BELIEVE it or not, it’s not all aboutthe Flamingo Marina.There’s no question that uncertaintyover the status of the marina occupies anunprecedented amount of time for theFlamingo Beach Development Associationthese days. (See separate story.)And, indeed, after affirming, “We allhave one common goal: the marina must notclose,” board president Ulrik Oldenburgenthusiastically launches into a discussion ofother projects on the association’s agenda,ranging from pavement to Portapotties.“Conflicts are normal,” saysOldenburg, manager of Flamingo MarinaResort, of an organization in a communityencompassing some 30 nationalitiesamong its residents.IN its 15 years of existence, the associationhas ranged in size from eight to 54members. But it remains one of the country’smost active community organizations.“There was a lot of momentum yearsago when we needed to build the road,”says board member Marie Yates, proprietorof Marie’s Restaurant.The association was responsible forprocuring the funds and pushing the rightbuttons with the Ministry of Public Worksand Transport to get the road paved fromHuacas up to Flamingo.PRIVATE has frequently been themodus operandi here. The association contractswith the private sanitation firm WPPfor three-times-weekly trash pickup inFlamingo, a frequency almost unheard ofin Costa Rica. And SUDAR, the association-operated, user-owned water board, isone of the country’s success stories, withthe National Water Service (AyA) deemingit among the country’s best.It’s natural for interest to wane whenissues aren’t so pressing, Yates says.“The association gets strong in time ofcrisis,” Oldenburg explains. “There wasthe water crisis, then the road crisis. Nowit’s the marina crisis.”COSTA Rica’s growing dengue problemwas last year’s hot-button issue for thecommunity. Oldenburg was among thoseafflicted. But the association has takensteps to combat the mosquito-borne ailment,and is buoyed by news of this year’slower number of new dengue cases.“Well, well below those of last year,”Oldenburg says of July’s announcement bythe Ministry of Health of only two newcases in the entire region.The organization is in the midst of acontinuing community educational awarenesscampaign, as well as periodic fumigationsto eliminate mosquitoes.“It is a continuing battle, and one wewill be forced to fight for many years,”Oldenburg admits.THIS year’s issues, other than themarina, have not been quite so threatening.One annoying side problem of themarina situation has been the moving ofthe bus stop. Transport vehicles from SanJosé and Santa Cruz formerly stopped infront of the marina. They now sit at theintersection at base of the hill road,Oldenburg says, with barely enough roomto turn around or to let other traffic pass.The problem of cars driving on thebeach was eradicated by strategic placementof stones and tree stumps along theedge of the frontage road. They serve asbarriers, but attractive ones. And the associationwas successful in removing an illegaltemporary cantina that sprang up duringthe busy Christmas holiday season inthe mangrove across from the beach.A debate over installation of portablerestrooms was initially a contentious one,Oldenburg says, but soon the beach willsee a few unobtrusive Portapotty-brandfacilities with faux-wood exteriors.Board member Carlos Soto serves asliaison between the association andFlamingo’s Blue Flag Committee, and hasbeen vigilant about maintaining high standardsfor the white-sand beach, arguablyFlamingo’s prime source of identity.Soto hopes the Blue Flag awards will bea four-for-four clean sweep on this sectionof the coast in 2005. Beaches at Flamingoand nearby La Penca and Pan de Azúcar allproudly fly Blue Flags as symbols of ecologicalexcellence under the national awardsprogram administered by AyA.NEIGHBORING Potrero has been thegap.“Potrero has almost everything in placeto get the flag,” Soto says. “They still lackan active Blue Flag committee, one of theprimary requisites of the program.“It’s just a matter of time,” he says.

LIVING in Flamingo or Potrero is notonly a whirlwind of beaches and fine dining.For those who live here and have timeto look beyond the tourist sheen, plenty ofopportunities exist to take an active role ingroups that work tirelessly for the bettermentof the community.“The further an institution is from SanJosé, the less funding it receives,” explainsMelissa Chellemi who is active in theFriends of the Potrero School (654-4150)organization. Since 1999, the group hasworked closely with the board of the localelementary school in the village of Potreroto determine its necessities. (They aremany, Chellemi says.) The organizationhas purchased books for the library, as wellas four new computers and fluorescentlighting for the building.The Great Ideas Women’s Group’s(654-4867) fundraising proceeds go to multiplecauses, according to Elizabeth Watson,who spearheads the organization. Much ofits work benefits the Potrero School, withfour students receiving scholarships to continuetheir education at the high-schoollevel. The group also finances the purchaseof school uniforms for students in need, andhas outfitted its soccer team with spiffy uniforms.Periodic clinics for neutering animalshave also received funds, as has theorphanage in nearby Santa Cruz.The five-year-old group meets the secondThursday of each month, and presentlycounts about 20 members. “It also presentsa chance for us to get together and toget to know each other,” Watson says.Members come from both Flamingo andPotrero. Longtime resident Jo Mega, also amember, says that, as one added benefit,the organization has helped bring the twoexpatriate communities closer together.The non-denominational Beach CommunityChurch (654-4551), less than twoyears old, has become a focal point ofdevotion for the community, but doesmuch more, according to member JimColwell. Members also work with thePotrero School, donating labor and materialsto provide much needed buildingimprovements. The church has also set upfood and clothing banks, and works closelywith the Salvation Army’s Meals forKids program.Church services take place at 10 a.m.each Sunday at the area’s branch of theCountry Day School.An offshoot of the Women’s Club ofCosta Rica even got established in this partof the country, but was renamed theFriends of the Villarreal School (653-0270) when men began asking to join thegroup, according to member Suzy Lawson.Though the organization is based in nearbyTamarindo, several Flamingo and Potreroresidents belong.Like the Potrero School organization,this group works closely with those incharge of the Villarreal School, about 5 kmeast of Tamarindo, to determine needs. Itraised $8,000 for the school at its annualValentine’s Day “Have a Heart” fundraiserheld this year at Hacienda Pinilla.

GUATEMALA CITY (AFP) –Thousands of soldiers and police took tothe streets of the capital city Monday aspart of President Oscar Berger’s increasinglydesperate measures to end the violencethat claimed more than 2,000 livesduring the first six months of this year.“At this moment in our history it isurgent to attack with vigor crime in all ofits manifestations. Otherwise we will beaccomplices in the progressive destructionof our country,” the President said,addressing a group of 4,000 police andelite soldiers Monday morning.The campaign will patrol 24 sectors ofGuatemala City that are considered themost dangerous.LAST week, Berger fired his Ministerof the Interior, replaced his chief of policeof announced creation of a new military dependentelite police force to combat risingcrime and gang activity (TT, July 23).Though criticized for his use of themilitary to fight domestic crime, Bergerinsists it is his duty as President to use allresources available to fight what he callsthe “terrible cancer” of crime.On Saturday, a group of 500 maskedpolice agents rebelled against thePresident’s new security plan and treatmentof officers. The group alleges thatrural police commissioners are chargingpolice agents bribes of $150 -$200 to keepthem off the list of officers to be sent to thecapital to participate in the new elite force.THE protesting agents took control ofGuatemala’s National Police Academy forseveral hours, clashing with other policesent in to restore order. One officer waskilled and several others were affected bytear gas before the uprising ended.The government has agreed to investigatethe police agents’ claims of corruption,and study ways to improve treatmentof officers.

TEGUCIGALPA— The Hondurangovernment this week considered declaringa health emergency in 19 rural municipalitiesin the southern part of the countrythat have lost a substantial percentageof harvests due to drought, according tothe Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.On July 15, Congress approved amotion to develop an emergency plan inresponse to the famine that claims thelives of 10-20 Hondurans each day, or7,200 per year, according to the Ministryof Health.The current drought, is worst in thesouthern department of Choluteca, where aremany as 20,000 families are thought to beaffected by crop loss, according to congressmanand campesino leader Rafael Alegría.

TEGUCIGALPA (AFP) – AHonduran man named Ronald Reagan –no apparent relation to the former U.S.President – was arrested this week for arape and robbery that occurred last weekin San Antonio de Cortés, 200 km northof the capital.Reagan’s arrest prompted the dailynewspaper El Heraldo to investigate theNational Registry of People to see whatother curious names appeared.The paper found that many Honduransare burdened with unfortunate names,including several that are offensive, suchas “Hijo de la Verga,” or – roughly translated– “Son of The Penis.”Other uncommon names includeCircumcision, Frog, Dutch Company,Telephone, God, Border Zone, Clitoris,Alkazeltzer, Transfiguration and Pillow, toname a few.

PUBLIC Health Minister María delRocío Sáenz said this week she wouldsupport the distribution of the so-called“morning-after pill” in Costa Rica,although no proposals for its commercializationhere have been made.“We cannot speak of any technical orlegal argument to prevent its registry,”Sáenz said at President Abel Pacheco’sweekly Cabinet meeting Tuesday.The controversial emergency-contraceptionpill can be used up to 72 hoursafter sexual intercourse to reduce thechance of pregnancy. Because the pill istaken after intercourse, some consider itabortion.Scientists have not come to an agreementon the issue, Pacheco said atTuesday’s meeting. Some say it is abortion,ending a life that began at intercourse,while others say it is not.“As I am Catholic, if it is abortion, Icannot support it,” the President said.Roman Catholic Church representativesworldwide have expressed oppositionto the pill. However, the WorldHealth Organization (WHO) recommendsits use, and it has been approved in theLatin American countries of Mexico,Honduras, Chile and Nicaragua, accordingto Sáenz.Sáenz said the Ministry of Healthconsiders the pill contraception and notabortion, and supports its use after unprotected,violent or non-consensual sex.No proposal for the commercial distributionof the morning after pill in CostaRica has been presented to the government,Sáenz said, but if and when it is,the pill will follow the same registrationprocess of all medications in Costa Rica,which takes about one month.

COSTA Rican educator VernorMuñoz has been named SpecialRapporteur on the Right to Education forthe U.N. Commission on Human Rights.Muñoz will assume the post nextweek. His responsibilities include reportingto the United Nations about globalaccess to primary education and internationalprogress on the right to education.

THE U.S. Embassy’s FederalBenefits Unit, which assists U.S. citizenswith Social Security, veterans’ and otherfederal benefits claims, is changing itspublic hours.The office will continue tobe open to the public from 8-11:30 a.m.,Monday to Friday, but will no longer beopen on Monday afternoons. For moreinfo, call 519-2228.

COSTA Rica this week voted in favorof a U.N. resolution that appealed to Israelto abide by an international court ruling totear down part of its controversial WestBank security wall.The resolution passed 150-6 with 10abstentions. A handful of tiny countriesjoined Israel and the United States in votingagainst it.Israel has already said it will ignorethe July 9 ruling against the wall by theInternational Court of Justice at TheHague. It plans to continue constructionof the 700-kilometer (425-mile) barrier,only a quarter of which has been built sofar. Its height varies, the highest partsmeasure eight meters (just over 26 feet).THE justice court said Israel mustdismantle the parts of the controversialbarrier built on Palestinian territory andpay the Palestinians reparations for damages.The ruling was reiterated this weekby the majority of the 191-member U.N.General Assembly, whose decisions arenon-binding, but reflect world opinion.“Costa Rica has accepted the obligatoryjurisdiction of the international courtwithout reservation and accepts, unconditionally,all of its decisions,” the ForeignMinistry said in a statement after the voteTuesday.Days before the vote, Palestine hadturned its attention to Costa Rica in searchof support for a peaceful solution to itsconflict with Israel and the felling of thewall between the nations.IN a whirlwind visit here and to ahandful of other Latin American countrieslast week, Palestine’s Vice-Minister ofForeign Affairs, Husein Abdel Khaliq, metwith his Costa Rican counterpart and sentPresident Abel Pacheco a formal letterrequesting his assistance.“Basically (the Palestinians) are askingif Costa Rica will support a peaceful solutionto the problem that is so complicated,”said Marco Vargas, Costa Rica’s Vice-Minister of the Foreign Ministry. “He(Khaliq) said the (Palestinian National)Authority totally condemns the suicideattacks against Israel, but it’s difficult tocontrol them.”The letter Khaliq bore for PresidentPacheco did not mention the attacks,Vargas said, rather it dealt with the securitywall.“WHAT he said is that the wall istremendously harmful to them. Peoplecannot go to work or school easily. Somehouses are on one side, others on another,and the gates are only open during certainhours,” Vargas said. “I mentioned that thewall is there to protect Israel, but he saidthe Authority condemns the attacks andwants a peaceful solution.”Israel says the wall has cut attacks by90%. The Palestinians say the fact that theroute cuts through the West Bank amountsto a land grab.Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharonhas already said he will ignore the rulingand that construction will continue on thebarrier.THE Palestinians have said that ifIsrael does not comply, they will push fora legally binding resolution from the U.N.Security Council, something all but certainto be vetoed by Israel’s main ally, theUnited States.In a pre-vote speech to the GeneralAssembly this week, U.S. AmbassadorJohn Danforth said the opinion of theInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) onIsraeli’s security fence “points away froma political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“The judicial process is not the politicalprocess, and the International Court ofJustice was not the appropriate forum toresolve this conflict. The nature of a politicalsolution is balance. The claims of eachside must be accommodated or there canbe no agreement,” he said.Vargas said Costa Rica did not experienceany kind of pressure from the UnitedStates to vote a certain way.