Today's Stories: Prisoners in Extortion Scheme Most Downtown Assaults Occur on Fridays Delta Adds Additional Flight to Costa Rica Central America Moves Towards Integration The The Simple Life

Many stores in downtown San José were shut down - "clausurado" - by the Municipality because their exterior signs did not conform to the new sign regulations that the "Muni" has had in place for six months and is now deciding to now to clamp down in it's efforts to renew the downtown core. On Wednesday, some 30 stores were closed, according to Municipal authorities, all had been notified last week. To re-open, they need to comply to the new sign regulations. Municipal officials say that most businesses are complying with the new rules, while others are being protected by an old law that gives them until 2008.

Air Traffic Controllers Strike Continues into Day 25!

The Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), yesterday, raided the Pococí prison Limón suspecting two men behind bars of using the telephones in the jail to extort money after a woman in San José complained of having receive a call to deposit ¢100.000 colones in a bank account or something would happen to her family.

The woman apparently made a deposit of ¢40.000 colones but called police before making a deposit for the balance.

The OIJ detained two women who went to the Banco Popular branch in Alajuela to withdraw the money from the account. One of the women was handed over to immigration authorities, while the other is being held in preventative detention.

Authorities say that raid resulted in the confiscation of several telephone calling cards that were used by a prisoner to make the calls.

Justice Minister, Patricia Vega, says that they cannot stop prisoners from using the telephones and making calls.

Authorities have recently installed public telephones that require PIN codes so that the calls cane be monitored. However, cellular telephones present another problem.

In La Reforma prison in Alajuela, one prisoner had the power of communications in his hands when authorities found him to have eight cellular phones in the prison, where 3.620 calls were registered to family, friends and to his extort his victims.

The prisoner is, Roberto Moya, also known as El Cubano, is behind bars since 1998 serving a 19 year sentence for auto theft.

Minister Vega said of the situation, that authorities have limitations to avoid cellular telephones entering the prison system. The law impedes prison officials from performing "deep cavity" searches, which permits prisoners and/or their visitors from smuggling cellular telephones hidden in personal areas of their bodies.

Vega added that in the prisons they don't have the type of metal detectors used at airports, which makes detection even more difficult. And she doesn't discount that there may be corrupt prison officials who turn the other way.

Smuggling a cellular telephone into a prison system is not a crime. A visitor found to be attempting to introduce a cellular telephone into a prison can only have his or her visiting rights revoked. And if a prisoner is found to have a cellular telephone in his possession, the equipment can be confiscated and the prisoner moved to another area of the prison.

Most Downtown Assaults Occur on Fridays
According to records maintained by the Organismo de Investigación Judicial(OIJ), there were 502 assaults registered in the downtown area of San José in the first six months of this year.

Most of the assaults occurred in the area of the Hospital San Juan de Dios (137), followed the surrounding area of the Catedral/Parque Central (134) and the area of La Merced (118) and El Carmen (113).

Eduardo Guzmán, director of the "Delta Uno" police squad that patrols the downtown core, said the surveillance cameras installed by the Municipality last year greatly reduced the number of assaults.

Notwithstanding, Guzmán, added that the majority of assaults are a result of carelessness with their belongings, especially handbags and other personal items being carried loosely.

Guzmán said that most of the assailants are not residents of the downtown core, coming from other centres.

And, according to the records, the days with most assaults are Fridays, followed by Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Most of the assaults occur between 6pm and 9pm.

Delta Adds Additional Flight to Costa Rica
Delta Air Lines customers will have more flight choices to some popular international destinations with new service beginning this winter.

In response to strong customer demand, among others, the carrier will add a second daily flight to San Jose, Costa Rica, beginning Dec. 1.

"We are responding to the heavy demand for more flights with additional service," said Jorge Fernandez, Delta's vice president-International and Alliances.

"Through our own service and our codeshare and alliance partners, Delta remains committed to providing customers with service to the world's most-desired destinations.

Delta's schedule between Atlanta and San Jose, effective Dec. 1

- Flight 375 departs Atlanta Arrives San Jose at 10:13 a.m. at 1:17 p.m.
- Flight 865* departs Atlanta Arrives San Jose at 7:05 p.m. at 10:11 p.m.
- Flight 1742* departs San Jose Arrives Atlanta at 9:00 a.m. ** at 2:02 p.m.
- Flight 564 departs San Jose Arrives Atlanta at 3:00 p.m. at 8:01 p.m.
* new flights  ** effective Dec. 2

Delta Air Lines is  the world's second largest airline in terms of passengers carried and the leading U.S. carrier across the Atlantic, offering daily flights to 497 destinations in 86 countries.
 

Central America Moves Towards Integration
Central American governments Tuesday defined a new agenda of priorities for advancing economic integration for the region.

The Costa Rican newspaper La Nacion said vice ministers met in El Salvador to evaluate advances of the regional union and to define objectives for the year.

The Costa Rica's Vice Minister of Foreign Trade Gabriela Llobet said the plan facilitates the trade of goods and services, as well as investments, between Central American countries.

Llobet told La Nacion the agenda of priorities will be sent to the Council of Ministers of the Economic Integration for Central America, known as Comieco.

Those that were presented as mandates will be brought up during the summit to take place July 27 in El Salvador.

Negotiations also took place between various countries concerning the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and the electoral processes, which had been postponed from the proposed agenda in 2003.
 

The The Simple Life
Hawaii, Walt Disney World, Hollywood, New York City, Las Vegas, a spa resort in Arizona-all great first-choice destinations for people overseas who want to vacation in the United States.

But why do all those when there’s the police station in Dover with a chance to get right into a jail cell, a ride on a fire truck in Newburyport, and touring around Portsmouth for a day?  more...