Ninth Death at
Multiplaza Crossing on Monday
Monday
morning, the highway (autopista in Spanish) in front
of Multiplaza took another life. This time it was
the life of Manuel Sandí, a beggar who was
accustomed to asking for money near the toll booths,
bringing the total this year to 8 deaths
Last week, Maria Eugenia Monge Sánchez, died near
the same place, in front of the bus stop as she
crossed the highway to make her to the mall.
The point of the accidents is a common place for
pedestrians to cross the busy highway to make their
way to and from the mall to board the westbound
buses.
The irony in these deaths is that the Transit
authority has plans to build a pedestrian walkway at
the point where most of the deaths have occurred.
Transit officials had approved the contract to build
the bridge, however, the Comptrollers office (Contraloría
General de la República) appealeda the decision to
stop the contract due to irregularities and won.
Transit officials are prohibited by the court's
decision to build the bridge and need to restart the
whole process of receiving bids for the work, though
they have the budget in place and are ready to move
on it.
In order to avoid any more accidents and deaths in
the meantime, Monday afternoon Transit officials
changed the bus stop on the westbound San José -
Santa Ana route, where buses need to enter the
Multiplaza rotunda to make their stop.
Passengers get off the Transa buses at Multiplaza
and though this may be inconvenient for the bus
companies, it will save lives, according to Víctor
Cordero, a transit officials.
Transit officials will be at the scene continually
for the coming days.
Robert Zoellick's
Free Trade Evangelism
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Here in Central America there are mixed feelings
about Zoellick who moved aggressively to target the
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proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). >Complete
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Starbucks Aims for
Continued Quality Coffee Supply
Starbucks Corp., the world's largest coffee retailer, is working to guarantee its supply of quality beans as it plans for continued expansion, a company executive said on Monday.
Dub Hay, senior vice-president of coffee at Starbucks, said the company could open new agronomy offices in Indonesia and Africa to monitor consistent quality standards for beans it buys in those regions.
Starbucks announced recently it would open an agronomy office in Costa Rica in January to check the beans it buys in Mexico and Central America, one of its key supply regions.
"It's an investment in our future ability to get quality coffee," Hay said on the sidelines of Costa Rica's annual Sintercafe meeting of international industry players from producing and consuming nations.
"I would envision this being the first step and could imagine us having the same type of offices both in Indonesia and Africa, which are also important to our blend," he said.
Starbucks started out three decades ago as the brainchild of a few coffee aficionados interested in bringing specialty coffees to Seattle-area drinkers.
These days the company is an international coffee behemoth with thousands of stores in the United States and 32 other countries where it sells roasted coffee to retail and wholesale outlets.
One Starbucks store in Japan reaps some $4 million in annual revenue.
Archbishop Warns of Costa Rican
Cult
Archbishop Patrick Flores of San Antonio, Texas, is warning Catholics about a Costa Rican religious cult in which a former San Antonio priest has taken refuge.
In an uncharacteristic move, Flores has issued a statement urging Catholics to stay away from the Reina y Señora de Todo la Creado, which translates as "The Queen and Lady of All Creation."
The group, which has ties to Texas and several members from San Antonio, is centered around Juan Pablo Delgado, a 24-year-old "visionary" who claims to receive messages from the Virgin Mary. It has a reputation for violence in Costa Rica, and its members are reportedly preparing for the end of the world in late December.
Father Alfredo Prado, former pastor of St. Timothy's Catholic Church in San Antonio, has become the group's chief celebrant. Prado became a fugitive from the Oblate Fathers earlier this year when he defied orders to enter a retirement home and instead fled to Costa Rica.
Prado, 73, was stripped of his clerical authority in 1991 after differing with officials of the Oblate Fathers over theology and after he was accused of molesting boys -- a charge he has vehemently denied. Recently, the Oblate Fathers served final notice on Prado that he is being removed from the priesthood altogether.
The cult has been denounced by three Costa Rican bishops. Citing those denouncements, Flores said, "I caution everyone in San Antonio to not get involved. I recommend this for your good and the good of the universal church."
Flores' release did not specify Prado by name but mentioned the concern of the Costa Rican bishops over Prado's presence and his celebration of Mass and other sacraments at the cult's sanctuary in San Isidro de Grecia, near San Jose.
"In addition to their suspicions concerning the validity of the apparitions themselves, the bishops of Costa Rica have also voiced concern over apparent irregularities involving the Blessed Sacrament and the unauthorized celebration of the sacraments by those who do not have the authority of the local bishop to perform these priestly functions," the release states.
The archbishop did not address the child molestation accusations. The Oblates will neither confirm nor deny that Prado was disciplined for molesting boys, but Prado has said he was accused of such behavior and has denied the accusations.
Instead, Flores admonished Catholics to avoid the cult until -- and if -- the apparitions Delgado claims are proven.
"If this apparition ever receives the approval of the bishops, somewhere down the line, then it will be made public," Flores said.
"It has already been made public that it does not have the approval of the bishop or the archbishop in that area."
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