Today's Stories: Rising Cost of Gasoline May Force Rationing Venezuelan Ortega Asylum Revoked Canadian Faces 15 Years for Drug Trafficking American Airlines to Begin Nonstop Service From Los Angeles 911 Screening Callers

Private vehicles are the biggest consumer of gasoline. The government is studying a proposal to limit the number of cars on the road, by implementing a series of options,  that include limiting vehicular circulation to even and odd days depending on the last number of the license plate and car pooling.

This year, gasoline prices have risen a total of 11 times, bringing the current price for a litre of super gasoline to ¢326.90 colones (that's pennies shy of US$3 a U.S. gallon).

If the price increases continue at the same pace, the price could reach ¢470 colones by the end of the year or a $1 a litre, given the declining pace of the colon.

According to figures by the Ministerio de Energía y Minas de Guatemala, Costa Rica has the highest gasoline prices in Central America.

A gallon of super gasoline in Guatemala is about $2.30 and in neighbouring Nicaragua only $2.20.

What makes gasoline so expensive in Costa Rica? Officials say that for every ¢326 colones paid at the gas pump, ¢112 goes to taxes.

And while government officials are looking for ways to reduce the cost of gasoline, the marketplace is looking for new alternatives like electrical vehicles or motorcycles.

If the spiraling prices continue, some say that Costa Ricans may have to return to the bicycle as their primary form of transportation.

The Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo (RECOPE) - the national refinery and monopoly on gasoline products in Costa Rica, blames the rising price of crude for the increasing gasoline prices. Officials at RECOPE claim that they are concerned about the level of gasoline prices, but it is not within their control.

The government is studying various options that include limiting the hours of gasoline stations, using electric trains (uh?), limiting vehicular circulation to even and odd days depending on the last number of the license plate and using Cortel (post office) vehicles to deliver government mail.

Venezuelan Ortega Asylum Revoked
Costa Rica revoked political asylum to Venezuelan union activist Ortega Carvajal, saying that Ortega did not complete with the terms of his political asylum granted him some 17 months ago.

Roberto Tovar, Exterior Minister, said Ortega violated the terms of the asylum, returning to Venezuela two weeks ago, the country he left because he was being politically persecuted by the government of Hugo Chávez.

Ortega was granted political asylum in Costa Rica in March of 2003. His claim was that he was being persecuted in Venezuela for taking part in a general strike that presumably destabilized the country at the end of 2002.

In March of this year, the Costa Rican government had asked Ortega to leave Costa Rica when it was learned that he had participated at a political rally in Miami, in which he gave a speech against the Venezuelan President, accusing him of being a dictator and of sinking the country into an economic crisis. During the speech, Ortega vowed to go back to Venezuela and work clandestinely to oust Chavez.

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, cited Ortega’s speech at the rally a a violation his asylum agreement.

As president of the Confederación de Trabajadores Venezolanos (CTV), Ortega has the support of 58% of the population to oust president Chávez.

Canadian Faces 15 Years for Drug Trafficking
The Juzgado Penal de San José has asked 15 years in prison for Canadian, James Trimbles, who was found to be transporting 1.360 kilos of cocaine.

According to the prosecutor in the case, Trimbles has shown no remorse. The case could have been tried in Canada, however, the Canadian government has not shown any interest in having the man returned and tried in Canada.

Trimbles, 52 years of age, is accused of international drug trafficking and was arrested last October 12. The drugs were found in a sail ship in international waters near the Galápagos. A joint effort by the U.S., Canada and Costa Rican authorities was successful in making the arrest following an 11 month investigation.

Trimbles is believed to have lived in Paquera, in the Nicoya Peninsula and part of an international drug trafficking network.

Trimbles is believed to be responsible to transport the drugs from Galápagos to Canada.

American Airlines to Begin Nonstop Service From Los Angeles
American Airlines will begin daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and San José, on Dec. 16.

The new flight is the latest in a series of additions the airline has made this year to its international schedule in Los Angeles.

American will fly the Los Angeles - San José route using Boeing 757 aircraft configured with 22 First-Class seats and 166 Main-Cabin seats.

American's flight 927 will leaver Los Angeles at 11:30pm and arrives in San José at 7:24am.  Flight 934 departs San José at 5:00pm and arrives in Los Angeles at 9:01pm.

San José is the third international destination to be added to American's Los Angeles schedule this year. In April, the airline began daily service to Tokyo, and in June nonstop service was added to San Salvador, El Salvador.

Also this year, American increased its existing schedule of flights from Los Angeles to London and Toronto.

For San José, the flight to Los Angeles represents its fourth nonstop destination in the American Airlines network, joining Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami and New York Kennedy.

San José is one of two destinations the airline serves in Costa Rica. Earlier this year, American began nonstop flights to Guanacaste Liberia in northwest Costa Rica from its Miami hub. That service will grow from three times weekly to five times weekly beginning Nov. 1.

911 Screening Callers
Some Costa Ricans are complaining that a call to the 911 service takes too much of their time, as 911 operators take a few seconds to ask more questions than in the past, in effect, screening the emergency calls received.

The high number of ill intentioned calls to the 911 system have led officials to ask operators to take a little more time to verify that the emergency call is real before dispatching an ambulance, fire truck or police.

911 officials say that a call to the 911 system now takes no more than a minute and a half. The change was made following a recent report that showed that 82% of all calls to 911 were false.

Officials use the morning of 16 August as an example, where of the 11.000 calls received, only 2.000 were real. The rest of the calls were made to insult the operators with vulgarities or just plain pranks.

911 officials are quick to remind that a law in place allows the caller or owner of the telephone where the call originated tol be fined. The fine is added to the telephone bill and if not paid, telephone service will be cut.