Bebidas Florida manager Ramon Mendiola was presented with the "Entrepreneur of the Year 2012" award Wednesday night by the financial publication El Financiero, the local equivalent of The Wall Street Journal. The company began and continues to be Costa Rica's primary producer of beer (including best selling Imperial) and other beverages. The newspaper also chose Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Go...

The national electrical monopoly ICE has chosen 11 projects of clean private industry to buy 140 megawatts of generation power for this energy starved nation. Among them are five projects of wind energy totaling 100 megawatts nearly three times cheaper than ICE itself can generate it. The other six are hydroelectric to produce 40 megawatts. In the bidding, the cheapest source was a wind ener...

Costa Rica's female judicial functionaries may not wear miniskirts, low necklines, tight blouses or strapless wear. So decided a majority of judges this week. But, lest feminists think this is discriminatory, men may not wear earrings and visible tattoos. (Fortunately, facial tattooing is rare here.) The dress code was approved by vote Nov. 5. The 11,000 judicial branch workers were notified...

Nowhere is the generation gap between Costa Rican youth and adults more marked than on the subject of sex education. Evangelical adults and Catholic bishops tend to believe that such instruction should be left to largely ill-informed parents. A recent survey of kids 15-19 years old reveals that 92% feel that 13 years old is not too soon to begin learning about sex and 60% would like to see it t...

The powerful public employee union ANEP and the Restaurant Chamber have combined forces to aid restaurant table staff who may be fired in the wake of an earlier Constitutional court decision regarding tips. The ruling squeezed restaurateurs who, with the addition of tips, were forced to pay more to Social Security benefits and severance pay. So restaurant owners have been firing their table sta...

Foreign drug cartels lost tons of narcotics in a week to police here and in Panamanian waters. Local police captured three truck shipments and Panamanian authorities along with U.S. patrols cooperated in another blow. After a chase that began in Costa Rican waters, a U.S. Coast Guard frigate and Panamanian patrol boat trapped a semi-submersible craft after an unarmed U.S. Orion P-3 patrol aircr...

Costa Rica ranks 48th in Transparency International’s 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which measures perceived public sector corruption in 176 countries. Costa Rica’s score in the 2012 survey is 54 on a scale of 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean). The 2012 CPI was calculated using an improved methodology which does not allow to compare the data with p...

The Chamber of Industry opposed a rate increase by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, citing lack of control in the state run company's expenditures. A statement from the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (ICRC) reads: Industrialists have opposed rate increase requested by ICE for 2013 -Requests have been made to ARESEP to review and correct estimates of demand in order not to...

Go Blue Central America is an interactive map to share with the rest of the world, the uniqueness and authenticity of the marine and coastal areas of Central America. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and National Geographic (NatGeo) presented "Go Blue Central America", an interactive map on the internet designed to promote tourism in the Isthmus. The website "Geotourism ...

GAINESVILLE, FL - Calypso Blue, a giant leatherback from Panama, finished in first place in Sea Turtle Conservancy's (STC) annual Tour de Turtles Migration Marathon. Calypso Blue, sponsored by Atlantis Paradise Island, swam 3,268 miles in 97 days. Tour de Turtles is a three-month-long, online sea turtle migration-tracking marathon. This year, audiences followed the migration of fifteen turtles ...

Most (100) of the 234 known Costa Ricans in prison abroad got there because of narcotics, according to a recent study by Immigration in Costa Rica. The others (23) were nabbed for robberies. And most of them ran afoul of U.S. police (95), 31 in Panama, 29 in Mexico and 22 in Nicaragua, the count shows. But Immigration sub-director Freddy Montero says some data from the U.S. is still pending. ...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published extensively on Monsanto and GMO products. The official response to the request by Monsanto for seed planting and research is being hampered by lobbyists who are opposed to the concept. Elfinancierocr.com reports that "The National Biosafety Technical Commission requested further studies on the impacts of transgenic corn planting in Costa Rica by ...

Thud! That's the sound of the other shoe dropping in the case of the corruption riddled construction of the northern border road, Route 1856. And it was dropped by the Comptroller General's Office filing charges against 21 officials and ex-officials. An investigation by lawmakers in the Legislative Assembly was the first shoe, but it had no power of punishment -- that is up to the courts. But t...

Danger was averted during a river cleanup on Sunday, November 18, when a plastic container of toxic insecticide was found near the mouth of the Nosara River. About 15 people were participating in the cleanup when one stumbled upon the jar and noticed its red label warning of the highly toxic contents, related Javier Hernandez Jiron, president of the fishing association Asociación de Pescadores ...

A petition by the Riteve inspection company for a huge 157% price hike in mandatory vehicle inspections in January has raised outcries of rage and pain from taxi owners and motorcyclists. The reaction from comments on social media ranges from "exorbitant" to "outrageous," among some less restrained comments. Motorcyclists and taxi owners will undoubtedly express their displeasure in more physic...

Vitec Videocom Costa Rica inaugurated an expansion of its Cartago factory last week in order to produce the Italian Manfrotto tripod. The tripod will be added to the list of devices produced by Vitec under such trademarks as O'Connor, Vinten and Sachtler. Julio Lizano, chief of Vitec operations here, said that the reputation of Vitec was such that the company decided to transfer part of its pro...

New Report from Lockton Global Highlights Challenges for Risk Management in Latin America As more companies invest and expand throughout Latin America, there is increasing focus on protecting these investments through effective risk management and insurance approaches. Global insurers are increasing their participation and activities in the region while governments are adapting their regulator...

A study by the Universidad de Costa Rica notes that one company controls the distribution of 80% of drugs sold, with price differences of up to 1,000%. An article in Nacion.com reports that there is "little or no competition in the private sector of medicine, product of an industry that is "highly concentrated", causing Costa Rica to have higher drug prices compared to other Central American co...

Investments in port infrastructure, new free zones, condominium housing developments, and a new road promises more development in Limon Costa Rica. One of the projects planned to start in 2013 is the new Moin Container Terminal, by APM Terminals, whose construction will require three years and a workforce of 1,000 workers. Also, for 2013 is the expected start of construction of a "condominiu...

San Jose Mayor Johnny Araya and ex-Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias were in full cry during the weekend, both National Liberation Party primary candidates for the presidential nomination. Both held rallies before the unofficial holiday "cease fire" on the trail. Araya put forth his program before an estimated 4,000 educators brought to Belen in chartered buses, a base the Araya campaign believ...

The recent rise in the Ministry of Finance values of used cars has hit importer, car fleet owners, and the tax on selling a car. But, observes the national newspaper La Nacion, only 315 protests have been filed. The re-evaluation will raise import duties on imported used cars, a brisk business in this country with its own chamber to look out for its interests. And only Jose Carballo, president ...

The Costa Rican financial system makes no effort to provide resources to support innovation processes in companies. A report entitled ‘Indicators for Science, Technology and Innovation 2010-2011’ published by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Costa Rica, notes that "what continues to stand out in the country's financial system is the fact that it does not seem to be very mature in ter...

Everyone likes change in diet and institutional cafeteria food sucks! This was the thrust of convict demands this week at La Reforma prison. Some 1,700 minimum security section prisoners at La Reforma ended a peaceful 24-hour hunger strike with an accord with Reynaldo Villalobos of the prison system to be more flexible in allowing families to bring them food. The strike brought out 160 extra...

Geneva, Switzerland, December 2 2012 – IECEE, the IEC System of Conformity Assessment Schemes for Electrotechnical Equipment and Components, welcomes the Republic of Kazakhstan as its newest member country. Kazakhstan’s membership in IECEE puts it on a par with its partners in the EEC (Eurasian Economic Commission), a three-member Customs Union also consisting of the Republic of Belarus and the...

Washington, D.C., December 2 2012 (PAHO/WHO) — Increased access to antiretroviral treatment has changed the face of the HIV epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean, helping tens of thousands of people to live longer and healthier lives while also helping prevent HIV transmission between sexual partners and from mothers to infants. Building on this success—say experts at the Pan American Hea...

At last! The government is seeking a constitutional amendment that has nothing to do with politicians feathering their own nests, or robbing taxpayer coffers or gathering power like squirrels do pine nuts. Instead, the amendment sought is one that would allow Costa Ricans who commit crimes elsewhere and take refuge here to be extradited to the scene of their judgement. President Laura Chinch...

Although both economists and analysts tend to watch industry as an economic indicator, a recent survey shows that cooperatives in this country are alive and thriving. Cooperatives not only account for 21,600 jobs in the country but this figure has climbed 46% during the years after 2008. Many are small but others, like milk products giant Dos Pinos, loom high in finding economic health in the n...

Plans are being pushed forward to reform government structure on two fronts: ex-President Jose Maria Figueres would like to gather plans from a number of people for a referendum and the National Agenda group would like to pursuade lawmakers. The avowed goal of both groups is to create a more "governable" nation because, in the words of University of Costa Rica professor Jaime Ordonez, the "coun...

Recently The Costa Rica Star has published about the 2013 Marchamo insurance rate increase. Controversy over the 2013 Marchamo – circulation permit or sticker – continues as vehicle owners, supported by workers unions and at least one legislator, Luis Fishman, continue to press the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) and the government to justify the rate increase. The argument is that the i...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published numerous articles about outsourcing in Costa Rica. -Softline International Group continues its expansion in Latin America with the opening of its headquarters in Costa Rica for Central America. -Meli Figueres, assumes the role and strategy of expansion in Costa Rica as General Manager, supported by the LATAM Emerging Business Director, Richard Po...

As the national newspaper La Nacion corrrectly notes, the Social Security (Caja) main office taking over running of a local hospital has become a frequent feature in this country. This week, it was the turn of St. Francis de Asis Hospital in Grecia. This year, residents of the usually quiet town have gathered three times in front of the health care facility to protest exaggeatedly long waits fo...

Projections of industrial output for Costa Rica are around 3% for next year, lower than the expected growth of 5% this year. Still, the expected growth for 2013 is better than in many European nations whose outlook is flat. The year began by causing a euphoria among some government analysts, gaining a remarkable 13.8% in the first quarter over the same period the year before. A slowing trend...

Seven robbers surprised and tied up two guards at a customs car park in Barranca, Puntarenas, and made off with four brand new autos recently imported. But they did not have it all their own way. Despite the ease of the robbery itself in the wee hours of Monday morning, the robbers had to abandon two of the stolen vehicles, one destroyed by fire to eradicate traces--and two suspects are in cust...

We wish to announce our upcoming exhibition "Boom Goes the Tropics," by Florencia Urbina at the Hidden Garden Art Gallery. The opening will be on Saturday December 1st from 10:00 am to 4:00 p.m. We invite you to attend, and would appreciate your exposure of the event online or in print. Please contact us for any additional information or high-resolution photos. Transforming light and ...

Tuesday's protests by several hundred motorcyclists demanding negotiations with the government to lower the price of the marchamos (circulation permit that must be renewed annually) boiled over. The demonstration lasted most of the day and resulted in five arrested and the windshield and driver's window of a minivan broken out. It is presumed that a helmet and a barrel were used in breaking the...

The Colombian banking institution Davivienda, one of the fastest-growing in the world, officially took over services from HSBC this week, making Costa Rica the fourth country to host its operations. The other countries are Colombia, Panama and the United States. In the near future the private bank is to take over operations in El Salvador and Honduras. The company announced that it was keepi...

The Costa Rica Star has recently published information about receiving your permanent residency in Costa Rica to avoid border runs, wasting time, and money. Rick and Lorraine have been coming to Costa Rica for the last ten years. Like good tourists they fueled the country’s top industry, tourism. And like many Canadian tourists, they fell in love with paradise. Since their first arrival in C...

From reading the laws of the land, one would think that women in Costa Rica are pretty well protected against violence, once not only permitted but encouraged by the old machismo of society. Not so, say marchers Sunday on the International Day vs. Violence Against Women who put the court system directly in the sights for allegedly winking at violence when a case is denounced. Sylvia Mesa of ...

It appears that it takes modern Costa Ricans as long to build a road as it took Medieval Europeans to build a cathedral. And the results are not nearly as pretty... The new road, currently under construction, to San Carlos has been promised for 23 years and the plan and contracts must be revised because of intervening wetlands encountered by surveyors along the route. The much-needed road to...

Government utility Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) seeks bids from consultants to determine Costa Rica's ocean energy potential for electricity generation. Bids are due December 7. ICE seeks analysis of electricity generation potential of waves, currents, tides, and other marine sources on its Caribbean and Pacific coasts. The selected consultant is to: determine theoretical and t...