Race Held to Raise Awareness of Child Abuse

A partly overcast, mild morning promised good running weather for the 600 participants in Costa Rica's first road race to raise awareness about child abuse.

Organized by the Trauma Unit of the National Children's Hospital, last Sunday's event was planned to coincide with this week's celebration of Children's Day, held each Sept. 9 in Costa Rica.

The leader of the organization emphatically declared, "Do you know that during the first three months of this year the Children's Hospital Social Work Department detected 469 cases of child abuse? Too many children never know a hug, or loving words; they only know a hand that punishes and words that injure or indifference that kills. This is a call to... raise our voices against mistreatment against the weakest... because we won't allow another child's life to be lost!"

Chacón hopes the 10K road race through downtown San José will become an annual event to raise awareness about a problem that remains largely invisible. "People have no idea of the dimensions of the aggression we are seeing in these children... independently of whose children they are, we all have a responsibility for the children of this country.”

In the front lobby of the Children's Hospital stands a large message board filled with messages handwritten by last Sunday's runners. "Their laughter is our hope for the future" stood out among them as a reason to keep alive a vision of a world without violence toward the young.

Costa Rica will be Promoted in 28 International Fairs

The Institute of Costa Rican Tourism is promoting Costa Rica in 28 international fairs aimed at wholesalers, airlines, travel agents and the general public during the 2010-2011 season, which begins September 19th.

The organization will participate in 15 events in North America (U.S., Canada and Mexico), 9 European and 4 in Latin America. With an investment of $ 2 million, the ICT will promote Costa Rica as a travel and business destination.

Over 100,000 people visit highlight fairs in Madrid, Buenos Aires and Berlin in the days of exposure. For this season, ICT will have a booth set up with new and enticing pictures the country. In addition, they will provide samples of Costa Rican coffee and the video “Costa Rica in their 5 senses ” – available in seven languages, on different plasma screens in strategic locations.

In some of these fairs Bluetooth devices are used to distribute multimedia messages with sights and sounds from Costa Rica – through the cell phones used by the visitors and participants of the fairs.

Anabel González, Minister of Trade, reported that next week Laura Chinchilla, the president of Costa Rica, will participate in an exhibition in New York which will promote investment in Costa Rica, but gave no details.

The goal is to expand foreign investment to all areas of the country; in fact, at this point exploratory work is being done in Puntarenas to increase investment there.

Flag Football in Jaco Beach

Jaco not only has a second division soccer team; but now has a flag football league! Called the Jaco Flag Football League, it has the makings of another great community gathering activity for residents of Jaco Beach and the surrounding metro area of Jaco. League dates: Games nights will be played on Tuesday at the Multiuso Soccer field located diagnally from the Municipality. The pratice field will be available Saturday mornings for practice. League play will start September 7th in league format of 7 man, light-contact, round robin league play.

If you want to get involved and add your own team to the roster it is $425 per team. So far, 4 teams have signed up for the league. The Bohio Team is captained by Pat Hundley; the Los Amigos team is captained by Jay Pond; the Morgan’s Cove team is co-captained by Mike Parr and Jimmy T; and the Hotel Poseidon team is co-captained by Tim Odom and Doug Giampapa. The first Game Day is Tuesday, Sept 14th at 6PM. Come out and check out the league. Admission is free. They are also looking for referees! For more information about the league or to register a team. Contact Jay Pond at jay@palmcoastinteriors.com or call 2643-2174.

Another gold for Costa Rica's Fastest man

Costa Rican sprinter Nery Brenes continued his recent run of international track success this weekend, taking gold in the 4x400 meter relay at the Continental Cup in Split, Croatia on Sunday. Brenes has won four gold medals in the last six weeks.

On Sunday, Brenes ran the first leg of the relay for the Americas team, which included U.S. runners Bershawn Jackson and Greg Nixon, as well as Jamaican Ricardo Chambers. Running against teams from Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Europe, Brenes was pitted in the first leg of the relay against British runner Michael Bingham, who has the fastest recorded 400-meter time in Europe this year. After falling behind Bingham during the first 200-meters, Brenes caught and passed Bingham in the final 200 meters, handing the baton off to Jackson in first place. In the second leg, Jackson fell behind Kevin Borlée, but Nixon regained the lead and Chambers sealed the win with a blurring final lap. The Americas' time of 2 minutes, 59 seconds broke the competition's previous record.

Since winning Costa Rica's only gold medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games in the 400-meter run in July, Brenes has gone on to win gold in the 400-meter run at the Diamond League competition in Brussels, Belgium in August, and at an international competition in Zagreb, Croatia on Sept. 1. Brenes also won silver in the same race at an event in Berlin, Germany on Aug. 22.

Offshore Investment on the Rise in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s offshore investment has increased steadily over the past 15 years. The largest areas of growth is still real estate, but new growth sectors in Bio-fuels and Medical Travel have seen a sharp rise in the past 5 years. Costa Rica is a country that has a reputation for being the safest and most business friendly of tax havens in Latin America for new businesses, offshore investments and offshore incorporation. Costa Rica treats onshore and offshore businesses in the same manner. The basis of taxation is territorial, with both residents and non-residents paying tax on Costa Rican income, while foreign-source income is not taxed.

Some Advantages of Offshore Incorporation in Costa Rica:
Tax Free Trading with the US, Territorial Taxation, Name Restrictions (can be in Spanish and English and must end with S.A., to denote limited liability), Trading Restrictions (not permitted to carry out banking, insurance, mutual fund management, public investment management or any associated activity) and Gambling and Gaming licenses (no specific license for on-line gambling activities).

To learn more about offshore investment opportunities and available services in offshore investment, contact The Costa Rica News information department.

Pez Vela: World-Class Marina in Quepos

Harold Lovelady has been planning on building this marina in Quepos for 11 years now and finally this June the marina officially opened. At this point there are 97 slips but expansion is already in the works, ““It started as a small project, but as more people expressed interest in a marina, we had to redesign the original plan to accommodate the potential demand,” Lovelady said. “It was evident we needed to make a larger, world-class marina. So that's how it turned out.”

The residents of Quepos, a port city originally built by the United Fruit Company to export bananas and administer surrounding plantations, do not seem to know what to make of the Pez Vela. Currently about 20 people work at the quiet marina and its location right outside of downtown worries many residents that the marina will not create the expected up rise in tourism and job opportunities. However the mayor of Quepos assures that it is very positive, saying, “Members of this town will be trained to work at the marina, which means there will be more education, more jobs and more investment. The people of this town will soon begin to see the benefits of having a world-class marina.”

Get-a-Way in Manuel Antonio

This weekend was my birthday, so we decided to take a mini road trip down to Manuel Antonio National Park (about an hour south of Jaco Beach). We got a great deal through some Realtor friends in San Jose and ended up staying at a beautiful ocean view luxury condominium on the mountain. Even though Manuel Antonio is not very different than Jaco Beach, getting away for a few days and relaxing in a different city always feels like a wonderful vacation. We spent some time at the beautiful beach, surfing, getting sun, people watching and best of all, monkey watching! And luckily we also had time to enjoy some delicious birthday meals and most importantly fabulous wine and champagne. I can’t wait to go back and spend more time in Manuel Antonio and at the fantastic condo at Pacifico Colonial.