www.CostaRicaTicas.com

From Inside Costa Rica this morning.


"No Potholes in San José", Mayor Says

The mayor of San José, Maureen Clarke, assures that there are no potholes in her town. "Tell me where they are and I will go fill them", said Clarke, who is taking over the mayorship of Costa Rica's largest city, while Johnny Araya makes his bid for the presidential chair.

Anyone driving in an around San José can attest that there are potholes, though, admittedly not as as many as in the past, but there are.

Some of the worst potholes in the city are in Barrio México and downtown San José itself. Others can be found in Pavas, Hatillos, Desamparados, Zapote and just about every other barrio.

Clarke said that the municipality will invest this year ¢1.5 billion colones in road repair, almost double of the ¢800 million spent last year.

The mayor explained that the municipality will continue the resurfacing of many of the streets, as well as the reconstruction of some and the construction and re-construction of sidewalks in others.

The new mayor said she would be tackling as well the problem of prostitution in San José, especially hitting on "prostibulos" that mask as casinos and massage parlours.

To combat the problem, Clarke said that the municipality is best equipped. However, in the past the municipality has been cut out of the "loop" and cannot raid the centres with such frequency as in the past and Gobernación (government ministry) is not doing its job."

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Is she a gringa? If so, there's trouble on the horizon.

How can She crack down on something that is legal?

_________________
It is easier to ask Forgiveness than to ask Permission.

Well at least she has her priorities straight: First fix all the potholes in San Jose Then start fixing those other gaping holes!

Good luck, muchacha, and we'll keep trying to fill those gapers while you work on the roads!

_________________
"Your love gives me such a thrill
but your love don't pay my bills,
I NEED THE MONEY!" - John Lee Hooker

Disclaimer: The above is merely the opinion of the author unless specific scientific data is included.
Your mileage may vary. https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 978#206978

Probably by attacking pimping, which is illegal.

_________________
It is cheaper to pay now and get it over with.
It is also easier to get them to leave.

She can make it less visible but she won't make it go away. I suspect it'll be more harassment on chicken shit little building code violations and so on. We'll see what kind of feedback she gets with her crusade. I know she doesn't care about what we think, but she may care about what the money-boys think. How long is a mayor's term, anyway?

_________________
"The only normal people are those you don't know very well." Joe Ancis

That phrase seems out of place with the rest of the article, as if it were inserted by accident.

And how did someone with the last name Clarke get elected in a Spanish speaking country?

_________________
I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries. Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time!

Maybe she should address the causes of prostitution rather than the symptoms. Oops, easier to pretend she's making progress. Perhaps she should read about prohibition, it only finds another way to get to market.

Zealots, crusaders, advocates call them what you want never address the cause of the problem they are rallying against. That would take some rational thinking and they are so busy being against something they can not find the time.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

She sure looks hispanic and in fact is dark skinned. I'm guessing she comes from the Limon province and that english sounding name comes from some Jamaican ancestry. However, she's been around CR politics for well over a decade. In fact in the mid-90's she was CR's Minister of The Interior and Police. She was also the driving force behind (and beneficiary of) SJ's gender equity policy. Say what you want about gringas but CR has a vocal feminist presence too.

By the time it takes to fill in all the potholes it will be time for a new Mayor
Any reform will take years And right now the courts a still trying to figue out the new traffic laws

Maureen is an Afro-Caribbean from Limón. She was elected Vice Mayor and is sitting in as Mayor while the elected Alcalde Johnny runs for president of the nation. That should be completed by June.

That's assuming he is not the nominee. You certainly have a greater knowledge of the working of the CR election code but your post brings a few questions to mind.

Laura Chinchilla resigned as VP to run for President. If she is unsuccessful can she reclaim the VP seat as you indicate Johnny can reclaim the mayors chair. It would seem that they have resigned their respective position not taken a leave of absence and therefore would not be able to reclaim them.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Good points all Don I-D.

I was told it is a leave of absence. Unlike Kevin Casas who had to resign for other reasons, if Araya wins the primary then, I am told, Laura can resume her position; if Laura wins, then Johnny can resume his position as Alcalde.

That is what I have been told by Ticos but often one is told something only to find out there was difficulty in the translation or in the originating knowledge.

If my memory serves me, when Araya ran for re-election to the mayor’s chair four years ago, he had to step aside in order to run. There is no term limits for mayor as there is for national office so my guess is that local election law is different than national law.

Whether or not he resigned four yeras ago and then was reelected, so he continued as mayor or he was reelected and then resumed his position, I am not clear.

I will ask some people who should know and do speak English, well sort of English.

The vibe I am getting is that Laura is the favorite. I have not seen any polls. One might worry about our hobby if Laura wins and so does Maureen.

God save us from women with a cause. Remember it was women with a cause, primarily the Women's Christian Temperance Union, who brought about the 18th Amendment, the Volstead Act or Prohibition. There was a sad day in American history.

Of course, like every stupid law, there are unintended consequences. It just drives activities underground and fosters the growth of crime.

.

Actually, ID, I think Diego may be right. Just because Chinchilla resigned her post to run full-time doesn't mean Johnny went the same route. I noticed that some of the articles refer to Clarke as ACTING Mayor and even this article says " taking over the mayorship of Costa Rica's largest city, while Johnny Araya makes his bid for the presidential chair." which seems at least somewhat ambiguous to me.

Either way, we face a tough set of alternatives. If Johnny wins, we're stuck with Clarke in charge of our little playground. But if he loses, we're stuck with feminist anti-monger Chinchilla in charge of the whole enchillada.