Figueres Assures He Will Be Back in Costa Rica. Soon.
Former president José María Figueres Olsen assures Costa Ricans that he will come to Costa Rica to answer questions of his involvement in the ICE-Alcatel scandal.

Legislative Deputies were enraged when they learned that the the former president had "duped" them, saying that his presence to play a key role at a conference in Thailand was not such - he was simply one of the many guests to attend the conference - using it only was the reason he could not come to Costa Rica right away.

Discussion on ways to get Figueres Olsen back to Costa Rica has been intense, wanting his presence before the Comisión de Gasto Público a priority. December 9 is the date set for Figueres Olsen to appear before the commission.

Figueres Olsen has some supporters defending his stalling tactics. Luis Gerardo Villanueva, president of the commission, is confident that the Figueres Olsen will appear before the commission on the appointed date.

However critics say that being a former president, a leader of a country, he should do what needs to be done and come to Costa Rica right away to explain his position and end the controversy. Federico Vargas, head of the Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) political party, said that "If I were a former president and they are pushing hard as they are to question me, I would be present myself before the people that gave me the honour of being their leader..."

Should Figueres Olsen come to Costa Rica? Yes, is the resounding answer by everyone. As a former president, he has an obligation to give answers to questions that important to the country, seeing that two former presidents are already in preventive detention and both tied to two separate corruption scandals.

Street Vendors Ask For Time
The Street Vendors affected by last week's court decision, which gave the Municipality of San José the right to removed them from the downtown sidewalks, are asking for a grace period of until January.

The fight has been long. For years the Municipality of San José has been trying to clean up the streets between Avenida Primera and Calles 6 and 16; Avenida Tercera and calles 6 and 10–, and Avenida Cuarta and Calles 6 and 10 on the North side and Avenida Sexta and Calles 1 and 14; Calle 8 – Avenidas 2 and 10, and Calle 14, between Avenidas 0 and 1 on the South side.

Some years back, the Municipality was able to transplant many street vendors to the Municipal marker known as Paso de La Vaca on Avenida 9, however, just as fast as the stalls were taken down and moved, others took their place.

Several months ago, the Municipality took a strong hand and gave the street vendors an ultimatum - moved or be moved.

Many decided to move voluntarily, not wanting a confrontation with police, who were ready to force them out. Some remained behind behind. The police action was stopped with the threat that of a full scale violence on the downtown streets were made by militant vendors and several court actions made against their removal.

The Municipality decided to keep the calm and wait out the court decisions, which one by one came in favour of the Municipality.

San José Mayor, Johnny Araya, is firm. The decision to clean the streets of the vendors is his priority and though he doesn't want to see anyone affected, he will use his police force to ensure that the vendors leave.

However, before any force is used, the Municipality is allowing time for the vendors to negotiate a peaceful retreat from the streets and helping them to find a relocation point. The Municipality has offered municipal lots to hold weekend fairs and willing to help vendors negotiate with nearby parking and vacant lot owners for a permanent location.

Araya affirmed that before his Municipal police force takes any action, they will co-ordinate with the Ministerio de Seguridad Pública that oversees the Fuerza Publica.

Representatives of the street vendors are continuing their negotiations with Municipal officials, asking for an extension until January. They say, many of the vendors need the Christmas sales to feed their families and the time to find other ways of earning a living.

However, some street vendors are adamant they won't abandon their stands and will confront any police action to defend their right to be there. "We are Costa Ricans and are earning an honest living", was the voice of many who have decided to stay put.

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Grandparents Defend Choice That Led to Trial The Associated Press VIRGINIA BEACH - A couple who became international fugitives accused of kidnapping their grandson say they remain certain they made the right decision when they took him to Costa Rica. After 11 years on the lam on a coffee farm in Costa Rica, Orpheus L. "Woody" Woodbury and his wife, Sonja, are back in Virginia Beach, awaiting trial Jan. 24 on a child-abduction charge. They decided to return to Virginia last month, after negotiating with the U.S. government, knowing they faced felony charges and up to 20 years in prison. They were handcuffed as soon as their plane landed at Dulles International Airport, jailed for several days and later freed on $200,000 bond. The grandparents, who say the idyllic Costa Rican setting gave their grandson the stability he needed, are unrepentant. "He was worth everything we had to do or would have to give," Woody Woodbury, 71, told The Virginian-Pilot newspaper in an interview for an article published yesterday. "We acted out of emotions and love to protect the child from what he was enduring at the time," said Sonja Woodbury, 58. "We did what we thought was in the best interests of the child." They decided to come back in part because their grandson, now a freshman at a Virginia college, wanted them to, she said. The Woodburys asked that the school's name not be published to protect the 18-year-old's privacy. The couple also wanted to see their 11 other grandchildren in Virginia, and they wanted to get Woody Woodbury's military pension, which the former Navy commander lost in the mid-1990s when the couple failed to comply with Virginia court orders. Their lawyer is negotiating to get the pension restored.