Expotur XXIV, the most important tourism fair in Costa Rica, will take place on Tues., May 13 through Thurs., May 15 in the Hotel Plaza Ramada Herradura Expected to show up are 219 representatives from 140 companies in the tourism industry from the United States, Canada, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Uruguay, Spain, Israel, Spain, France and Asia. Of these companies, 45 will be visiting Costa Rica for the first time. They will be given the opportunity to set up meetings with the 270 business representatives from Costa Rica and Central America to form alliances and contracts to promote tourism to the area.

The fair, which is put on annually by the Tourism Professionals Association of Costa Rica (Acoprot), already expects to see more than 8,500 business meetings between the attendees to seal business contracts for tourism in the region. The foreign visitors will then market Costa Rica tours, hotels and services in their respective countries, mostly in the form of package deals. For example, a golf tourism company from Europe may want to speak with Playa Conchal and the Four Seasons to organize trips to the hotels and golf facilities. Of the 140 foreign companies, 45 will be visiting Costa Rica for the first time.

The event will also be marked by the launching of the first ever virtual satellite tourist map of Costa Rica. This new product will be available to guests on DVD and GPS and will allow users to locate more than 4,000 tourist companies throughout Costa Rica.

Seminars will be held during the three days of events about key themes in the Costa Rican tourism industry such as medical tourism, adventure tourism and the design of new, innovative products. Guests from other countries will also have the opportunity to visit key tourist destinations on tours to the Caribbean and the Central and Southern Pacific Coast before and after the conference.

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Most of us can remember playing some incarnation of the war game when we were little: we might have been the Cowboys versus the “Indians,” Cops against Robbers, or any enemy duo that ended with one hollering “boom boom, you’re dead!” Unfortunately, in the wake of worldwide school shootings and an escalation of youth violence, these games are not always innocent, and can encourage behavior that is better left dormant.

Though Costa Rica is known as a peaceful nation — no army, the Switzerland of Central America — that doesn’t mean that the nation is violence-free. A brief watch of the Seven O’Clock News usually details a new gunshot victim, and the stories are always tragic. So, in an effort to combat youth violence, local school Escuela Líder de Pacuare began a program in which children can exchange their toy guns and other violent playthings for free school supplies, uniforms, and other necessary things.

Max Loría is the mastermind behind the plan, and says that it all started five years ago when a study determined that there was a relatively high rate of crime in the Costa Rican cantones (counties) of Limón, San Carlos, Garabito, and downtown San José. In addition, studies also revealed that 5% of Costa Ricans say that they own firearms for protection purposes, but that, almost in opposition to this statement, most of the country’s homicides were committed with firearms, meaning that they weren’t wonderful protection after all.

Costa Ricans have about 91,000 registered firearms, and the number is going up every year. With that in mind, Loría formed the idea for this program, hoping to combat violence starting with the country’s youth: if they weren’t desensitized to guns, perhaps they would be more wary of them.

The plan was financed by el Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (PNUD, or the Program of United Nations for Development), as well as collaboration between the ministries of Justicia (Justice), Educación (Education), and Seguridad Pública (Public Security).

Part of the project begins by showing the schoolchildren a video that details the horrible consequences that using a gun can have. The video also gives recommendations for what a child should do in the case of finding a gun, or being in the presence of one. In addition to the video, the gun education plan also involves talking with the children, teaching them that guns aren’t toys, and counseling them on how to resolve issues without resorting to violence.

In addition to the Escuela Líder de Pacuare, the Escuela Limón 2000 has also participated in the program, and effects are already visible. Yesterday, 110 Limón schoolchildren exchanged their toys for supplies, and 10-year old Daniela Romero Méndez commented that she brought her gun in because “guns aren’t toys, they hurt people. I’m not going to use those toys anymore. I had the pistol for a long time, and now I realize that it’s dangerous.”

Though toys can seem harmless, this program has allowed children to learn about the real affects of their fake gun. Though it can’t change neighborhood, the new program certainly hopes to change the attitudes of neighbors.

To help staunch the looming food crisis, Costa Rica has begun thinking about how to help its citizens. And to start, four weeks from now, the Costa Rican government plans to give ¢50,000 monthly (approximately $100) to 16,000 poor families to supplement what income they have.

The money will go to 16,000 female heads of households, living in poverty, and with at least one child under age of 12. This announcement forms part of the Plan Nacional de Alimentos (the National Food Plan) that was announced by Rodrigo Arias (Presidency), Javier Flores (Agriculture), and Guillermo Zúñiga (Treasury).

Yesterday, it was announced that the government will allocate $70 million to prevent a Costa Rica food crisis. Part of this official plan is to strengthen the local agricultural sector, helping it to produce more rice, beans, and corn, three of the country’s most important staples.

Still, no matter how stimulated Costa Rica’s agricultural sector, there will be plenty of Costa Ricans and other nationals unable to put the most basic food on the table. For this reason, the government will step in to help its citizens from going hungry, providing much needed relief and financial stimulus to the country’s poorest families.

The government’s total plan calls for about ¢44 billion (approximately $87,008,108) for its National Food Plan: ¢18 billion (approximately $35,594,226) will help to reduce the social vulnerability of the least wealthy population. ¢26 billion (approximately $51,413,882) will serve to finance small and medium-sized farmers, as well as farmers from the Institute for Agricultural Development (IDA). ¢24,600,000,000 (approximately $48,645,442) are existing resources in public entities, and will be used starting next month. The remaining sum, about ¢19,400,000 (approximately $38,362,665) will come from a budget change — mainly a surplus from lower interest rates and a more favorable colon-dollar exchange rate — and will be ready for next week.

The National Food Plan is strategically designed to guarantee the national availability of major grains and minimize the risk of a higher poverty rate, especially in relation to a higher cost of the basic food basket. These are both looming problems, currently occurring in several countries around the globe, and rather than wait for the problem to hit Costa Rica hard, the government hopes to head it off at the pass with some serious preventative measures.

The Costa Rican government has already taken the first step to put this plan into action, and has asked the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (National Insurance Institute) for ¢4 billion (approximately $7,947,850) for crop security, and the Sistema Bancario Nacional (National Bank System) for an additional ¢8 billion (approximately $15,895,700) to fund additional grains production.

The hope is that an gram of prevention will be worth more than a kilo of cure, investing serious capital to prevent a national food crisis. And by helping increase staple production, maintaining a reasonable cost of food, and giving financial aid to those who cannot pay for food, the country certainly seems poised to help its citizen through a time of worldwide need and crisis.

Federico Pilurzu, the only Costa Rican surfer representing the country in the World Qualifying Series (WQS), just jumped to position 56 with 3,563 points after his last performance at the 6.0 Lowers pro Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) event in Trestles, California.

The Playa Langosta native made it to the final round, finishing in 9th out of 192 participants, and accumulated enough points to jump 32 spots from position 88 to 56. This puts him on the list of top Latin American surfers in the world, just under eight Brazilians and a surfer from Puerto Rico.

Pilurzu fell just short of making it to the semifinal round when U.S. surfer Cory Lopez took an impressive wave, taking him from 4th to 1st place and kicking Pilurzu out of the finalist group. In the end, U.S. surfer Ben Bourgeois took the lead, followed by Fredrick Patacchia from Hawaii, Joel Centeio and Patrick Gudauskas, both from the U.S.

This year’s WQS consists of 48 tournaments, 13 of which have already taken place, in which the best surfers in the world take place to fight for their spot on the chart. The end of the World Circuit will take place on Dec. 6 in Oahu, Hawaii at the Copa O’Neill. The current leaders in the WQS are Patrick Gudauskas and Austin Ware, both from the United States with well over 7,000 points, and South African David Weare with 6,225 points.

Last year Pilurzu became the first person in the history of Costa Rica surfing to ever make it into the WQS top 100. Pilurzu said his goal this year is to make it into the top 50 surfers in the world, a goal that is a very good possibility in the remaining 35 tournaments. His next competition, the Srilankan Airlines Pro, will take place in Maldivia starting on June 9. Pilurzu said he intends to set up an intense training regime to prepare him for the high level of competition that is to be expected.

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With their increasingly common ‘do it yourself’ attitude, the residents and business owners of Tamarindo, Guanacaste raised enough money to make necessary road repairs in the region a reality. The principle access road to Tamarindo is finally in the process of being reconstructed and paved thanks to an investment of $238,000, 65% of which came from local business owners and the rest from the Municipality of Santa Cruz.

The company Asfaltos Alajuela began the work in January of this year after winning the contract in a contest held by the municipality. They spent three months repairing the state of the road, paving it and constructing the appropriate drainage measures to prevent flooding.

This particular section of road is located on first part of the access road to Tamarindo and is 300 meters log and 14 meters wide and should be completed at the end of next month. It suffered from rapid deterioration due to the large amount of visitors to the area as well as heavy trucks loaded with construction equipment to support the real estate boom. According to the Municipality, 176 construction permits were authorized in 2007 alone in the district.

The town is also waiting for the construction of a second access road in the area of Los Jobos, which would be 4.3 kilometers in length and ease the traffic flow in and out of the city. However, the plans for the road have been significantly delayed as the municipality tries to expropriate land and a court case brought up by a resident who claims that the road does not respect the 15 meter distance buffer zone around a local creek.

This new road as well as the road reparations promise to make driving in Costa Rica a little less of a hassle for anyone visiting Tamarindo.

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International news is full of stories of global need, starvation, and growing hunger. Basic staples are rising in price, and its not just the poorest of the poor that are feeling the affects. In the face of this growing global food crisis, Costa Rica has announced that it will allot $70 million dollars to help confront the nutrition problems that the country faces.

Last week, the Costa Rican government announced that it would make a $15 million investment to boost production of local grains. With Costa Rica food costs growing more expensive everyday, a significant increase in local rice, beans, and white corn will go a long way to help the country.

The latest $70 million investment plan was announced during a summit on Seguridad y Soberanía Alimentaria (Nutritional Safety and Sovereignty, also called “Food for Life”) in Managua, with Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. Arias states that he will ask Congress for the $70 million as an emergency budget of sorts today, designed to prevent a nationwide food shortage.

With these funds, Arias plans to give technical aid and credits to finance agricultural machinery, and help local farmers produce more at lower costs. The Instituto de Desarollo Agrario (IDA, or Institute for Agricultural Development) will receive approximately $15 million for farming, infrastructure, and technical assistance. Also receiving immediate aid will be small farmers, which are promised an additional $15 million. $22 million will be spent on the financing of farming machinery and equipment for Costa Rican farmers, and the last $18 million have yet to be allocated.

Despite this new plan, Arias declined to join other heads of state in a food declaration at the Food for Life summit. Though the Casa Presidencial is remaining tight-lipped, their official stance is that several of the summit participants favored a state-centered solution, with a larger fund and more taxes. Arias did not feel that was the solution to Costa Rica’s current problems.

In addition to the $70 million investment, Arias has stated that Costa Rica is trying to go global, and would like to finalize negotiations with the European Union during 2009, as well as with India and China. These ties will serve to help the country in several aspects, including food supply and preparedness.

Though $70 million is a hefty price tag, Arias believes that all Costa Ricans will support this plan. Granting funds for increased production, support of IDA, purchasing stronger seeds, and helping out small and large national farmers is in the interest of all citizens, and Arias firmly believes that Congress will understand this and, regardless of political party, approve the aid. To help recover costs, Arias has also announced a savings plan for other governmental expenditures, so that more country resources may be directed to the problem at hand without negatively affecting the people financially.

Today, many ticos will hope for congressional approval, as wallets are growing lighter and lighter with every trip to the supermarket. And with the rest of the world indicating that the problem has not immediate reprieve in sight, this may be Costa Rica’s best shot at avoiding a major national food crisis.

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Each year, summer bring blue skies, a relief from constant downpours, and the high tourist season. But the Costa Rican summer also brings dry environments and several related problems, among them fierce wild fires. This year, tt’s been a long, hot summer, and in Guanacaste, the hottest and driest of the seven Costa Rican provinces, has been hardest hit.

Unfortunately, in the region’s latest news, more than 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) of Palo Verde forest are burning. The wildfire began last Tuesday, April 29, and since then, more than 80 park rangers and firemen have been fighting constantly to control and put out the fire.

Luis Diego Román, from the Ministerio del Ambiente y Energía (MINAE, or the Ministry for Energy and the Environment), says that the raging flames are most concentrated in a section of the park called La Catalina. The affected area includes huge, dry pastures, a forest that was regenerating, and an area for aquatic plants known as typha.

Firefighters are currently using a tractor in an attempt to remove dry greenery — anything that burns — from the area, hoping to control the fire and prevent it from spreading any further. They are also carrying huge quantities of water with them, and are drenching the ground and nearby gullies, hoping to staunch the fire as it expands.

Unfortunately for the hard-working park rangers and firefighters, strong winds, a lack of recent rains, and high temperatures are all working against them, allowing the wildfire to spread and rage with fury. Because of its growing size, the fire is visible from very far away, and though it is centered near Bagaces, distant neighbors in Nicoya and Hojancha are able to see the billowing smoke and affects of the huge wildfire.

Last night, late on May 7, the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (National Emergency Commission) declared the area on protective yellow alert, so that neighboring communities can prepare themselves for the growing fire. If it becomes necessary, some may have to evacuate to avoid the effects of the fire’s huge smoke cloud.

Just over a month ago, northern Guanacaste had gone up in flames, burning between La Cruz and Cuajiniquil. Unlike the current Palo Verde fire, those wildfires were begun by arsonists hoping to escape the area with their poached goods intact and undiscovered.

Though the 600 burned hectares in northern Guanacaste and current 1,000 hectares burning in Palo Verde are horrible events, Minae still states that the past year has seen few fires than the same period in 2007. The organization’s efforts have helped reduce the country’s wildfires by almost half, and with regard to the latest Palo Verde blaze, Román states that area workers hope to have the wildfire under control by the end of today.

Wild blazes are a serious problem in dry, hot Guanacaste, and this year is no different. However, with combine local and national efforts, experts say that the situation has improved, and Guanacaste is in a better position today than it was just a year ago.

Photo courtesy of La Nacion.

After years of steady climb, the U.S. dollar lost some of its potency against the Costa Rica colon at the end of 2007. Since that announcement by Costa Rica’s Central Bank, the dollar had continued its slow tumble, finally stabilizing around ¢493 to the dollar. Now, for the first time in several months, Banco Nacional, one of the country’s largest banks has upped their exchange rate to more than ¢500 per dollar.

Almost two weeks ago, Paula Gutiérrez, President of Costa Rica’s Central Bank, stated that the U.S. dollar’s downward spiral against the Costa Rica colon would likely stop. She listed several reasons for this economic prediction, among them that national exports and new investor rates had recently fallen.

Though Costa Rica’s only local currency is the colon, much of Costa Rican international business is conducted in dollars: national exports are paid for in dollars, oil is purchased in dollars, and investors arrive to invest their dollars. With a low dollar-colon exchange rate, exports bring in less profit, oil costs more, and investors suddenly receive less for their investment capitol. For these reasons, Gutiérrez postulated that the dollar would no longer continue to fall, but rather stabilize at an exchange rate both fair and favorable.

Almost in direct response to her words, the Banco Nacional raised its rates yesterday, May 7, from ¢495.75 to ¢501. To purchase colones with your dollars, the bank was paying ¢495 instead of the previous ¢490. Though Banco Nacional saw the greatest increase, the Banco de Costa Rica (BCR) also raised yesterday its purchase rate to ¢499 and its sell rate to ¢492.5.

Together, Banco Nacional and Banco de Costa Rica comprise the two largest banking institutions in the country, and this financial move will likely influence other banks to soon follow suit. Already, the domino effect has hit the market: La Financiera Multivalores — mostly involved with investments — has raised its rates to ¢501, and Banco BCT, Cuscatlán, and Financiera Cafsa have upped their exchange rates by ¢1.25. Other banks, like HSBC and Scotiabank have also begun raising exchange rates, though by less than the others.

The new exchange rates will have several effects on the market. To begin, those that have loans in dollars today owe more (in colones) than they did last week. However, on the flip side, for the many investors and foreign residents of Costa Rica, their dollars will now buy more than they did before: to exchange $1000 last week, they only received about ¢490,000, but this week, will receive about ¢495,000 - a difference of ¢5,000. But for those that hold their savings in colones, expect to pay a heftier price for your dollars than in the past.

The Costa Rican market is in flux, adjusting itself to accommodate all needs and interests. And whether your hard-earned cash is in dollars or colones, expect the banks to continue small adjustments over the next few weeks, until they find their ideal economic equilibrium.

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The company that has been in charge of administration of the Juan Santamaria Airport since 2001, Alterra Partners, has decided to sell its contractual duties to the Houston Airport System (HAS). HAS, which is based in Texas, will work hand in hand with ADC management from Canada, and Andrade Gutiérrez Concesiones (AGC), from Brazil to complete the renovations that have been pending due to financial issues. These new syndicates will have to start from scratch, in an effort finish the modernization and construction of San Jose’s only international airport, located in Alajuela.

HAS, which operates in Houston, saw some 43 million passengers pass through its airport in 2007, while Juan Santamaría only saw 3 million. It is hoped that HAS will therefore have no problem managing the airport here, and sorting out the embarrassing mess that has caused the never ending delay of airport renovations.

Alterra hopes that the sale of the contract will help to generate sufficient income to finish the work that has came to a stand still last January. Last year, Alterra’s partners failed to bring in the financial support they counted on and as a result, construction simply stopped. As if this was not enough, since March 2003, the Corporacion Financiera Internacional, the creditors of the project, stopped lending money to Alterra, stating that the project would not generate sufficient funds to cover the debt.

According to an email sent by Alterra, there will be no change of company, and no change of staff, who have already been informed of the changes. The email emphasizes that the personnel has proved to be more than capable of completing the task and that they are a team of professional individuals of the highest standards.

These changes are not going to happen overnight however, and it could take months before work starts again. Once the Consejo Tecnico de Aviacion Civil (The Board of Civil Aviation) and the Controlaria de la Republica (the government) have approved, HAS will either have to provide its own capital, or obtain a $48 million loan in order to finish the work.

The new immigration and customs building is one of the constructions that came to a halt. More duty free shops are planned, as well as more space for the airline check-in desks. The boarding accommodations are also lacking in space and number. Many parts of the airport still look shabby, with loose fold-up chairs replacing real furniture, and a lack of space for the large number of visitors that pass through on a daily basis.

In a country that relies so much on tourism, let’s hope that they manage to get their act together and they can be proud of the airport that receives the largest number of flights to Costa Rica, as this is where the tourists get their first impression of the country. After all, first impressions always leave their marks!

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The Director of the Cultural Heritage Research and Conservation Center announced that certain buildings located between Central Avenue and Ave. 2, from the northeast corner of the Central Park to the old location of the Radio Monumental, will be restored in hopes of inspiring other building owners in Costa Rica’s capital city to do the same.

San Jose is often considered the sore spot among Costa Rica’s pristine landscapes and eco-tourism offerings. However, the organizers of the renovation project claim that until recently the city was relatively pretty and clean. Lack of upkeep, bad design and the excessive posting of signs and posters and vendor stands have left it in a general state of ruin and given it a bad reputation.

The buildings that will receive the makeover are those that have been declared Historical Architectural Heritage, including the Soda Palace that has been there since 1930 and influence much of the architectural style of that era. The neoclassical La Alhambra building, originally build at the end of the 19th century will also be restored. The work will include removing billboards and outdoor vendor booths that have been set up below.

The Federated College of Engineers and Architects (CFIA) will be providing support to the project to make sure the resulting buildings are true to their original styles while incorporating some fresh new ideas. They are finalizing plans to hold a contest for architects to propose ideas to restore the buildings. The winner will be paid for his or her work by the CFIA.

To push further restoration, the San Jose Municipality has promised to enact legislation that would force owners of property in Costa Rica to maintain their building fronts in a good state. The owners will have to invest some of their own money into the restoration, since they will be the ones benefiting from the resulting improvements.

The major goal for continuing restoration is to get rid of barbed wire, storefronts built against the buildings and the general pile up of trash and disorder. In order to do so, architects will have to think of an aesthetically pleasing way to make sure that the buildings enjoy the same level of security that the barbed wire offers. The buildings will also receive a fresh coat of paint.

These projects are expected to be carried out during the second semester of the year, with the hope of generating the interest of other building owners in the area to do the same thing.

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With the current economic crisis in the United States, weakening dollar and rising fuel prices creating an economic drain on the whole world, the opportunity to get away from daily responsibilities, especially across international borders, may seem out of reach. Costa Rica Pages, the leading website for information about travel to the country, wants to offer people the chance to do just that without the financial worry. To do so, the website just launched a writing competition to win a free vacation to Costa Rica valued at over $3,000.

The first annual Costa Rica Pages’ Travel Writing Contest was officially announced today, Tuesday, May 6, with the hope of reviving the spirit of travel amongst its readers. Trips across oceans or in our own backyards invite a sense of discovery into one’s life. In this world of globalization, opening up one’s perspectives to other people, cultures and ways of life is essential to cooperation for the greater good of the people. For that reason, the competition challenges readers to describe their most memorable vacation or travel moment and how it changed or affected them.

The author of the best submission, along with their guest of choice, will receive a 6-night stay in Costa Rica, where they will visit the Arenal Volcano, one of the most active in the world, swing through the trees on a canopy zip line tour and visit some of the most beautiful, pristine shorelines of the Pacific Coast in the eco-paradise of Manuel Antonio.

Judges from Costa Rica Pages will be looking for submissions that really engage the reader and spark a sense of adventure. Writers of all talent levels are welcome, as content will be weighed more strongly than writing style. All entries that follow the guidelines will be published on the Competition website for readers to comment on and compare. The deadline for submissions will be Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, and the winner will be chosen the following Monday, Aug. 4.

The luxury hotel rooms have already been booked for the month of September 2008 by Costa Rica Page’s travel partner, Costa Rican Vacations, which can also help with flight arrangements to the country or any additions or extensions to the stay.

In an effort to counter the global food crisis, the Costa Rican government announced it will invest close to $15 million (¢7 billion) to boost local production of grains. The investment will go towards reactivating the rice, beans and white corn agricultural sectors. A separate support package will offer solutions to assist the poorest and hardest hit families in Costa Rica during the current food crisis. These plans were officially announced this past Thursday during Dr. Oscar Arias’ May 1st speech to the nation as he celebrated two years of his Presidency.

According to Javier Flores Galarza, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), the resources aim to increase the local rice production by almost 50%. Currently, Costa Rica produces only 48% of the rice consumed by its population. The plan aims to produce 80% of the rice needed locally within the next two years. Furthermore, the local bean and white corn production will go from meeting 25% of the local needs to 70% within the next three years. As we know, a high percentage of Costa Rica food is made with one of these three basic grains (rice, beans and white corn for tortillas).

Although the national productivity for those three grains is relatively low compared to other countries, the funds will also include investments in new technologies, new varieties and seeds that are more resistant to disease and offer higher production yields. It is noteworthy that the emergency investment plan does not include yellow corn which is a key ingredient for the production of milk, chicken, eggs, pork and beef. The reason this important grain is not included in the plan is that the local climate is not ideal for growing it. In Costa Rica, less than 2 tons of yellow corn are produced per hectare while in the United States, the yield is over 8 tons per hectare so it’s just not financially feasible.

According to the executive director of Conarroz, Gerardo Alvarado, the increasing global price of rice will not affect the local market as the rice that will be consumed this year has already been purchased.

What’s causing the food crisis

A recent study published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) indicated that as grain production has remained the same or slightly decreased in some cases, their demand for industrial use has increased. Ethanol and other biofuel production is the main culprit of this industrial demand. In many countries, farmers have switched from producing food grains to producing grains destined for biofuel as they can get higher profits for these in the global market.

Due to the food shortage, export restrictions on rice were recently imposed by Thailand, Vietnam and India to protect their domestic needs. These countries are among the top exporters of rice in the world so their decision adds to the shortage crisis.

The increase in food prices is also blamed on other factors such as the rising transportation costs due to higher fuel costs, climate change, a decline in food reserves and increasing demand from China and India. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), another factor that has caused the crisis is that “agricultural subsidies in rich countries have destroyed the agricultural industry of poor countries and a more open system will suffer less distortion.”

According to the FAO the price for grains, especially wheat, has increased 130%; rice 74%, soy 87% and corn has increased 53%. A UN spokesperson also blamed speculation and consumer panic as a factor in the food increases - this speculation could account for up to 30% of the food price increases.

As usual, these types of problems affect the poor and developing nations more dramatically so the Costa Rican government’s move is a positive one. The significant investment should have short and long-term effects and will hopefully minimize the impact of the food crisis at a local and global level. We need a global strategy to meet industrial and consumer needs and this will only be achieved by involving organizations like the UN, the IMF, the world’s nations and the general public.

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SAN JOSE, April 30 — San José Posíble, a re-urbanization and beautification plan executed by San Jose’s two-time mayor Johnny Araya, will now include the construction of a Chinatown in downtown San Jose along the Paseo de los Estudiantes. The mayor, who recently traveled to China, announced the plan on Monday after securing a $2.5 million donation from the Chinese government to work on the second stage of San José Posíble. China will also supply architectural support to design the Chinese neighborhood in traditional Chinese iconic form.

Araya hopes that the Chinese cultural center will become a big attraction in the city center with restaurants, stores, supermarkets and art galleries. The Chinese population in Costa Rica has been present for more than 200 years and continues to grow today, adding to the diversity of the country. This region will help to shed light on their cultural identity so that the Costa Rican population and visitors have the chance to better appreciate and understand it.

The first phase of the San José Posíble project, coined the “Paseo Colon Tourist Corridor” is already underway. It includes reconstructing Avenues 10, 8 and 3 out of concrete, lengthening the Pedestrian Walkway on Central Avenue and adding parking lots with overnight parking along 2nd Avenue and Paseo Colon. The hope is to facilitate better movement of traffic and to invite tourists and pedestrians back into the area in hopes that new restaurants, stores and hotels will foresee the advantage and move in.

Beyond beautifying the area and strategically facilitating the arrival of pedestrians, Araya also promises to fight the crime and theft that seems to be growing in the region. He said they will continue to invest in security, promote security alarms, improve police equipment, including the introduction of more vehicles, motorcycles and bikes for use by the police force.

Starting this Thursday, fishing in the Gulf of Nicoya, which empties out to the Pacific Ocean, will be prohibited. The measure comes as an attempt by the Costa Rican Institute of Fishing and Aquaculture (Incopesca) to prevent the over exploitation of fish in the region and to allow them to reproduce to insure the sustainability of the industry. The ban will last through the months of May and June and again in October.

Specifically, the ban will prevent semi-industrial shrimp boats within a zone that goes Punta Torres to Peñón, Isla Negritos, Punta Cuchillo and the Tempisque River. Fishing is banned year-round in the area from the Cruise dock in Puntarenas to the Isla Negritos, Punta Cuchillo and Tempisque River.

Sardine fishing with closed nets is allowed on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays within the protected zone and crabbing is allowed in general.

Artisan fishermen, who are known for their low impact fishing, will also be restricted from fishing with nets, however they may use fishing lines that follow strict guidelines regarding length and number of hooks.

Foreseeing the negative economical impact that these regulations will have on local fishermen, Incopesca has set up a list of people who are eligible to receive a monthly subsidy of $110 from the Institute of Mixed Social Assistance (IMAS). To receive the subsidy, the eligible people must register and participate in manual labor projects that will be supervised by Incopesca.

Incopesca will also be in charge of monitoring Costa Rica fishing in the Gulf of Nicoya along with the National Coast Guards and Police Force to be sure that the regulations are followed.

If the high school teachers of Costa Rica have taught their students one thing this semester, it is a mixture of abandonment and how to protest. After a teacher strike by the union Asociación de Profesores de Segunda Enseñanza (APSE) left hundreds of students without classes for nearly a month, their students have followed in their footsteps to the streets in their own protest. The students are demanding that the nation-wide midterm exams be suspended because they have not had a fair chance to prepare due to the material lost during their days out of class.

It seems Costa Rican schools cannot win in this situation. Many of the schools are not willing comply with the Ministry’s orders to give classes on Saturdays to make up for the time lost during the strikes, as the strike began because teachers were not being paid fairly for extra hours worked. The directors of the schools claim that the material can be covered during ordinary class hours. The students affected by the strike lost an estimated 13 hours of class time in typical high school subjects such as Social Studies, Science, Math and Spanish, setting them far behind their peers that were not affected by the strikes.

Yesterday, teacher protests were replaced by hundreds of students in the streets around the La Merced Park in front of the Ministry of Education, blocking traffic and demanding that the national standardized tests not be required at the end of the year. The walkout was met by riot police who tried to secure the situation and let traffic continue as usual. There was one report of a student being hit by a car, and several disputes between students and drivers.

The same students are calling for another walkout on Friday until the Minister of Education, Leonardo Garnier, hears their demands. They are expected to meet in the Central Park at 10am and student organizers have been doing their part to involve local media to shed more light on their cause. It is unsure what their destination will be, but it is likely they will return to the Ministry.

It is still being disputed the best way for the students to recuperate the time lost and whether or not they will be given an extension for the standardized tests. Each high school will be allowed to decide on its own plan to make up for time lost, which must be approved by the Ministry of Education. Some hope to speed up the rate of classes and fit the extra material in a short amount of time, while others plan to incorporate the material slowly throughout the year or even in the following years as students move up to other grades.

Photo courtesy of La Nacion.