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"Marriage Machine" Gets 186 Years in Prison
- Sunday, 05 February 2012 01:50
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 17:31
- Written by Rod Hughes
The three-judge panel that tried and convicted lawyer/notary Kattia Salas, 41, to 186 years in prison called her "a marriage machine." She was sentenced for performing at least 31 "paper marriages" so that foreigners could get residency.
Despite the severity of the sentence, Costa Rican law limits the length of prison time to only three of the convictions at the heaviest sentence the law allows. That means Salas will get 18 years at the maximum six years for falsifying information on each count.
Surgeons Replace Valve without Stopping Heart
- Sunday, 05 February 2012 01:15
- Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 08:28
- Written by Rod Hughes
Heart surgery is usually invasive, stopping the heart and putting the patient on a machine to keep the blood circulating. But, for the first time here, surgeons at Hospital Clinica Biblica replaced an aortic valve in an 82-year-old San Ramon farmer without so much as opening his chest.
It seems that the longest part of the operation was the seven months for doctors to buy and register the valve and get permission to install it. The operation itself took only 45 minutes and three days later, patient Santiago Rodriguez was home with his family.
OIJ Finds 60 Stolen Guns
- Saturday, 04 February 2012 02:45
- Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 19:08
- Written by Rod Hughes
Judicial detectives of OIJ, the local equivalent to the FBI or Scotland Yard, found 60 of the 215 missing guns on Thursday. The pistols had been robbed at gunpoint for the Traffic Police warehouse just off Plaza Gonzalez Viquez in downtown San Jose.
The guns were located behind a false wall panel in a house in the metropolitan suburb of Alajuelita. OIJ director Jorge Rojas said the operation began Thursday night after the suspected leader of the gang that stole the Glock 19 service pistols was detained.
Central Bank Sees Lower Production
- Saturday, 04 February 2012 01:02
- Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 08:06
- Written by Rod Hughes
The Central Bank, continuing the government's somewhat conservative predictions for this year, foresees a production growth of 3.8% this year, less than last year's 4.2%. They also predict a similar (4.74%) inflation and higher interest rates.
Central Bank president Rodrigo Bolaños said Wednesday that the lower production figures were due to a probable deceleration of demand overseas stemming from worldwide economic woes and due also to the fiscal deficit (4.5% of GNP) in this country.
End of World Movie to Open Here
- Friday, 03 February 2012 04:15
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 12:52
- Written by Rod Hughes
As probably all our readers know, the Mayan calendar ends abruptly at what scholars calculate is 2012 A.D. (We at this blog believe that Mayan astronomers merely ran out of space on the stone they were carving.)
Still, the end of the world makes for fun science fiction movies from Hollywood. Young Costa Rican writer-director Miguel Gomez has just finished a comedy on the theme, El Fin (The End), due to open here in late February.
Charity Chili Contest Set for Feb. 12
- Friday, 03 February 2012 01:18
- Last Updated on Tuesday, 31 January 2012 07:21
- Written by Rod Hughes
Whether you're a red-hot chili fancier or have a surefire recipe, you won't want to miss the fifth Annual Atenas Charity Chili Contest in that Central Costa Rican town Feb. 12.
Last year, proceeds from entry of no fewer than 14 cooking teams and 600 hungry attendees pushed the proceeds donated to a home for orphaned, abused or abandoned children's home to 1,700,000 colones, according to organizers.
Poll: Ticos Roundly Reject Figueres Explanation
- Thursday, 02 February 2012 04:30
- Last Updated on Friday, 03 February 2012 08:47
- Written by Rod Hughes
A Unimer poll published last Sunday in the leading Spanish-language newspaper La Nacion showed an overwhelming number of Costa Ricans reject the explanation ex-President Jose Figueres (1994-98) gave to a TV interviewer that the $900,000 he received from Alcatel was legitimate.
After the Alcatel bribery scandal broke here, Figueres did not return to his native land for 11 years, until last December. Not long before his return he was interviewed by Channel 7 News and explained that his acceptance of the Alcatel fee was proper.
Copa, Iberia Increase Tourist Traffic
- Thursday, 02 February 2012 01:42
- Last Updated on Friday, 27 January 2012 20:44
- Written by Rod Hughes
COPA, the Panamanian airline, has announced non-stop service from Panama City to four new destinations, including Liberia, Guanacaste province in Costa Rica, to begin June 24.
Almost simultaneously, the Spanish carrier Iberia announced that it is increasing its number of seats on the Madrid-San Jose route by 5.5% to 234,000 by using A340-600 jetliners with 100 more seats.
Assault Nets 215 Police Arms
- Wednesday, 01 February 2012 04:58
- Last Updated on Wednesday, 01 February 2012 09:54
- Written by Rod Hughes
A daring assault on a Traffic Police warehouse in the early hours of Monday morning netted three or four criminals an estimated more than 200 firearms, bullet-proof jackets and uniforms. Two privately-contracted guards were covered by guns, then tied up while the criminals went to work.
More stunning still was the declaration of the Ministry of Transport-contracted CSE private security firm that it was not even aware that the warehouse it was guarding contained firearms. Obviously, the criminals did.
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