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We’ve had good luck with Riviera Home Center (Jaco) and for designer items, some that occasionally go on sale, Tamarindo Pacific (Santa Ana).
The folks at Pacific Home Furnishings seem to have a nice selection, but we’ve not purchased from them….
Buena suerte!
Coleman
Just back for PURAVIDAVILLE and a Tico friend who has very close ties to planning and financing says that there will eventually be a new international airport built near Orotina…..and then he smiled and said “but not in our lifetime, maybe not in my children’s lifetime.”
So, I would look to the areas where infrastructure like new highways have made vast improvements such as along the Central Pacific coast from Jaco on down to Dominical. Quepos will soon have a brand new humongous marina opening in April. Manuel Antonio recently got a new water line. The drive from Quepos to Dominical used to be a bone jarring tedious stop and go journey taking up to 2 hours. Now with the new road, 30 minutes. THAT’s a magnet for commerce and increased property values.
IMO Airports are too ephemeral too unpredictable at this stage.
They haven’t even finished the one in SJO yet.
Pura Vida!Well, this is a great thread. Scott, we tried Marmite in New Zealand. For breakfast. A taste really. We left it on our plates in NZ.
We tried Lizano in Costa Rica (along with gallo pinto) for breakfast. We now have 6 large liter-size bottles in our pantry. We found a Latino Super market that stocks it in Winston-Salem. Lizano, like Heinz Ketchup, hits ALL the taste receptors: Sweet, salty, tangy, little touch of bitter, etc. Several of our local (North Carolina) friends are also great aficionados. BTW gallo pinto has become a staple, our kids LOVE it.
Who’s mate? Marmite! Mi amigo? Lizano!Thanks, Albert. There was an effort to keep lifeguards on the public beach at Playa Espadilla, but if they are there it’s only during peak times. BTW later that day we met two ladies who were just walking along the surf line and were literally almost taken out by a wave that engulfed them. They weren’t even wading past their ankles. So even the above the hips admonition didn’t apply. Seems that there could be a system that could use flags to warn folks of such ominous conditions. We’d certainly support such an effort.
Thanks again for you kind words. Pura Vida!
Coleman
Sprite, are you with the Danny Glover crowd that, apart from Bush, sees no evil
and has yet to meet a dictator he doesn’t like? Are you really saying HG is GOOD for his country, GOOD for his neighbors, GOOD for investors in nearby democratic countries like Costa Rica? Incredible!FACT
Venezuela is the now one of the highest exporters of cocaine and the primo exporter to Great Britain. The Chavez government is riddled with drug pay-offs and increasingly ineffectual and non-cooperative in stopping the traffic.FACT
Last year, via a constitutional referendum HC tried to gain unlimited opportunities to stand for re-election. Given the narrow major of rejection 51-49 percent, HC says he’ll try again.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7125689.stm
FACT:
Last June, HC attempted to install a “spy-law” which included a clause requiring citizens to act as informants if authorities believe they have information on national security threats.
The law would have punished noncooperative citizens with up to four years in prison, raising concerns that Venezuelans would have been forced to spy on their neighbors.After much outcry from Human Rights groups and particularly the Catholic Church, Chavez backtracked and withdrew the proposal saying it was never intended to tread on anyone’s rights. Yeah right.
FACT
Along with nationalizing oil, cement, steel, and for all practicality, the news media, Chavez has recently nationalized the Bank of Venezuela. (Investors have been tripping over themselves to bail out of Venezuelan companies)http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/07/31/venezuela.bank/index.html
Information below gives three specific instances of arrests reported as prominent violations of human rights. If the remaining information is objectively read and pondered, you’ll have an understanding as to why HC often relies on his own “chavistas” citizen supporters to intimidate and beat the crap out of pro-freedom demonstrators with impunity knowing they’ll not be charged or prosecuted.
Notable arrests:
Carlos Eduardo
Izcaray, a cellist with the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra and music teacher, was reportedly
a bystander as opposition demonstrators clashed violently with the Guardia Nacional (GN)Carlos Ortega- Trade Union leader, led oil workers strike against government policies
Gustavo Azacar Alacala- television journalist who has been a critic of Venezuala’s president, Hugo Chávez. http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=16697
The below excerpts from an Amnesty Report of May 2004
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR53/005/2004
Amnesty International believes that the Venezuela government had a clear duty to guarantee
public order in the face of frequently violent protests – which included the use of firearms by
some protestors. However, there is strong evidence that the use of rubber bullets, tear gas and
batons was frequently indiscriminate and disproportionate and significantly contributed to a
week of spiralling violence rather than preventing it.Furthermore, the cases included in this report indicate that several of those detained were not
only not involved in criminal acts prior to detention, but then faced ill-treatment and torture
while in the custody of the security forces. Reports received also indicate that subsequent
investigations undertaken by the Cuerpo de Investigaciones Científicas, Penales y
Criminalísticas (CICPC)1, Technical Police, Fiscalía General de la Nación , Attorney
General’s Office, and Defensoría del Pueblo, Human Rights Ombudsman’s Office, to
establish the facts around these alleged abuses and prosecute those responsible have been
slow and inadequate. In comparison, these same authorities have acted with energy against
opposition activists who allegedly participated in or incited violence. Over recent years, these
institutions have failed to fulfil their constitutional role to act with equal impartiality against
government supporters and opponents accused of committing crimes related to the ongoing
political crisis. This lack of impartiality, combined with long standing structural weaknesses
of these key institutions, threatens to strengthen the culture of impunity that has accompanied
human rights abuses over many years in Venezuela.In the civil disturbances of 27 February to 4 March 2004 Amnesty International recognises
that wide scale indiscriminate or extrajudicial killings were avoided in the face of frequently
violent demonstrations. However, rather than acknowledge the use of excessive force and
torture in a significant number of cases and ensure full, thorough and impartial investigations,
the authorities made numerous public statements offering unqualified support for the conduct of the security forces and sought to dismiss or downplay allegations of human rights
violations as merely part of the opposition strategy to discredit the government. The
government only reluctantly agreed the need to investigate alleged abuses in the face of
numerous complaints and strong national and international pressure.In January President Chávez sought to undermine the legitimacy of a number of reputable
human rights organizations, such as Provea and the Red de Apoyo, by questioning their links
to international organizations and making unfounded allegations of links to foreign
governments. The public statements by President Chávez are in direct opposition to the 1999
UN Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society
to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
and risks encouraging further threats and attacks on human rights defenders. It is vital that the government and the opposition publicly recognise the legitimate role of human rights organizations and make clear that any harassment of human rights activists will not be tolerated.I’d recommend that the entire report cited from Amnesty International be read for its edifying and sobering effects. You can see that there is no need for the death penalty when government-sanctioned thugs can deliver death directly to opponents without the messy business of court hearings.
When asked by news media “What do you think of Western civilization?” Mahatma Ghandi replied: “Well, I think it is a good idea.”
🙂SEE http://thereport.amnesty.org/eng/Regions/Americas/venezuela for a brief report
on this “democracy”.
Unless one thinks Amnesty Int’l is a CIA OP. Chavez is BAD NEWS.
We are building in Manuel Antonio and are very pleased to recommend our architect Carlos Arias. He’s designed and built many homes in the MA area, is American-university trained, lives part time in Jaco, and is a very fine person to know. His e-mail: ariasarq@racsa.co.cr 506-8837-4979 cell; 506-2653-2823 land line
You can say the Aldersons referred you and informed you that Sr. Arias no longer deals with tree issues (a serious potential problem with MINAE). 🙂We also favor the natural bali style…please, let us know if you find any Bali-styled furniture sources in CR.
Pura Vida,
Coleman
Have you seen or heard of Toma Homes? At one point they had a sales office in SJO, but I haven’t been able to reach anyone. Website: http://www.tomatech.net/TomaTech.asp
Would appreciate your take.Cheers
Hi Rebargon
I live in the US. The restorative justice approach grew from its successes in Australia and New Zealand. It’s been very effective wherever the pricipals have been applied (see website). The whole thing is scripted by an outline of procedures,thus trained volunteers and/or professionals can do this. The process is PREscriptive but offers choices to the offenders and victims. Indeed, the criminal must be caught and face charges. He/she is then presented with options like jail versus a “conference” with his victims. The methodology is based on the offender being “SHAMED” by all those who were affected by the criminal act. This may also include the young offender’s family, teachers, coaches, ministers or other significant relations who express how they were negatively affected by the action. The primary victim(s) given opportunity to state what would “make things right”. It maybe the youth would have to repay the offendee in some way, or render community service. For many, this is restorative and affirming to all parties (win-win).
No panacea here, but one way to give young offenders a sense of cause and effect (AKA karma)and make positive use of being SHAMED before the victim, their family and the community.
I cannot read Spanish, so the websites you forwarded don’t quite work. But I will get in touch with a lawyer friend down there who can forward the linked info. CHEERS!
Hola Amigos,
I’ve been involved in non-criminal mediation, and discovered there is a form of mediation well-suited for juvenile crime called restorative justice. Here’s just a bit of the solution oriented approach that will not engorge prisons and gives all parties (victim/perpetrator/ community) a chance for justice. This has been highly successful wherever its been used. See http://www.restorativejustice.org for more.
Three principles form the foundation for restorative justice:
Justice requires that we work to restore those who have been injured.
Those most directly involved and affected by crime should have the opportunity to participate fully in the response if they wish.
Government’s role is to preserve a just public order, and the community’s is to build and maintain a just peace.
Restorative programmes are characterized by four key values:Encounter: Create opportunities for victims, offenders and community members who want to do so to meet to discuss the crime and its aftermath
Amends: Expect offenders to take steps to repair the harm they have caused
Reintegration: Seek to restore victims and offenders to whole, contributing members of society
Inclusion: Provide opportunities for parties with a stake in a specific crime to participate in its resolutionDear PIPS,
See private e-mail…..
Cheers!
Coleman
Edited on Jan 28, 2007 13:39
Edited on Jan 28, 2007 13:40
We have worked with the guys at Latitude 9 (latitude9.com). Both Rusty (California vintage guy) and Travis (Colorado style) have served us well. Looked at many properties from MA to Dominical on their nickle and transport. We’ve bought three properties through Lat9 so far and are quite pleased.They also have an 800 number so you can call them toll free from the US.
Happy hunting!
Edited on Sep 18, 2006 17:43
Edited on Sep 18, 2006 17:45
