Analysis: The recent spike in poll figures for Mayor of San Jose, Johnny Araya, in the race for presidential nomination of National Liberation Party leave challengers Fernando Berrocal and Rodrigo Arias with battles they appear to be meeting in vastly different ways. Berrocal has launched, more or less, the specifics of his program, directly challenging his rivals to do the same. Arias, by cont...

The Bailey bridges are all dismantled on the General Cañas Highway and all is right with the world. After five months, the giant crater that opened up in July and had to be bridged by temporary portable structures is finally fixed. The bridges were dismantled last Thursday night and the 12-centimeter-thick covering of asphalt laid on over the weekend, finally ending the traffic snarls made wors...

Police say they nabbed two ringleaders capable of forging nearly anything: driver's licenses, permits to carry guns, residency identification cards, (cedulas de residencia) for foreigners, even Riteve auto inspection certification papers. Friday cops raided a San Sebastian apartment equipped with all the machinery necessary to document falsification. And the easy stuff, like those cited above, ...

The area related to the Port of Limon now has its own Promotion Agency, with private and public operators, and an investment guide to promote its development. The Agency for the Development of Limon is presented as "a nonprofit joint entity of public utility made up of entrepreneurs, chambers, universities, government agencies and civil society to develop the potential of the economy of Limon a...

The long wait for surgical services at La Anexion Hospital in Nicoya will soon end. The two operating rooms will be ready on November 26th, when they have approval from the Ministry of Healthy. This was confirmed by Juan Jose Li Kam, director of the medical center, who indicated that the work done to the structures included repairing the ventilation ducts, which are necessary for the air cond...

Nicoyans came out by the dozens to celebrate, together with teachers, students and stakeholders, the inauguration of a new library for the city this past Thursday November 15th. Song and speech kicked off the plan to create a new library, steps away from the municipality office in Nicoya, and to bring new tools, resources, and information-gathering capabilities to the people of Nicoya and the s...

If you're contemplating building a new home next year, prepare yourself to pay higher taxes than before, reports the national newspaper La Nacion. But you'll have to pay higher construction costs on which the taxes are predicated, say officials. The paper reported that you'll pay 29.7% to 41% more in taxes next year than this year. In the case of a home with the outside wall of concrete bloc...

Analysis: A recent Unimer survey commissioned by the national newspaper La Nacion reveals that the average Costa Rican is disgusted with his government and his revulsion and impatience is taking a drastic turn. The danger of this dim view is expressed most strongly in the question asked, "In some circumstances, an authoritarian government can be preferable to a democratic one." In 2006, only...

In what is generally regarded as a change of position, the Catholic Episcopal Conference of bishops have decided to leave it up to parents whether to allow their children to attend sex education classes. The pronouncement comes four months before the Education Ministry mandated classes are to start in the nation's public schools. The Constitutional Court (Sala IV) has already ruled that parents...

San José, Costa Rica - Nov. 17th - The First Regional Forum for youths from the Costarican Caribbean coast “Climate Change and youth leadership: actions for the future”, was held on November 10th and 11th 2012, executed by Manos a la Costa Project, with the support of the European Union. This forum was organized by the Foundation for Peace and Democracy (FUNPADEM), the National Biodiversity Ins...

Costa Rica will launch an initiative to replace older, inefficient refrigerators that emit ozone-depleting HFCs, with newer and cleaner models. The program, which will start next year, is led by the Ministry of Environment and Energy in collaboration with the Costa Rican Electricity Institute. The goal is to replace 300,000 refrigerators per year for a total of 2.7 million. Initially the progr...

In the past The Costa Rica Star had the privilege of interviewing Dr. Franklin Chang. You don't have to be a professional investor like Warren Buffet or a rocket scientist to regard the news with excitement: a European firm has announced its intention to buy stock in Ad Astra Rocket. Ad Astra is the company of Costa Rican physicist and former astronaut Dr. Franklin Chang working on the plasm...

In what the national newspaper La Nacion termed "an historic vote," 38 lawmakers opted to remove Judge Fernando Cruz from his post on the Supreme Court's Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV). Then, Gloria Valerin, an expert in parliamentary procedure, dropped the bomb--the vote should have come before Oct. 19 if they really wanted to get rid of the judge. It appears that Cruz's appointment expir...

A new loan from the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will allow its subsidiary Racsa to stay afloat despite its finances continuing to deteriorate. This is how things are reflected in its assets, which decreased between 28% and 29% over a period of one year, from October 2011 to October 2012. Racsa (Radiographic Costarricense) will close in the red, although with slightly better figur...

The tricks and acrobatics on a bicycle or a skateboard are being transmitted by radio through the bilingual program “Cultura Alternativa” (Alternative Culture). The program is dedicated to sharing experiences about these extreme sports, interviewing the big national and international stars of skateboarding and BMX and listening to the best hip-hop. The programming is being overseen by Nicoyan L...

New eye care technology at the universal health care system (Caja) means that patients unable to produce tears to bathe the eye have relief from this painful condition, reports the national newspaper La Nacion. And cornea transplants today have an unprecedentedly low chance of being rejected due to new techniques. The paper cited the case of Amalia Alfaro, a Tica who endured three years of a...

The international airport in the capital of Costa Rica, will be too small to meet the air traffic needs of Costa Rica in the next 10 years. In 1996 the U.S. consultancy firm TAMS Inc. "recommended the Civil Aviation authority to move the administration of Juan Santamaria Airport into private hands, while a new terminal was being built", which should be operational in 2020. Nacion.com reports...

CONCACAF SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (Nov. 14, 2012) - Costa Rica surrendered a goal in the first minute of second-half injury time and had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Bolivia in an international friendly on Wednesday. Carlos Saucedo tallied his fourth goal in a month for Bolivia to equalize after Joel Campbell had given the Ticos the lead in the 72nd minute. The 20-year-old Campbell, who is in hi...

SUGESE, the insurance industry regulatory agency in Costa Rica, announced this week the rates for the obligatory automobile insurance for 2013. These are a portion of the Marchamo tax due by December 31st of each year. The Marchamo, also called "derecho de circulación" is tax raising measure that includes several programs and institutions. In every category the premiums rose when compared to la...

Down at WLTG 97 and a bit a zany cast of characters are coming together to put on a traditional Live Radio Christmas Show. Unfortunately times are hard and their sponsors, Claus and Kringle, makers of an organic green “high octane” fuel called Reindeer Nuggets, --- ” … They’re bigger than diamonds, better than coal!” ---- are threatening to close the account if the show does not meet th...

For many people, no creature evokes the kind of disgust and horror that snakes do, and Costa Rica has an abundance of slithering serpents known to have deadly dentures. But the reality is that snakebites are few and far-between. On average, 504 people are bit per year in all of Costa Rica, according to a review of medical facility data by Mahmood Sasa from the University of Costa Rica. And than...

This is a great sign for the future of English news media here in Costa Rica. Nearly two decades after ex-President Jose Maria Figueres took the forward step of initiating English classes for grade school students, the program is finally gaining headway. The program got off to a slow start in Figueres' term (1994-98) but by 2005 nearly three-quarters of primary students were receiving some E...

If it seemed last year that every time you wanted to drive someplace, you were thwarted by another demonstration protest of this or that, State of the Nation researchers say you're right. Last year, there were 632 street demonstrations, nearly an average of two per day. The only time an administration has experienced more was during ex-President Jose Maria Figueres second year in office in 1995...

Former President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Oscar Arias will marry again this Saturday, Nov. 17, at a private ceremony at his home in Pavas. His bride is Suzanne Fischel who has been his girl-friend for three years. This is the second marriage for the politician and statesman. His first wife, Margarita Peñon, served as his elegant, intelligent First Lady during his first term of office in the...

Costa Rican women not only devote to household chores more than double the time men do, but also allocate more time to their professional training, according to local media. According to surveys of the National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), the women have less leisure due to their double responsibility at work and at home, but they study more to reinforce their training. They spend...

Delays in the construction of the large hydropower projects and increases in their costs are making the future level of electricity tariffs unpredictable. Elfinancierocr.com reports that "the Association of Major Power Consumers (Acograce) and the Chamber of Industries (CIRC) believe it is time for the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) to improve and streamline their internal processes,...

Panamanian drug agents captured ex-OIJ detective Mauricio Garcia, 40, aboard his yacht Oct. 20. The yacht was anchored just off the province of Bocas del Toro in Panama waters with 633 kilos (more than 1000 lbs.) of cocaine aboard. Garcia was arrested by OIJ 18 years ago and, along with two others, was condemned to 12 years in prison for the murder of Costa Rican farmer Ciro Monge. He completed...

Of all the political parties in the country, not even the Citizen Action Party (PAC) is as split as Social Christian Unity. The big decision: Calderon or not Calderon. Last week, the party hierarchy decided on next May 19 as the critical date for the party to choose its flag bearer for the 2014 elections. For the young anti-Calderonistas, it is a battle for the soul and future of Unity. The ...

The legalization of recreational marijuana use in the states of Colorado and Washington last week will lead Latin America to increasingly question the merits of the war on drugs, said Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla. The first U.S. states to decriminalize will spur demand at a time when Central American nations and Mexico are paying a high price to halt shipments, Chinchilla said in an i...

Recently reported on The Costa Rica Star Facebook page was a video of this scuffle. What had begun as a peaceful demonstration protesting long waiting lists for medical care in front of the universal health care (Caja) headquarters on San Jose's Av. 2 Thursday morning turned ugly by nightfall. Riot police confronted demonstrators, including two Citizen Action Party (PAC) lawmakers, to try to...

A new law that prohibits hunting for sport could have a small affect on tourism in the area, according to Norma Rodriguez Garro, in charge of protected areas for MINAET in Nicoya. The proposed Reforms and Additions to the Wildlife Conservation Law was declared constitutional after review by the Sala IV on Wednesday, November 7th, opening the way for it to be put to the second and final vote by ...

Those affected are mainly young men, as young as 17 years old, who conduct manual labor and farm work. Officials at Costa Rica’s Social Security System (CCSS- Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social) have reported an alarming increase in potentially fatal chronic kidney disease cases in different parts of the country. Guanacaste is the most affected region. In simple terms, chronic kidney diseas...

A surprise operation seeking bogus drivers licenses netted 95 drivers with falsified documents and landed two Traffic Safety Council (COSEVI) officials in jail. Four other low level COSEVI officials also were arrested. Judicial detectives from the OIJ police agency have been working on the case for weeks and agency officials do not discount further arrests. One of the first drivers caught with ...

Infosys BPO has announced that it will establish a service center in Costa Rica to serve the American market and support its growth in Latin America. A press release from the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE) reads: -Infosys Technologies Limited is a global service information technology company based in Bangalore, India. -It is one of the largest IT companies glob...

Getting a mobile crane off a collapsed bridge is not a simple matter, Ministry of Public Works (MOPT) officials found Thursday. The driver of the massive 84-ton Quiros S.A. mobile crane tried to cross a Bailey bridge on the General Cañas Highway Tuesday afternoon with disastrous results. The bridge, with a load-bearing limit of 40 tons, collapsed, causing a nightmare for commuters on the San Jo...

Usually, the appeal on even a high-profile case is a routine affair, filled with esoteric legal points. But the corruption case of defendants in the ICE-Alcatel case involving ex-President Miguel Angel Rodriguez is exceptional. A key prosecution point in that case was when Jose Antonio Lobo made a deal with the prosecution to turn state's evidence in exchange for a lighter sentence. But Rodr...

This is the first in a series of recipe articles that will be published on The Costa Rica Star to compliment our news publishing content. Ingredients -1 cup long-grain white rice -2 cups low-sodium chicken broth -1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice -1 lime, juiced -2 tablespoons olive oil -1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish -2 garlic cloves, minced -1 teasp...

The outcry that has followed the enactment three days ago of Costa Rica’s highly controversial cybercrime law has forced the government into a hasty about-turn. It announced today that the legislation, which provides for up to 10 years’ imprisonment for publishing “secret political information”, would not apply to journalists. The law is not confined to national security but could also be appli...

In the recent past The Costa Rica Star has published about the Costa Rica Easy social network. Living in Costa Rica is a dream for many people, but the distance it creates between friends and family can often lead to feeling lonely and transplanted into a different culture. A great cure for this is video conferencing with your friends and family, which can be achieved on the Costa Rica Easy soc...

The Costa Rica Adventure Race, hosts of the AR World Championships 2013, have just opened entries to 40 additional registration spots for general entry teams. The AR World Series unites in competition the worlds best endurance athletes at premiere Qualifier events around the globe. The top two teams at each of these races gain a coveted position on the start line of the annual pinnacle of the s...