Downtown
Riot Averted; Court Stops Removal of Vendors
A riot on the downtown streets of San José was averted
yesterday with the last minute decision by the courts who agreed to
temporarily suspend the Municipality's right to remove the vendors, by
force if necessary, from the sidewalks of downtown San José.
The Municipality of San José had set last Friday as the deadline for
vendors to remove their stands and stop selling their merchandise from
the sidewalks, clogging the main downtown arteries.
About 500 vendors are affected.
Sunday, a group who had decided to negotiate with the Municipality
decided to remove their stands peacefully and relocate to nearby
Municipal properties or make arrangement with private parking lots to
hold weekend fairs.
A small group, estimated about 100, decided to stay put and vowed to
fight city hall - literally - if the Municipality attempted to forcibly
remove them.
A walk about the downtown streets of Avenidas 1 & 3 to the north and 4 &
6 to the south, shortly after the lunch hour, saw nearly empty streets
as most vendors had removed their stands and many stores were closed
shut in anticipation of a violent confrontation between the vendors and
police.
Vendors, according to one Municipal police officer we spoke to, had
threatened to march along the Boulevard - Avenida Central - the
pedestrian walkway, with the intent to smash windows and loot stores.
The giant downtown department store, Universal, had it's steel shutters
drawn over it's glass windows, with one small opening for shoppers to
enter and exit the store.
Several other shops along Avenida Cental also had their doors partially
closed.
The 'Mercado Central" - the Central Market operated by the Municipality
- was completely closed.
By 2:00 pm, word had spread of the court decision and calm and
tranquility was restored and stores re-opened for full business
operation. And then the rains cooled everything down completely.
Vendors were overheard saying that "finally, God is with us".
The decision to the temporary stop the removal of the vendors was made
on the appeal by the Asociación de Vendedores Independientes de la
Avenida Primera (Asovein). The appeal could be stalled in the courts for
one or two months, which could see the vendors back on the streets and
business as normal, as early as today.
Johnny Araya, Mayor of San José, said that Municipality will fight the
court decision and be back to remove vendors from the streets as soon as
possible, which could be as early as this Friday.
Araya is hopeful that the courts will rule in favour of the Municipality
and that vendors who have already gone are convinced of that and will
stay away.
First Cellular Phone Virus Discovered
The first ever computer virus that can infect mobile (cellular) phones
has been discovered, anti-virus software developers said today, adding
that up until now it has had no harmful effect.
The French unit of the Russian security software developer Kaspersky
Labs said that that virus - called Cabir - appears to have been
developed by an international group specializing in creating viruses
which try to show "that no technology is reliable and safe from their
attacks".
Claudio Bermúdez, a sub-director at the Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad (ICE) - the state owned telephone and electrical monopoly -
said that they are investigating the situation and will alert their
customers of possible problems.
Cabir infects the Symbian operating system that is used in several makes
of mobiles, notably the Nokia, Siemens y Sony Ericcson brands, and
propagates through the new "bluetooth" wireless technology that is in
several new high end mobile phones.
If the virus succeeds in penetrating the phone, it writes the
inscription 'Caribe' on the screen and is then activated every time that
the phone is turned on.
According to the anti-virus software developer F-Secure, the discovery
of Cabir is proof that the technologies are now available to create
viruses for mobile phones and that they are now known to the writers of
computer viruses.
MOPT to Reduce
Vehicular Inspection Charges
The war between Riteve and the Ministerie de Obras Publico y
Transporte (MOPT) is continuing. Riteve wants an increase in the prices
it charges for the vehicle inspections, saying it is part of their
agreement, while the MOPT refuses to grant permission.
Riteve last week announced that beginning July 16, it will charge for
re-inspection. Currently, if a vehicle fails inspection, the owne has 30
days in which to re-submit the vehicle for re-inspection free of charge.
Riteve, wants to charge 1/2 of the orginial cost for the re-inspection.
Yesterday, Minister of Transport, Javier Chaves, in anticipation of
Riteve's re-inspection charges said he will be proposing a reduction in
the prices Riteve charges and though the company has the right to charge
for re-inspection, the amount is limited to 13% of the original cost.
Numbers recently released show that 7 out of 10 cars fail inspection the
first time around. A charge of one half of the original cost by Riteve
will certailly fill the company's pockets.
Number of Foreign Students Increasing
A Ministry of Education recent report shows an increase in the number of
foreign students attending Costa Rican schools.
In 2002 there were 42.631 foreign students registered in Costa Rican
schools, while in 2003 the number grew to 45.057. For this year the
number has grown again, with 45.899 foreign students, of which 31.758
are registered in primary grades.
Most of the foreign students are Nicaraguan, Colombian and Americans.
The report shows that Heredia, San Carlos, Alajuela and San José are the
regions with the most number of foreign students registered. San José as
the largest amount of Nicaraguans.
Manuel Antonio Bolaños, Minister of Education, said that the numbers
show that Costa Rica is more than prepared to accept foreign students in
it's grade schools and that even though each foreign student costs the
Education Ministry more than $600 per student, there is no
discrimination when it comes to educating them.
A recent appeal by the Defensoría de los Habitantes before the
Constitutional Court (Sala IV) may see foriegn students receive
scholarships given by the Fondo Nacional de Becas (Fonabe).
Teen
Sentenced in Whipple Murder
A Costa Rican teenager has been convicted in the murder of
Brad Whipple of Saint John, New Brunskwick, Canada..
Whipple was teaching in Costa Rica when he was shot to death during a
robbery in October 2002.
The teen, who was 17 at the time of the murder, faced a maximum sentence
of 15 years in prison. The court gave him eight years for the murder,
and another year for the robbery.
Whipple's father, got news of the verdict in Saint John and said he was
disappointed in the sentence.
Two other men involved in the crime were each sentenced to 45 years in
jail. They were adults at the time.
 News
Briefs
-
The Fischel Corporation still
has to present it's audited
financial statements as
requested by the
Superintendencia General de
Entidades Financieras , (SUGEVAL).
The accounting firm Deloitte
says it has yet to complete the
financial report because the
Corporation has not given it
it's complete information.
However, rumours are circulating
that the financial report is
complete and that the Fischel
Corporation is not releasing it,
not liking the conclusions
contained in the report.
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