Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Hot-shot political commentator Tomi Lahren has entered the national media arena. So has White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. These two women are making waves in similar ways. Fox News announced Sept. 30 the 25-year-old Lahren will join ...

U.S. Embassy officials traveled to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica this week with a delivery of equipment and resources to bolster opportunities for students in Limón to learn about robotics and computer skills, said the U.S. Embassy press office. The American Corner at Limón's Thomas Lynch Public Library was the recipient this week of US$12,000 in new equipment for students to develop their ...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  President Donald Trump arrived in Corpus Christi, Texas Tuesday morning to see firsthand the devastation inflicted upon southeast Texas when Hurricane Harvey slammed the Gulf Coast Friday night – leveling the popular beach town of Rockport and leaving ...

The United States' diplomatic seat in Costa Rica announced that Monday, September 4 its installations will be closed. The U.S. Embassy and Consulate will be closed in commemoration of the celebration of Labor Day, observed each year in the U.S. on the first Monday of September. The diplomatic press office said the date is "dedicated to celebrating the social and economic achievements of Amer...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Whens all eyes focused on Category 4 Hurricane Harvey slamming the Texas Gulf Coast late Friday, wham, President Donald Trump issues his first full presidential pardon. It went to former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to absolve him of his misdemeanor contem...

With tropical storm Harvey now a raging hurricane passing over parts of the southern United States, four United Airlines flights to Costa Rica out of Houston, Texas were canceled this weekend. So far, these are the only flights affected by the hurricane after it struck the Texas coast this weekend, said Aeris, administrator of San José's Juan Santamaría international airport. Aeris advised p...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  If you loved President Donald Trump before Phoenix, after Phoenix you love him even more. The president’s last campaign-style rally held at the Phoenix Convention Center Tuesday night before 15,000 adoring fans produced a vintage Trump rally complete ...

In the mid-1990s, 1,000 truckloads of orange peels and orange pulp were purposefully unloaded onto a barren pasture in a Costa Rican national park. Today, that area is covered in lush, vine-laden forest. A team led by Princeton University researchers surveyed the land 16 years after the orange peels were deposited. They found a 176 percent increase in aboveground biomass -- or the wood in t...

The U.S. government announced a contribution of more than US$38,500 for the preservation of the pre-Colombian spheres in Costa Rica's southern Delta del Diquis in the region of the Osa Peninsula. The funds will support a hydrological study to analyze the behavior of soils and layers of the earth's crust at the Finca 6 archaeological site where the surrounding rivers have covered evidence of the...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Monday’s total-solar eclipse has taken over the media’s airwaves. The hearts and minds of Americans weary of toxic politics welcomed the chance to concentrate on the Moon and Sun instead of terrorism, President Donald Trump, North Korea and racial divisi...

The Costa Rican-North American Chamber of Commerce (or AmCham, as it is commonly referred to) issued a strong statement on social media in the wake of tragic race-related clashes in the United States, one of which, in Charlottesville, Virginia, left a protestor and two police officers dead last week. The business organization, whose spokesman, Dennis Whitelaw, said has a "trajectory for human r...

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) today announced Global Projects For All, a university-wide initiative that will provide all students with access to an off-campus project experience. To serve the growing demand for off-campus projects, the Global Projects Program has added 18 new project centers since 2009. This year WPI will add programs in Massachusetts, Costa Rica, Japan, and Switzerlan...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  The impromptu take down of a Confederate monument Monday night in downtown Durham, North Carolina, without any police stepping in to stop the destruction shows just how scared local law enforcement is of racial confrontations. What happened Saturday i...

When U.S. citizens Luda and Rome Gimelfarb's son David disappeared after heading on a hike in northern Costa Rica, they never thought they would still be searching for him eight years later. The couple continues to hold out hope they will locate their son whom they say they feel is still alive. On August 11, 2009 David Gimelfarb set out for a hike in Rincón de la Vieja National Park, never t...

Accenture, named this year by Fortune Magazine as the world's most admired information technology services company, will be establishing a new delivery center in Costa Rica for the 70+ Search Technologies big data engineers based in the country, said a company press release. The Fortune 500 company announced earlier this month their acquisition of Search Technologies, a Herndon, Virginia-...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  North Korea! For 70-plus years the situation involving Korea – North and South – has been festering along with plenty of ‘saber-rattling’ as tensions rise and fall like the winds of time. All the past presidents from Truman to Obama had their dealing...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  The establishment republicans, democrats and mainstream media sure seem to be involved in a conspiracy against President Donald Trump and his agenda for America. There is a lot of good going on in the United States these days, but you won’t hear much about it ...

Yesterday, some 80 migrants entered Costa Rica through Paso Canoas on the southern border with Panama, reported the Public Security Ministry. The men, women, and some children, who are in transit to the United States by foot, are from a number of African and Asian countries, said officials. According to immigration authorities, the migrants are from Nepal (43), Eritrea (21), Congo (8), Angola (...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  In a suspense-filled announcement, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared war Friday against the leaking of classified government information to the mainstream media. “These leaks hurt our government … We are taking a stand. This culture of leak...

At least two men's college basketball teams will be in Costa Rica next week for a tournament. Lamar University's (LU) Cardinals from Beaumont, Texas, and the University of Texas at El Paso's (UTEP) Miners will face off against Costa Rica's national team as well as teams from McGill University and the University of British Columbia. This early preseason tournament has emotions among the Texan...

Southwest Airlines announced yesterday a sale on nonstop flights to and from San José, Costa Rica during their winter season which starts November 5. Grab a low fare to the Miami area (via Ft. Lauderdale), to Houston (Hobby), and/or Baltimore/Washington, DC (BWI), with some new nonstop routes being offered, and some great advance fares. Current daily nonstop Southwest service between both Liberi...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  There’s a new JFK in the White House. President Trump has appointed retired U.S. Marine General John F. Kelly to be his new White House chief-of-staff replacing Reince Priebus, who resigned after six months. Previously Kelly had been in the president’s c...

In the small town of Madison, New Jersey, a 50-year-old Costa Rican man last week was turned over to U.S. federal authorities after he was found to be on the run from justice in Costa Rica for the rape of a minor, according to reports on July 28 in the Daily Record of Rockaway, NJ Eugenio Castillo Muñoz, a resident of Waverly Place in Madison - a borough of some 16,000 inhabitants in Morris Cou...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Another tweeted bombshell came last week when President Donald Trump advised everyone at the same time – his press staff, the public, the media and the military -- that he is banning transgender individuals from serving in any capacity in all branches of...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Finally the Democrats are talking about something that will get a lot of attention besides Russia Fever – single-payer universal healthcare – just like most of the civilized world already has. “Single-payer is on the table,” said U.S. Sen. Chuck Schum...

The Wisconsin-based Natural Resources Foundation announced a new offering for adventurous travelers. In March 2018 the non-profit educational group will run a "Bird Conservation Boot Camp" in Monteverde, Costa Rica. The week-long educational course will be led by conservation biologist, Craig Thompson, and will be held at University of Georgia at Athens field station in the San Luis Valley a...

According to a special report by Reuters yesterday, Australia will be going ahead with a proposal they put forth last year about receiving Central American refugees in exchange for some help from the United States. The transfer of the refugees down under will occur over the next few months, starting with an estimated 30 El Salvadoran refugees currently being held in Costa Rica. The Australian go...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  At six months plus one day into the Trump administration, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer called it quits July 21. Spicer has said he will leave at the end of August to allow for a smooth transition for new Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and n...

The consular section at U.S. Embassy San Jose announces a consular outreach event in Santa Teresa at the end of July. Consular staff will be available to accept adult passport renewals, perform notarial services, and handle inquiries on federal benefits and voting. The event will take place Thursday, July 27, 9 - 11 a.m.  at the Auditorio de la Clinica del Seguro Social en Cobano (150 meters we...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Traditional politics in the U.S. is all but being chucked out the window. What will the political landscape of America look like in 15 months? If you think the forces that put the controversial, billionaire Donald Trump into the presidency were just a...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Mainstream media’s obsession with the continuing soap-opera-like saga of Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a lawyer from Russia June 9, 2016 at Trump Tower in New York City – President Donald Trump’s home – shows how desperate they are in attempting to fin...

Costa Rica is among the Latin America countries seeking new sources of suppliers for cars, and other items such as apparel, said the Canadian Manufacturing trade magazine. A recent study by UPS on import activities by businesses in Latin America have opened a window on new opportunities for exporting countries. Costa Rica, Colombia, and Peru were found to have the highest percentage of impor...

Banana Azul  located at Puerto Viejo's Playa Negra on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast is a top-ten pick of CNN's travel section. Ranked the top budget resort, the hotel was selected due to its generous amenities at a reasonable cost and luxurious tropical surroundings. Founded in January 2005 by a Canadian couple who quit the fast lane and jumped into this tropical adventure with no prior hotel...

US ambassador in Costa Rica Stafford Fitzgerald Haney said goodbye through the Embassy’s Facebook page in his last day in this position. “Representing my nation in this beautiful country has been one of the greatest honors of my life, since my arrival in June of 2015 and to date. I am still amazed by the strong relationship between both countries and the warmth and hospitality that Costa Rica h...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  The U.S. Senate’s long-awaited Judiciary Committee hearings into President Donald Trump’s FBI nominee Christopher Wray began Wednesday morning. Wray’s nomination is perhaps the single most important non-U.S. Supreme Court appointment President Trump w...

--Study will evaluate NIH’s experimental DNA vaccine. Vaccinations have begun in a multi-site Phase 2/2b clinical trial testing an experimental DNA vaccine designed to protect against disease caused by Zika infection. The vaccine was developed by U.S. government scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)....

The Costa Rica - United States Cooperation Foundation (CRUSA), the Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives (CINDE), the North American Cultural Center - through its Education USA office, and the United States Embassy yesterday announced five scholarship opportunities for students at Costa Rica's Technical Professional Associations (CTP) and public schools that are part of the Internation...

With the objective of expanding bilateral cooperation in a number of areas relating to "human capital development," the Costa Rican government signed this week a memorandum of understanding with Minnesota State University - Mankato, in the midwestern U.S. "I am honored to sign this agreement with the government of Costa Rica...we look forward to strengthening our existing partnerships and provi...

Book by July 27, 2017 on Southwest for these great international fares. Tickets are nonrefundable. Seats, travel days, and markets are limited, and some blackout dates apply. Travel dates may vary for cities outside the contiguous U.S. And, also, points bookings do not include government fees that start from $5.60 per one-way flight, said the airline on their site. See below for the complete...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  Protests during the annual meeting of world leaders is nothing new, but this year it was an all-out war attempting to disrupt the proceedings. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made a fool of himself by flying to Hamburg and joining the G20 Summit pr...