All Entries in the "Local News" Category
Narcopublica de Costa Rica
An estimated $4.4 billion in illicit funds enter Costa Rica annually according to an eight year study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The figure is double the $2 billion or so that the country earns annually from tourism and works out to just $1,000 per person in Costa Rica. It measures up [...]
Immigration Upgrades Technology at Land Border
The ministry of public security is installing modern computer systems at land border crossings comparable to those now in place at the airport. These systems are able to more effectively track the movement of foreign residents and frequent visitors to Costa Rica. Anyone who has visited either the Sixaola checkoint with Panama or the Peñas [...]
Uninsured Police Cruiser Hits Child
A two year old child escaped serious injury when she was struck by a police cruiser as it backed out of a parking spot in a southern San Jose neighborhood. The next unfortunate surprise was that the vehicle owned by the Fuerza Publica lacked the annual marchamo sticker. A call to the national insurance company [...]
Atlanta Tourist Missing in Dominical Surf
An Oglethorpe University student, Erik L. Downes has been reported missing after being caught in a riptide on Playa Dominical on Tuesday night. Downes, a 20 year old college junior had come to Costa Rica as part of a short-term ecological study trip abroad. The rip tide had caught Downes and two other students who [...]
Disconnection of Legacy Cell Phone Network in February
ICE the telecom monopoly has announced that it will retire the first generation digital cell phone network in February. To ease the transition the 39,000 users of the old system are being offered a free cell phone compatible with the second and third generation networks. Some users are reluctant to upgrade because the older system [...]
Running with the Bulls in Costa Rica
Taunting livestock has long been a fine rural tradition in Costa Rica, and perhaps the biggest turn out of the year is the festival in Zapote. This year the Cruz Rojo attended 119 people with injuries, 30 of which required hospitalization, and two were seriously injured. On average 300 people turned out each day to [...]
United States Congresswoman Critical of Daniel Ortega
Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has accused Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega using the Caldero Island border dispute with Costa Rica as a tactic to win votes in an upcoming election, and remains firm in her stand that the United States is not going to support an “Aspiring Dictator”. Her opinion carries weight as the Florida Republican and [...]
Outbreak at Hotel Barcelo Playa Tambor Caused by Norovirus
Food contamination that infected a total of 225 tourists at the Hotel Barceló Playa Tambor was caused by a Norovirus. The hotel has been closed for 72 hours while staff work to thoroughly clean all 400 rooms and hotel facilities. While displaced guests have been offered alternative reservations or a refund the hotel management did [...]
Missing Woman in Tamarindo: Barbara Struncova
A Czech national, Barbara Struncova has gone missing from Playa Tamarindo since December 5th. She was last seen entering her house in Playa Langosta at 1am on December 5, 2010, but has not been seen since. Her family last communicated with her on December 4, 2010. According to information posted on her missing persons blog, [...]
Gringo Tourist in ATV Accident
A U.S. tourist from Alaska, identified by authorities as Jonathan Alexander Sharp, aged 41 died on Wednesday night just before 11pm when the ATV he was driving fell from the road into a precipice. The accident occurred while traveling between Bijagual and Witch’s Rock near Jacó in Garabito, Puntarenas. According to the Cruz Rojo Sharp’s [...]
