IN a conference titled “Biotechnologyfor Everyone: The Genes that We Eat,”visiting Spanish expert Daniel RamónVidal will head a discussion of foodbiotechnology at the University of CostaRica (UCR) on Monday from 8-10 a.m.Vidal works at the University ofValencia and recently won an award forscientific development in food and nutritionfrom the Danone Institute.The conference kicks off a weeklongconference on genetically modified (GM)foods and biosecurity that will feature specialistsfrom throughout Central America andthe Caribbean at UCR’s research campus.

PRELIMINARY work on a hydroelectricdam project in the remote area ofPocosol, in the Northern Zone, was haltedafter the San Ramón MunicipalCouncil decided that the energy cooperativeConeléctricas, which manages theproject, must reevaluate the project’senvironmental impact.The dam would be the first constructedunder the Rural Cooperative EnergyProduction Law, signed by President AbelPacheco in early 2003. The President firstrefused to sign it and then agreed to, solong as a second bill was drafted to retractcertain aspects of the law, such as thosethat allow construction of dams in protectedareas (TT, Feb. 28, March 7, 2003).However, no such bill is in the worksThe Technical Secretariat (SETENA)of the Environment and Energy Ministryconfirmed for The Tico Times thatConeléctricas does not have an approvedenvironmental impact study to begin workon the project.ACCORDING to representatives ofthe Environment and Energy Ministry(MINAE) in San Ramón who visited thesite last week, if the cooperative continueswork it could permanently damage thearea’s ecosystem, which includes a delicateaquifer and numerous springs thatfeed the Peñas Blancas River.At least one member of SETENA saidthe project had not produced any significantenvironmental damage. According to localauthorities, Luis Fernando González ofSETENA inspected the project site withConeléctricas environmental coordinatorLuis Torres and determined that the negativeimpact on the environment was minimal.The inspection was conducted withoutthe presence of members of the municipalityof San Ramón, MINAE officials or representativesof the Monteverde ConservationLeague, which administers theChildren’s Eternal Rain Forest, a privatereserve adjacent to the site of the dam.THE municipality questioned Fernández’sassertion and sent its own representativesand personnel from MINAE toinspect the project. After that inspection,they ordered the roadwork stopped.Thus far, the cooperative has onlywidened pre-existing roads, according toofficials from Coneléctricas.It was not clear as of press timewhether widening the roads constituted“work” on the project.FÉLIX Villalobos, of the San RamónMINAE office, said the company’s activityhas destroyed some old-growth forest andcould be causing undue amounts of sedimentto be deposited in the Peñas BlancasRiver. He also said the company is workingdangerously close to several springs.“If they continue the work they’redoing, they’re going to provoke irreversibledamage,” Villalobos said.However, he said, most of the damagehas been limited to secondary forests.VILLALOBOS said he authored tworeports about the company’s work thatwere filed as official judicial complaintswith the San Carlos Prosecutor’s office,and a third is under way. He said thereports address the damage caused alongthree different one-kilometer stretches nearthe river that he claims puts the companyin violation of Article 33 of the Forest Law.Article 33 mandates that no constructioncan take place within 100 meters of springsor 15 meters of rivers in rural areas.Allan Artavia, head of the Municipalityof San Ramón’s Natural ResourcesOffice, said the company hasmade major earth movements and felledsome trees near the river.“It is a very fragile zone. We are veryworried,” Artavia said.The river, area residents say, hasalready suffered irreparable damage as aresult of other hydroelectric dams.Sediment-filled water released from thePeñas Blancas dam, run by the Costa RicanElectricity Institute (ICE), asphyxiatedthousands of fish in October of last year. InApril, some 500,000 kilograms ofmolasses spilled into the river after a tankat a sugar factory exploded, causing anothermassive fish kill (TT, April 30).“There aren’t rivers like there werebefore. The people can no longer use themfor fishing,” Artavia said. “There used to beplaces they could go with their families onthe weekends, but that’s no longer possible.”IN one case, the company may haveworked directly through private property.Longtime residents Robert and JaneKoutnik (parents of Tico Times editorAuriana Koutnik) own property in thearea, and claim that the company has bulldozed100 meters through their land toconstruct an access road.The Koutniks worked with the CostaRican Federation for the Conservation ofthe Environment (FECON) to file a formalcomplaint against the company regardingthe road, which they call illegal.Coneléctricas representatives did notrespond to a request for a response to theallegations by press time.CONELÉCTRICAS general managerCarlos Rodríguez said in a written statementthat the cooperative has received“important support” from the community,which has “motivated (the company) tomove forward with the project.”Rodríguez said the company has completedan environmental impact study andhas not started actual work on the dam project.He said he could not understand whyanyone would talk about “irreversible damage.”He mentioned that Coneléctricas purchased300 hectares in the area, only 10% ofwhich will be developed, and that the restwill be recuperated so that the area will bemore environmentally healthy than beforeconstruction of the three-meter dam.“OUR plan has always been to continuewith the procedures to construct theproject, giving maximum consideration tothe fact that the people who oppose it arefew, and the majority of them are not residentsof the area; what’s more, the advancementof the Environmental Impact Studyindicated positive results for its development,therefore we are not going to let theopportunity to construct the project escapeus,” Rodríguez wrote to The Tico Times.However, Artavia said the cooperative“didn’t come near the municipality beforestarting work.”“To this date, the company hasn’tbrought forth any information about thework they’ve done,” he said.

POISONOUS gases on the grounds ofthe industrial park Metro Free Zone inBarreal de Heredia, northwest of San José,prompted the evacuation of an estimated1,800 workers last week.Humidity seeping into a 15-kilogrambarrel of sodium hydrosulfite increased thetemperature of the chemical and resulted inthe gases at Hilos A y E de Costa Rica, athread manufacturer.Employees first noted the fumes atabout 6:30 a.m. on June 2. Firefightersand Ministry of Health workers useddiatomite, a chemical powder, to neutralizethe reaction and control the fumeswithin about three hours, estimatedRodrigo Elias, Hilos A y E operatingmanager.Alarms sounded in companies within a250-meter radius of Hilos A y E, sparkingthe evacuation of 1,800 employees,according to Ronald Orozco, the park’sdirector of Management and MarketingDevelopment.ELIAS reported that firefighters andMinistry of Health workers attempted todilute the chemical with water in order tolower the temperature inside the barrel.The barrel was left open to cool, butthe temperature increased again about1:30 p.m. and released more fumes.Firefighters finally neutralized the dangerby sufficiently diluting the chemicalwith water by 4 p.m.Evacuated workers waited outside forthree hours in the morning before employerssent them home. Six workers reportedrespiratory problems as a result of thefumes; they visited the park’s medical clinic,which later discharged them.Red Cross spokesman Alfredo Jiménezsupported the medical clinic’s decision,saying that the poison’s effects wouldn’tlast long.“They would have respiratory problemsat the time, but not anymore.”JIMÉNEZ characterized the incident asserious, but noted that a limited number ofpeople were exposed to the fumes.“This was important because it waschemical, but it didn’t affect a lot of people.”Hilos A y E’s Elias emphasized thefact that only fumes escaped from thecontainers.“It was not a chemical spill,” Elias insisted,adding, “It was an emergency that couldhappen in any industry.”Hilos A y E is a subsidiary of Americanand Efird, a North Carolina-based manufacturerof sewing thread. Hilos’s Elias statedthat his company conforms to American andEfird’s corporate regulations.No one could be reached for commentfrom American and Efird’s United Statesoffices.METRO Free Zone is an industrialpark with more than 55 companiesemploying about 6,500 workers, accordingto Metro Free Zone’s Orozco. Companiesin the park, which opened 15 years ago,receive government tax exemptions onimports and exports.The park has safety clauses for thecompanies within its borders.“Each company is responsible to thegovernmental organizations that offer safetyprocedures and measures for their operations.Moreover each firm has a contingencyplan under the park’s safety department,”Orozco explained.Jiménez explained that while the RedCross ensured that those affected by thevapors received treatment, the fire departmentdirected the site’s operations.“Firefighters decide who evacuates andwho doesn’t,” Jiménez said.ACCORDING to the fire department’sorders, “the internal roads and borderaccess roads were watched and cordonedoff by members of the park’s securityto avoid unauthorized people comingnear the site,” explained Orozco.Those not allowed in included membersof the press, on the grounds that theresponse teams needed to work withoutinterference.

A week after a violent riot erupted in LaCarpio, the landfill company that residentshad protested announced it is suing theMunicipality of San José, and will ceaseoperations unless the government can assureincreased security in the area.The company EBI BERTHIER hasadministered the landfill, called the San JoséEnvironmental Technology Park, since2001. The landfill processes some 700 tonsof garbage a day and is the only landfill forthe San José area.The lawsuit against the municipality saidEBI’s General Manager Juan CarlosObando, is not related to the riots or the violencein the area.He claims the municipality owes EBI $1million in back payments because of an errorregarding the tariff that San José would payper ton of garbage processed when the landfillfirst opened.WHEN the landfill opened, the municipalityset a provisional tariff of ¢2,233($5.15) per ton. However, the PublicServices Regulatory Authority (ARESEP)later determined the tariff should be morethan twice that — $12 per ton. The contractEBI signed with San José said that any tarifferrors would be decided in favor of the company,according to Obando.He said the municipality has agreed tomake the $1 million payment, but they are“kicking the can” about it. He said EBI hasnegotiated the payment since December2003 and the lawsuit is a last-ditch effort.Still, he is optimistic the city will pay.“At this point, we feel there is enoughspace for conversation,” Obando said. “We’lljust stand by and see what their behavior is.”AFTER the riot last week, which left 30wounded, seven by gunshot wounds (TT,June 4), the Canadian company has madesecurity one of its main priorities.EBI executive president Pierre Sylvesterflew in from Quebec this week in responseto last week’s riot. According to EBI representatives,Sylvester was to meet with SanJosé Mayor Johnny Araya, PresidencyMinister Ricardo Toledo, Ombudsman JoséManuel Echandi and the La Carpio communitycouncil.Obando said the government wouldhave to guarantee the safety of EBI’semployees and the residents of La Carpio ifthe company is to continue operating normally.The shantytown is known for violentcrime and gang activity.Dorian Valladores, who commands thepolice sub-station in La Carpio, said officersare involved in firefights with gang membersabout every 15 days, “especially onweekends.”BEFORE the riot, he said, four officerswere assigned to the sub-station. Now thereare 12 and two additional patrol vehicles, hesaid.La Carpio residents said shootings andother violent crimes are common. Onewoman said her son was shot in the leg forapparently no reason as he was walkinghome from work.“Here it’s very dangerous,” she said.“Dangerous, dangerous, it’s dangerous. Youcan’t live here.”On Wednesday, police arrested 10 suspectsin La Carpio as part of an investigationto identify those responsible for shooting sixofficers during the riot there last week.The arrests bring the number of suspectsdetained since the riot began to 23, accordingto the Public Security Ministry.Valladores said the arrests were theresult of 11 different raids, which left no oneinjured.Oscar Guzmán, onsite director of thetechnology park, said employees there areconcerned for their safety, and work in “aclimate of uncertainty.”Of the 106 people employed at the landfill,more than 80 are residents of La Carpio.RESIDENTS protesting EBI last weekalleged that the company had failed to fulfillpromises it made to the community whenwork on the landfill began in 2000. At thattime, EBI had promised to deposit moneyinto a special account to be used for communityimprovements. The funds were managedby a “civic committee.”However, Obando said that during ameeting held June 16, 2003, more than 600La Carpio residents said the funds werebeing blatantly misused and asked EBI toadminister the donations.Protestors last week were also demandingland titles and improvements to localroads, things Obando said are governmentproblems. But, he said, EBI would be happyto lend financial support.“THIS attitude of the government, tryingto pull out at the last minute from theirresponsibilities – that hurt us pretty bad,” hesaid. “People start to think, ‘Maybe the companyis responsible.’”Obando said EBI complied with thecommunity’s request and, rather thancontinuing the deposits, opened a publicbidding process for several projects,including a dental clinic and a threehectaresports park.The clinic, a joint operation with theCalifornia-based Foundation for theChildren, is now open, he said, and isstaffed by graduate students from theUnited States.Obando said it would take a concertedeffort to increase the Costa Rican government’spresence in La Carpio to makea change in the community, and that alack of control has only served to fomentviolence there.“YOU have groups of gangs conflicting.They are empowered in La Carpio,”Obando said.Valladores, the police officer, hasworked in La Carpio for four years. He saidthe community suffers from complex socialproblems and he does not believe that anincreased government presence should necessarilybe an increased police presence.“The conditions these people live in –it’s inhumane in some places,” he said.

EBI BERTHIER, a Canadian companythat manages the only landfill for theSan José area, is endeavoring to produceelectricity using methane gas fromthe garbage deposited there.The San José EnvironmentalTechnology Park is located in La Carpio,west of the capital, and has been in operationsince 2001.General manager Juan CarlosObando said the landfill was fitted earlyon with various “chimneys” that harvestmethane gas produced as the thousandsof tons of solid waste there decompose.The gas, which many scientistsbelieve contributes to the problem ofglobal warming, will be burned to powergenerators.Obando said it normally takes sevenyears for a landfill to produce enoughmethane to power generators. But hebelieves San José’s landfill, whichreceives some 700 tons of garbage aday, will be able to do so starting in Juneof next year – three years ahead ofschedule. Obando said the generatorswould initially provide just enough electricityto operate the landfill, making itself-sufficient.However, the company eventuallyhopes to sell electricity to the CostaRican Electricity Institute (ICE), he said.Obando said the gas is already beingburned to help alleviate its normally pungentodor.Aside from the plan to generate electricity,there are other reasons the landfillis called an “environmental technologypark.”Onsite director Oscar Guzmán saidthe landfill is fitted with a three-layer filtrationsystem, with a geomembrane atthe base that retains 100% of the liquidsbrought in with the garbage. Those liquidsare filtered first through an aerationbed and then a sedimentation bed beforethe water is piped back to the landfill tohelp plants and grass grow.Guzmán said the garbage is treatedwith a special cocktail of bacteria andmicroorganisms, of Japanese design,that all but eliminate the problems of flies,cockroaches and odor. He said afterdepositing garbage at the landfill, alltrucks are washed and sprayed downwith the cocktail before leaving.Representatives of the non-governmentalCentral American Water Tribunaltold The Tico Times that EBI’s landfill iscausing irreversible damage to the drinkingwater supply of the residents of LaCarpio (TT, June 4).

GANDOCA, Limón – Since being fittedwith a satellite transmitter nearly twoweeks ago, Purra, a large female leatherbackturtle, appears to have been content tostay near Costa Rica’s southern Caribbeancoastline.That’s according to data from the transmitter,which scientists from the CaribbeanConservation Corporation (CCC) and theAssociation ANAI attached to Purra (shortfor purruja, which means “sand flea”) atabout 1:30 a.m. on May 30.Now, they hope the transmitter willcontinue to send valuable data regardingthe animal’s migratory behavior.It was the third such transmitter theCCC attached that week, having fitted twoturtles in Tortuguero with the devices justdays before.SEBASTIAN Troëng, scientific directorof the CCC, said the data the teamhopes to obtain from the transmitters willassist them in coordinating internationalconservation efforts by showing themwhere the turtles are located around theglobe at different times of the year.Leatherbacks, the world’s largest reptiles,are indeed international animals. Onetracked by the CCC in 2003 traveled some5,000 miles in seven months, and Troëngsaid that researchers occasionally encounterthe turtles in Spain, West Africa and Canada.The leatherback population on theAtlantic coast of Costa Rica has remainedstable in recent years, Troëng said, but theturtles have suffered drastic losses in theEastern Pacific. For example, the numberof leatherbacks nesting at Playa Grande, onCosta Rica’s Pacific coast, dropped fromthousands in 1990 to just 68 last year.IN spite of this, Troëng said, manypopular guidebooks still list Playa Grandeas one of the best places to see aleatherback nesting.According to Didiher Chacón, a marinebiologist and the director of the SouthernCaribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Program,global populations of the leatherback(Dermochelys coriacea) havedropped 80% in the past 10 years.Leatherbacks in the Pacific are ofteninadvertently caught by long-line fishingvessels after swordfish or sharks. Theyare also caught in the nets of fishermenwho neglect to use Turtle ExclusionDevices (TEDs) on their trawl nets. CCCofficials mentioned that fishermen theyhad consulted said TEDs are cumbersometo install and can affect catches, and thusare often not used unless fishermen knowof a government inspection.SCIENTISTS hope to determinewhether the leatherbacks’ migratory patternscoincide with periods of heavy fishingelsewhere in the world, thus increasing thethreat to this already-endangered animal.Troëng said CCC research has shownthat leatherbacks have a tendency to varytheir nesting locations widely, meaningthat protecting only certain beaches –while certainly helpful – won’t provide thekind of long-term solution the turtles need.“Our efforts here may be compromisedby what’s happening in places very faraway from here,” Troëng said. “That’s whythe transmitter is important – to find outwhere they are, when.”The transmitter was attached by meansof a harness made of silicon and nylon thatwraps around the turtle’s belly and over itsshoulders. For other species of turtles, thisis not necessary, since their carapaces arehard and the transmitters can be attachedwith epoxy. Leatherbacks, on the otherhand, are named for their soft shells supportedby bony plates. Epoxy could seriouslyharm them, said Dan Evans, CCC’seducational coordinator.Evans said the turtle’s soft, cartilagerichbody could aid it in suffering theextreme depths it dives to feed.LEATHERBACKS, the world’s thirddeepest-diving air breathing animal(behind the elephant seal and the spermwhale), have been recorded at depths of1,000 meters, he said. Their diet consistsmostly of jellyfish.The harness and transmitter combinedweigh around five pounds, an amountshadowed by that of the leatherbacks,which have been recorded at weights ofup to 2,000 pounds.“It increases the drag somewhat, butnot enough to seem to affect it significantly,”Evans said. “It’s designed to not interferewith the turtle’s swimming.”The silicon will degrade within twoyears, he said, and the rest of the harnesswill subsequently fall off.The transmitter will automaticallypower on and off in alternating 24-hourcycles, he said. It will emit a signal eachtime the turtles, which can remain underwaterfor about 20 minutes at a time, surfacefor air. In older models, batteries lastedaround seven months.THE transmitters attached last monthare of a newer model, and while they shouldlast longer, no one is quite sure how longthey will continue to provide information.The devices cost around $2,500 eachand the harnesses $500, but the equipmentisn’t the most expensive part of theprocess, Troëng said. Rather, it’s thesatellite time, which can cost up to$5,000 per turtle if the transmitters continueto emit readable signals.Evans said Purra’s movements areposted in the Internet at www.cccturtle.org. The information will always be a fewdays old by the time it is posted, he said.Troëng also authored a recent studypublished by the World Wildlife Fund(WWF) that showed that sea turtles areworth more alive than dead. Troëng foundthat non-consumptive use of turtles fortourism can generate nearly three times therevenue consumptive uses can.The study reported that TortugueroNational Park, with an average annualincome of $6.7 million, brought in moreturtle-based revenue than any other locationon earth.Attaching a Transmitter: No Job for the SluggishWHILE they’re on land, sea turtlesaren’t exactly the most nimble, speedycreatures in the world.Just the same, attaching a satellitetransmitter to a leatherback turtle requiresscientists to work quickly and efficiently.But first they have to find one.Two weeks ago, CCC scientists satinto the night, with a transmitter and harnessready, waiting for one of two beachpatrols to radio in and tell them they hadfound a turtle ready to nest.There was no electricity at theirresearch station, provided by theAssociation ANAI, so biologists conversedby candlelight about other turtle taggingexperiences they had, what wasnew in Gainesville, Fla., or which speciesof sloth was the more aggressive.Emma Harrison, a CCC biologist, saidthe massive turtles remain calm while layingtheir eggs, affording researchers theironly viable opportunity to attach the harness.“We’ll have to start work the minuteshe starts laying her eggs,” Harrison said.The first call came just after midnight.The team rushed out to the beach, beforeturning back after being informed the turtlewas already laying her eggs and it wastoo late.The next call came around 1:30 a.m.Scientists waited patiently until the turtlefinished digging her nest and convergedon her to attach the harness immediatelyafter she laid her first egg. They dug outthe sand under the leatherback’s bellyand shoulders to attach the harness,tightened it and then used metal bands tosecure the transmitter.The operation seemed a first-timesuccess, until one of the nylon strapssnapped loose from a securing D-ring.The scientists jumped back on the animalto reattach the harness, just after she hadfinished laying her eggs. It was thenapparent why there is such a narrow windowof opportunity to attach a transmitterto a giant turtle.Four of them, using their full bodyweight, were not able to fully stop thepowerful animal from moving toward thewater.They were able to successfully securethe transmitter.Harrison also said the flippers of aleatherback aren’t quite as soft as theylook, and it’s common for researchers togo home rather bruised after attaching atransmitter. On one occasion, she said, aleatherback knocked a man clean off hisfeet with one of its front flippers.

ALREADY known as the “City ofCulture,” Heredia, 11 kilometers north ofSan José, is taking steps to make its culturalofferings more accessible and invitingwith the proposed Paseo de Cultura.A dream in the making for more thanthree decades, the new pedestrian promenadewould run six blocks along AvenidaCentral from Universidad Nacional(UNA) west to the Central Park downtown.Along the way, visitors would findart booths, streat musicians and otherculture, according to UNA spokesmanOscar Lepez.The idea is to incorporate the homes,businesses, institutions and services alongthe route into a unified identity in theheart of the city, according to the university,which is working with theMunicipality of Heredia and the HerediaPublic Services Company (ESPH) on theproject.“More than a walkway – like the pedestrianmall in San José – this will be a placeto stay, to enjoy, to share,” Lepez said.The pedestrian mall, also called aboulevard, is still a few years frombecoming a reality, Lepez said.UNA and other entities are in theprocess of holding community meetingsto gather public opinion about the designof the pedestrian mall with the hope ofcreating general consensus and support.A meeting last week drew 120 people.Another meeting is planned for thismonth, although an exact date is not yetknown.Once public input has been gathered,the UNA will do an economic projectionstudy and determine how to finance theproject. All funding will come from internationalsources and private businesses,Lepez said.

ALTHOUGH preliminary hearings toresolve the situation have not proved successful,public support continues to growfor the more than 100 campesinosinvolved in a land dispute with bananaexporter Standard Fruit Company, a subsidiaryof Dole.The men, women and children havebeen living in the MetropolitanCathedral in San José for nearly sevenweeks, since April 25, because they saythey risk being arrested if they near thenorthern zone farm they claim rights to(TT, May 21).The campesinos have squatted on ElBambuzal Farm near Río Frío deSarapiquí off and on since 2001 andbelieve they have earned permanent rightsto the land under Costa Rican law. Theyare awaiting an agrarian trial to settle theissue in a Guápiles court.In two preliminary hearings last week,representatives of Standard Fruit – whosay they have maintained possession anduse of the land continuously since 1968 –offered to not seek financial damagesfrom the campesinos if they hand over theland and give up the claim, said HéctorMonestel, legal advisor to the group.The campesinos rejected the offeredimmediately, Monestel said, so the trialwill now continue on its regular course.The campesinos are also hoping ajudge in a penal court in Heredia will lift arestraining order that prevents them fromnearing the land without being arrested,Monestel said. That decision could comeany day, he added.Meanwhile, vocalized support of theBambuzal campesinos is growing.Earlier this week, various environmentalgroups announced their supportfor the campesinos.

FILLING the void left when a penaljudge ordered the suspension of the ninedirectors of the Social Security System(Caja) for suspected misuse of funds (TT,June 4), the government Cabinet appointeda temporary directorship this week.The move circumvented the normalprocess of selecting directors through anew law created the day before theirappointments. Under normal circumstancesthe decision would be publicized inthe government newspaper La Gaceta togive workers and sponsors the opportunityto voice opinions. It usually takes onemonth.The previous directors were suspendedfor six months on June 2 for investigationsinto suspected crimes and, accordingto La Nación, just one month withouta directorship could be “a synonym forcrisis” in the Caja.THE Cabinet announced its decisionon Tuesday, and named the new heads ofthe various divisions of the Caja who werechosen according to the guidelines submittedby each of the sectors in the Caja’sdomain. Pediatrician Alberto Sáenz willpreside as head of the Caja.The Prosecutor’s Office explained theapproval of the law that allows for thequick replacement of the directorship is a“temporary and exceptional” measure,given the duty of the government to take“reasonable and proportional measures thatsupport the lending of public service,” hetold La Nación.Cabinet members reported they willappoint another temporary directorship ina “maximum” of two months. PresidentAbel Pacheco clarified, however, thatthose of the current directorship assumeall the responsibilities accorded to thosein their positions.“These people are not limited in theirfunctions,” he said.In its first day, the interim Board ofDirectors brushed shoulders with a scandalwhen one of the interim directors,Cesar Jaramillo, resigned after NationalLiberation Party deputy José MiguelCorrales challenged his selection, accordingto the daily Al Día.Corrales said Jaramillo is the financialmanager of the Plastic ProductsCompany, which owes the Caja morethan ¢300 million ($690,000) in insurancepayments for its employees.A replacement to the interim board isexpected to be announced at Tuesday’sCabinet meeting.THE nine suspended directors,including new Caja executive presidentHoracio Solano, are under investigationfor the suspected use of public funds forpersonal gain, La Nación reported. Theytook out ads in four major newspapersthat supported former Caja presidentEliseo Vargas.The board of directors authorized thepurchase of the ads the day after La Naciónreported a business deal between Vargas anda former executive of the pharmaceuticalcompany Corporación Fischel.The paper reported that the Fischelexecutive, Olman Valverde, was renting aluxury home to Vargas at half its value.Vargas resigned just hours after the reportwas published, and Valverde followed suit(TT, May 14).The advertisements cost ¢1.9 million(nearly $6,000) and called Vargas “a manof moral integrity, pure ethical principlesand a long career of public service characterizedby the transparency of each one ofhis actions.”IN the wake of reports on the houserental, government investigators beganpeering into an exclusive contract withFischel and a hefty loan from the Finnishgovernment for $32 million.The so-called Finland Project wasdesigned to bolster medical service and outfithospitals with the equipment they needed.Eliseo Vargas helped approve the deal whenhe was a legislative deputy in 2001.Later, when he headed the Caja, a companythat Fischel represents was contractedas the sole supplier of the equipment.According to a statement from theCaja’s board of directors last month, “thepieces of hospital equipment purchased…were not those outlined as priority needsby the directors of clinics and hospitals inthe country” (TT, May 14).SHORTLY after the suspension of thedirectorship, police arrested Walter Reiche,executive president of Fischel, and RandallVargas, the corporation’s lawyer (TT, June4). They were questioned and ordered tothree months of preventive detention.Police conducted a surprise raid ofReiche’s home on June 3 after a witness,whose name was not released, tipped themoff to the alleged destruction of documentsthat linked one of Reiche’s companies withthe financing of Eliseo Vargas’ home. Thewitness supplied a copy of the destroyeddocument and charged that he had “sufferedpressure for over a month” at thehands of Reiche and Randall Vargas.The two are now being investigated forcoercion, “grave” threats, ideologicalfalseness, bribery and suppression, concealmentand destruction of documents.The witness claimed that he receivedcalls at midnight, verbal pressure andthreats of condemnation, visits to hishome, had the hard drive of his computerdeleted and saw mysterious cars stakingout his home, according to La Nación.RANDALL Vargas presented aninjunction against government prosecutorsfor prohibiting him from representingReiche, which they said they did becausehe is a subject of the investigation.Eliseo Vargas and Olman Valverdeboth abstained from commenting to prosecutorsand to members of the press.Vargas’ lawyer Vinicio Zamora Chavestold La Nación that his client intended tomake a statement when “they finished processingthe file.”According to the lawyer, prosecutorshaven’t yet determined what chargesVargas will face.La Nación reported that Fischel is one ofthe principal pharmaceutical providers of theCaja and that the business in 2003 sold ¢1.1billion ($2.5 million) worth of medicines tothe Caja, increasing the company’s sales by¢800 million ($1.8 million).

MEMBERS of the American LegionPost 16 in Costa Rica have decided tochange their post name to honor U.S.Army Staff Sgt. Raymond Edison Jones,Jr., a U.S.-born Tico who was killed in Iraqin April.His mother, Olga Chaves, who lives inthe Central Valley town of Cariari, northwestof San José, says the family is havinga hard time dealing with his death. But, shesaid, one thing that makes it easier isknowing the 31-year-old soldier lovedbeing in the military.“A week before he died, his wife askedhim if when the war was over, he wanted toget out, and he said no,” Chaves said.The mourning mother says shereceived an e-mail message from her sonjust hours before he died on April 9.“He talked about how much he lovedus and missed us and to tell his brothershow much he loved them,” she told TheTico Times.CHAVES moved to the United Statesin 1969, and Raymond was born in Nevadain 1972.For the first 15 years of his life, hespent every summer in Costa Rica with hisgrandparents. Growing up, he loved sportsand animals, his mother recalled. In highschool he ran track. He also raised miniaturehorses, prompting his mother to thinkhe might grow up to be a veterinarian.Raymond was the oldest of four brothers.The second eldest, Mike, joined theservice during Raymond’s freshman yearof college at the University of Florida.After freshman year, Raymond also joinedthe military. Mike did three years andmoved on.“Raymond loved the military and hestayed there. He was a lifer,” his mom said.THE American Legion Post 16’s commander,Howard Singer, contacted Chavesabout their idea to rename their post afterher son.“Since he has a Tica mother, I thoughtthis would be a great name for our post, toshow respect to this country and his mother,”Singer told The Tico Times.Chaves said, “Mr. Singer has beenabsolutely great. He called me right fromthe beginning and asked for my permission.I am forever in debt to the AmericanLegion. They have been the best – the best.All of them. They have been my moralsupport.”RAYMOND’S 32nd birthday wouldhave been June 18.On that day, his wife Kapja will flyfrom Germany, where she lives, toWashington D.C., to spend his birthday athis gravesite in Arlington NationalCemetery.Raymond is also survived by his father,who lives in Florida, and his 12-year-olddaughter, Sasha Ray, from a previous marriage.Also on June 18, in Costa Rica, theAmerican Legion will hold a ceremony inhis honor and officially change its name toSgt. First Class Raymond Edison Jones,Jr., American Legion Post 16 Costa Rica.“It’s a long name, but there’s no way toget around it,” Singer said.The private ceremony will be at theU.S. Ambassador’s residence in Escazú,and will include a marine honor guard sentby the U.S. Embassy, and a showing ofboth the U.S. flag and the Costa Rican flag.HIS mother says Raymond reallybelieved in what he was a part of.“Raymond was an American, true andtrue, and all he wanted was freedom for theworld. I think if you would have asked myson how he wanted to die, he would havetold you that way,” she said.“He said in an e-mail to me: ‘Mom if Idie right now, I would die a happy man.’”Still, even though that sentence makesher feel a little better, it doesn’t take awaythe pain of losing her son.