-day sweep in the province.

The administration suggests that one answer to the crime around Limón centro is the docks project which is designed to bring more money into the area. The government also plans an $80 million facelifting with loans from international development banks. The plan is to increase the working infrastructure.

Some agreement possible
in Honduran negotiations


Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Negotiators in Honduras are presenting to their sponsors a plan that is believed to reinstall José Manuel Zelaya as the country's president.

The teams met Wednesday and it was the negotiator for the Zelaya camp who expressed optimism.

Zelaya has been holed up in the Brazilian Embassy since Sept. 21 when he sneaked back into the country. The miltary ejected him June 28, and he came to Costa Rica.

The government of interim president Roberto Micheletti is said to be studying the plan. Although they do not want to see Zelaya back in power, they also want to defend the validity of the Nov. 28 presidential elections.

The interim government has been under fierce international criticism. The plan that has been drawn up by both sides is believed to coincide in many respects with the San José Accords that were drafted by President Óscar Arias Sánchez early in the negotiations.

Today is the day to wash
your hands to be healthy


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The day is not noted on any calendar nor is it a public holiday, but today is the International Day for Washing Hands.

Since hand-washing is one of the principal weapons against the swine flu, the Ministerio de Salud is making a big production out of the day.

At the Escuela Abraham Lincoln in Alajuelita Centro this morning many of the health officials will gather to draw attention to hand-washing. The Instituto Costarricense de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, the water company, will instruct 1,500 youngsters in how to save the precious fluid and also how to wash their hands.

The day was created last year and has the support of many health agencies worldwide.  Health officials said that proper hand-washing can eliminate 47 percent of the diseases like flu and diarrhea and 23 percent of respiratory infections.


Tribunal Ambiental backs
bill to make it stronger


By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

The organization developers fear wants a little more power.

The Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo said that a bill to strengthen its role and make is more independent should be passed.  The bill was being discussed in the Asamblea Legislativa Wednesday evening.

The Tribunal is the agency that cracked down on builders and property owners in Limón province, in the central Pacific and in the Cantón de Osa. The agency, which is within the Ministerio de Ambiente, Energía u Telecomunicaciones, has the power to shut down projects. Its judges can levy fines.

The Tribunal also has been aggressive in making pineapple growers keep pesticides out of runoff.

The 12-year-old agency said in a release that the legislative proposal also would make its files open to the public so they could see the extent of pollution, environmental damage or other problems in individual projects.

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SaSan José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, Vol. 9, No. 204

Infrastructure costs skewed Radiográfica's 2008 budget
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Radiográfica Costarricense S.A., the Internet company, had a bad year in 2008, and suffered a loss of $1.7 million, according to a report from the Contraloría de la República.

The Contraloría reported on four years of financials for the company known as RACSA. It is a subsidiary of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad.

Figures showed that RACSA's operating expenses doubled from 2005 to 2008. A lot of the expenses were related to connecting to international undersea cables, the Maya and Arcos.

The loss is about 2.5 percent for the company, said the Contraloría. In three previous years, the company had profits of 9.6 percent, 1.9 percent and 3.8 percent in 2007. Each year income has increased.
The company also endured expenses from servicing debt that has been taken out in U.S. dollars, said the Contraloría. Other expenses came from investing in providing services.

The company has embarked on a series of wireless Internet connections in the Central Valley.

The parent Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad also has entered into competition for business and residential customers using an Internet connection via the telephone lines. At one point the telecom officials talked about merging RACSA into the parent company.

The Contraloría report said that RACSA needs to make an effort to generate sufficient income to pay its debts involving the undersea cables. The loans were for 10 years with a three-year grace period, the Contraloría said. The principal creditor is the Banco Centroamericano de Integración Económica.


Kidnap negotiator now held as one suspect in the crime
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A French-Canadian who served as a negotiator during the lengthy kidnaping of a Costa Rica businessman has been taken into custody as a suspect in the crime.

The Judicial Investigating Organization and other law enforcement officers staged a surprise early morning landing on the Isla Cedros in the Nicoya Peninsula to detain the man. He has been identified by his last name of Lavoie.

Two persons already have been detained in the kidnapping case. Lavoie, 38, is a long-time acquaintance of the businessman, Alberto Gómez Calderón, and served as the intermediary between the criminals and the family.
The Judicial Investigating Organization said that Lavoie has been in the country for 15 years. Agents searched his Desamparados de Alajuela home Sept. 24 and found explosives and other dangerous material, they said.

Gómez was kidnapped April 15 and held five months.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said that Lavoie was hiding out on the small island but that his presence there was noted by fishermen who reported to police that a stranger was in the area.

The 2 a.m. raid involved investigators and tactical squad members. The suspect appeared before a judge in Pavas later in the day, said the Poder Judicial.


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SSan José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, Vol. 9, No. 204


Bandits sack Guachipelín condo complex for three hours

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Masked bandits raided a condo complex in Guachipelín Saturday night, rounded up the occupants and sacked the place for three hours, a tenant reports.

There was no report of the incident by police. This account is from a tenant:

Five men, armed with shotguns and pistols, confronted a guard and tied him up. They also grabbed two residents who were entering the condo area about 6:45 p.m. Eventually they ended up on the floor of a guard shack.

Then the gunmen paid calls to four of the other five condo
units and eventually had eight persons, including children, captive.

The gunmen stole electronics, jewery, golf clubs and items worth $40,000 from one unit alone, said the tenant. They spend three hours sacking the place. The men left with the goods stuffed in the vehicles of two residents.

The tenant, who wished to keep his name out of the story, said that he wanted publicity so the public could be aware.

Such crimes are believed to take place once or twice a week in the Excazú and Rohrmoser area, but news stories about them are infrequent. Police are believed to be under orders not to release the details.

   
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San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, Vol. 9, No. 204

Casa Alfi Hotel

Dow Jones average crosses
key psychological barrier


By the A.M. Costa Rica wire services

The U.S. stock market reached a milestone Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing above 10,000 for the first time in a year.

Financial experts say day-to-day market movement is often driven as much by psychological factors as economic ones. And the New York Stock Exchange pierced an important psychological barrier in early afternoon trading. After hovering slightly below 10,000 for much of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just above the 5-digit mark for the first time since October 2008.

Ted Weisberg heads Seaport Securities and is a floor trader at the New York Stock Exchange.

"I think it is a psychological number that folks like to get focused on," he said. "It is significant in that it certainly is a milestone in the sense that we have had this dramatic recovery, very far, very fast over a relatively short period of time."

In March, the Dow hit a 12-year low of 6,547. For the year, the industrial average is up 14 percent. Will the Dow continue to rise or fall back?

"Of course, only time will tell," said Weisberg. "The market is a forward-looking indicator, and clearly the market is sending a message that things are going to get better in the fourth quarter and into 2010. The market clearly looks like it wants to go higher."

Propelling the Dow's advance were encouraging earnings reports from computer chipmaker Intel, as well as banking giant JP Morgan Chase. After last year's near-collapse of America's banking system, healthy earnings by private lenders are welcome news, according to a University of  Maryland business professor, Peter Morici.

"Confidence in the banking system is critically important to an economic recovery," he said. "JP Morgan and the others doing well is essential for the economy moving forward."

At the same time, U.S. retail sales fell in September, although by less than many analysts had feared. The drop coincided with the expiration of a federal government program subsidizing the purchase of fuel-efficient vehicles.

The consensus view among economists is that the recession, which began in late 2007, is now over. But the United States and other major industrialized nations are expected to experience slow-to-moderate growth rates for at least another year, with unemployment rates remaining stubbornly high. Should those expectations become reality, the stock market's continued upward momentum will falter at some point, according to Guy LeBas, chief income strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott.

"Economic conditions are certainly much, much better than we saw 3, 6, and definitely 12 months ago," he said. "But the truth is, there are certainly a lot of questions that remain once we get through this initial period of recovery. And what we are looking for is a longer term lower-growth outlook, and that suggests that perhaps the credit markets and the equity markets may be a little bit ahead of themselves, or ahead of fundamentals."




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San José, Costa Rica, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, Vol. 9, No. 204


Latin American news
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Global food system said
to be fragile and failing

Special to A.M. Costa Rica

The economic turmoil sweeping the globe has lead to a sharp spike in hunger affecting the world’s poorest, uncovering a fragile global food system requiring urgent reform, according to a report issued today by two United Nations agencies.  

The combination of the food and economic crises have pushed more people into hunger, with the number of hungry expected to top 1 billion this year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The agency, along with the World Food Programme, said in their “The State of Food Insecurity” report that nearly all of the world’s undernourished live in developing countries.  

Even before the onset of the current crises, the number of hungry has been growing slowly and steadily over the past decade, it noted.  

Strides in improving access to food were made in the 1980s and early 1990s, thanks to stepped up agricultural investment after the global food crisis of the early 1970s. However, official development assistance fell between 1995-1997 and 2004-2006, resulting in surges in the number of undernourished in most regions, it said.  

The increase in the number of the world’s hungry in times of both low prices and economic prosperity as well as periods of price spikes and recessions shows how weak the global food security governance system is, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization.

“World leaders have reacted forcefully to the financial and economic crisis and succeeded in mobilizing billions of dollars in a short time period,” said Jacques Diouf, the agency’s director-general. “The same strong action is needed now to combat hunger and poverty.”  

The world has the economic and technical know-how to eradicate hunger, but the political will is missing, he stressed.  






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