Source - Wikimedia Commons A widely praised and esteemed crime writer has passed away in his home in Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Elmore Leonard was 87 years of age when he passed away from a complications following a stroke. With 45 books, most of them crime novels, and numerous screenplays under his belt, Mr. Leonard was a very prolific and stylistic author. Mr. Leonard's last novel, Ro...

Source: Flickr CC Film lovers in Costa Rica rejoice: you have a few options to enjoy some very fine selections and even meet celebrities of the seventh art in August, September and October. Over the next few weeks, Costa Rica will be a haven of the silver screen with three thematic festivals that will feature domestic films, international offerings and Hollywood blockbusters. Plus, famous acto...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A recent news release published by the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) claims that three Canadian investors were victims of a swindle involving a bank account in Costa Rica. The incident dates back to 2012, and it was allegedly perpetrated by a presumed investment firm based in Chicago. According to a Notice of Hearing issued by the BCSC, the perpetra...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A teacher at a vocational high school in Costa Rica was wrongfully terminated and must be given his job back despite his addiction to alcohol and crack cocaine. Such was the ruling of “Sala Cuarta,” Costa Rica's Constitutional Chamber, which is the country's highest court. According to a recent news report by online news daily CRHoy, the teacher in question was fir...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The rise of Internet communication, the advent of online social networking and globalization have given us a new breed of irrational beings: Haters. This sociological phenomenon is quickly spreading throughout Costa Rica, and it belies the country's top ranking on indices of world happiness and life satisfaction. Hater behavior is mostly observed in sports commentary,...

The view from abaft: USS Rentz. Source: Wikimedia Commons. The saga of the Capitan Erson -a fishing vessel (FV) registered in Costa Rica- and a United States Navy frigate continues to unravel as contradictory news reports emerge. The latest report is credited to the United States Embassy in Costa Rica, and it negates a previous Twitter update on the situation. A quick recap of the situation...

Source: Flickr CC Dear Readers, It has come to the attention of the Costa Rica Star that our previous article on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the growing number of United States citizens around the world who are choosing the drastic step of renouncement as a means to mitigate their tax liability has raised many questions. This article seeks to answer some of those conc...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A woman in Costa Rica has spent the last ten years of her life surrounded by bats. Her name is Ana Iris Cruz, but her neighbors call her Batgirl. She lives in a farm in Cedral, in the Monte de Oros canton, province of Puntarenas, and her chiropteran friends hang from the rafters of a small produce storage shed in her house. According to tabloid newspaper La Teja, M...

Source: Flickr CC UPDATE: we have published a new article answering some of our readers feedback, please read this one below and then CLICK HERE for an updated version with new insights. Author's Note: The use of the noun and adjective “American” in this article conforms to the definition in Princeton's WordNet: (A native or inhabitant of the United States), and the recommendation by the As...

Source: Wipeout Films Wipeout Films, the premier audiovisual production label for outdoor extreme sports and events such as surfing, stake boarding, mountain biking, body boarding, and others in Costa Rica, will be celebrating its fourth anniversary with a Surfing Awards ceremony and party at the Luxe Lounge in Escazu tonight. The mission of Wipeout Films is to highlight Costa Rica and to p...

Source: MSP Costa Rica, date unknown The United States Embassy in Costa Rica recently published this update on its Twitter stream: @CostaRicaStar Interesting article on #Erson seizure. However, Erson wasn't seaworthy. It wasn't towed or lost. Evidence safely transferred. — US Embassy San Jose (@usembassysjo) August 14, 2013 The article mentioned above was published in the Costa Rica Star ...

Source: Fuerza Publica San Jose, Costa Rica – In a sense, Sara Ortiz Esquivel is a typical mother in Costa Rica. She is sweet and kind to her six children, who have given her 15 grandchildren. She has experienced some hard moments in her life, but yesterday was particularly challenging. Over the last 22 years, Mrs. Ortiz has dedicated her life to protecting life and property in Costa Rica. ...

Candidate Solis Editorial Note: This is a communication by a politician who is a candidate in the upcoming elections in Costa Rica to succeed President Laura Chinchilla. Being informed about political intention is an important part of the democratic process that Costa Rica holds dear; however, this content shall not be construed as an endorsement by the Costa Rica Star. Position by Luis Guiller...

Source: Flickr CC Monsanto, a controversial biotechnology and agro-industrial giant, may not have a future in India. Angry farmers from across 20 populous states in India converged in New Dehli earlier this month in support of a rally named “Monsanto, Quit India.” By urging their Congress to adopt measures against the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill, farmers in India are adopting a ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Officials from the National Animal Health Service (SENASA in Spanish) in Costa Rica decided to put down a striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) that had persistently beached itself despite repeated efforts to return it to sea. The marine mammal in question was initially found on the beach by surf fishermen in Playa Lagarto, province of Guanacaste. They returned t...

Wikimedia Commons As families in Costa Rica prepare to celebrate one of their most important holidays, inmates in the country's three correctional custody institutions for women are reflecting on what August 15th used to mean prior to their incarceration. These women, many of whom are single parents, are part of Costa Rica's growing inmate population. They will spend Mother's Day deprived of f...

Wireless data and communications providers in Costa Rica spent almost two years in a relative state of post-monopoly peace. That changed a few days ago, however, with an announcement by former communications monopoly ICE with regard to its prepaid wireless rates. The cost of using ICE's extremely popular Short Message Service (SMS) went up by almost 100 percent, which means it now costs three colo...

Source: US NavyThank you to the US Embassy in San Jose for this update on the below news article clarifying a number of items mentioned herein. A United States Navy guided missile frigate involved in drug interdiction patrols off the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica is undergoing some operational difficulties. The USS Rentz (FFG-46) recently got underway from her home port at the San Diego Naval Ba...

Source: Flickr CC Street racers in Costa Rica, known as “picones” in the local slang vernacular, are staying one step ahead of the law with a tactic typically used by the police officers that attempt to put an end to their reckless driving. According to a recent article written by Roberto Portuguez for news daily La Prensa Libre, picones in Costa Rica have snitches planted inside law enforceme...

The 14th edition of Costa Rica's International Book Fair in 2013 will feature a couple of surprises. The most significant is that it will finally offer free admission to the public thanks to a resolution by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Athletics to provide more than 50 million colones (about $100,000) for the fair. In the past, the International Book Fair in Costa Rica had been a largely com...

Angie Morelli. Source: GMO Free Vegas Residents of Las Vegas are borrowing a page from Costa Rica's ongoing fight against agro-industrial leviathan Monsanto. Earlier this year, activists in Las Vegas staged one of the largest anti-Monsanto demonstrations seen in the United States, drawing 3,000 supporters and compromising traffic on the world-famous Las Vegas strip. Sin City may seem like a...

Source: MSP Costa Rica A Nicaraguan citizen who killed and gutted a green sea turtle in Costa Rica has been sentenced to 12 months in prison; he is not, however, in custody at the moment. The 40-year old man, whose last name is Martinez, was found guilty of the crime of slaughter of a Chelonia mydas in a sector of the Tortuguero National Park in the Caribbean region, an area that is a sanctuar...

A legislator in Costa Rica brought up explosive accusations against two political parties during a debate on campaign reform. Jeanette Ruiz from the Citizen Action Party (PAC in Spanish) has insinuated that Liberty Reserve, a controversial money transmitter based in Costa Rica, donated money to fund the electoral campaigns of the Libertarian Movement and the powerhouse National Liberation Party (P...

Source: UCR In order to comply with Resolution 64/460 of the United Nations, which calls for a ten-year period of research, study and celebration of the international heritage of African people around the world starting in 2013, the University of Costa Rica has organized a series of events throughout August in the Caribbean region. This year also marks the 15th anniversary of the Day of the...

Another year, another week spent watching the most commonly misunderstood elasmobranch species swim, feed, reproduce, and (rarely) attack humans. We are talking about Shark Week, a ratings machine that is one of the most anticipated TV programs every year. In Costa Rica, Shark Week is also known as “El Clasico de Discovery en Espanol” due to its popularity among cable and satellite television cust...

UCR campus Costa Rica's prized quality of life in the Central American region owes a lot to her focus on education. Since there is no military to spend money on, Costa Rica has had an opportunity to invest a greater portion of the national budget on academic affairs -particularly at the higher education level. As such, the number of colleges and universities in Costa Rica has increased along w...

Source: Zoo Ave Facebook Simona, an adult female Bradypodidae sloth that was electrocuted when she touched high-voltage lines in Tilaran, province of Alajuela, is showing great improvements. Officials at Zoo Ave, Costa Rica’s premier wildlife rescue center, explained that Simona suffered five major electrical discharges and extensive burns that required two major surgeries. You can watch Simon...

Source: Flickr CC Costa Rica’s rich biodiversity is getting richer. According to a recent article published by national news daily La Nacion, researchers and environmental officials in Costa Rica discovered and classified 5,000 new species between 2011 and 2013. This discovery is part of the country’s National Biodiversity Strategy (ENB in Spanish) for 2014-2020, which is part of the United Na...

AmaTierra Yoga Retreat and Wellness Center is a lovable destination near San Jose, www.amatierra.comThe capital city of Costa Rica has been ranked among the top five loveable cities in the world by respected British publication Monocle. San Jose is right up there with Colombo in Sri Lanka, Palermo in Italy, Tel Aviv in Israel, and Chiang Mai in Thailand. Since San Jose gets a lot of flack from lo...

Nature in Lidice, site of the murder. Spanish citizen Gonzalo Alonso Hernandez and Jairo Mora of Costa Rica had a lot in common: Both were deeply courageous biologists committed to environmental conservation whose dedication may have caused them to die at the hands of despicable criminals. Costa Rican online news media site El Pais, which is known for its strong defense of environmental aff...

Source: Flickr CC For several decades, the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) in Costa Rica was described as a spartan, no-frills facility for air travel. It wasn't until almost the end of the 20th century that tourists and expats coming to Costa Rica started to see features that are standard in many airports around the world, such as terminals, lounges, duty-free shops, and places to...

A recent visit by The Honourable John Baird, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to Costa Rica underscored the excellent status of bilateral relations and their intent to cooperate and establish meaningful dialog. Chancellor of the Republic Enrique Castillo, who is also the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Costa Rica, sat down with Minister Baird and review...

Source: Wikimedia Commons One of the strangest cases in the history of Costa Rica's judiciary recently came to an end in the Central Pacific city of Puntarenas. It is not everyday that judges in Costa Rica preside over prosecutions involving frozen shark carcasses filled with cocaine, but after four years of legal wrangling and a considerable expenditure by prosecutors and investigators, the d...

AK-306 Naval Cannon As Costa Rica prepares to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the abolition of her armed forces on December 1st, her Central American neighbors are allocating more resources to their military forces. This situation is being closely monitored by the Chancellery of the Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latest move in the Central American arms race that Costa ...

The Permanent Committee on Women's Affairs at the National Assembly in Costa Rica recently approved two motions that take a strong look at how women are perceived and treated with regard to political participation and their image in the media. On July 30th, the 64th anniversary of the women's right to suffrage was celebrated with a motion to investigate why political parties in Costa Rica are n...

Source: Bomberos de Costa Rica The mission of the Fire Department in Costa Rica is to protect life in situations when property or the environment are threatened by fire or other emergencies. In many occasions, the protection of life includes saving animals from burning flames or from dangerous situations. In two recent instances, firefighters in Costa Rica have filled the life of families with...

Source: Flickr CC A video posted by Samantha Giancola, a young woman who starred in the wildly popular Jersey Shore reality TV series on MTV, shows her taking a zip line tour of a forest in Costa Rica. Mrs. Giancola, who is better known as “Sammi Sweetheart,” shared the short video with her 1.7 million Twitter followers, and it has been viewed thousands of times on the video sharing social net...

Source: Zoo Ave Facebook A female sloth that was victimized by two heartless men in the Southern Pacific region of Costa Rica has improved enough to be transferred to a new habitat. Officials at Zoo Ave, one of the best-known wildlife rescue centers in Costa Rica, confirmed that the sloth lost her sight as a result of being hit by rocks thrown at her head. Still, she has recovered well from...

Source: Flickr According to an official press release from the Organization of Judicial Investigations (OIJ in Spanish), Costa Rica will no longer send cocaine or other controlled substances to the United States, at least for the time being. The announcement comes in the wake of news reports about nearly 24 tons of cocaine transported by the U.S. Air Force to Miami on Saturday, July 27th 2013....

Source: Wikimedia Commons Starting on August 8th, 2013, the most important fashion industry event for Costa Rica will unfold over four days in San Jose. Costa Rica Fashion Week 2013 is more than just models sashaying down a runway; it is an important trade event for a billion dollar fashion industry that is beginning to take flight in our country. Costa Rica is currently the style hub of Ce...