La Ceiba sound bites, July 20, 2008

9.99 (lempiras) is supposed to be like the dollar stores;
however, there was nothing for 9.99 in the store!

La Ceiba actually made the La Prensa a couple of times this week and the weekly El Ceibeño section had a few interesting articles so here are some highlights for the week ending July 20, 2008:

The government handed out checks of L.5,000 each to 826 La Ceiba taxistas as a subsidy for the high fuel prices. --I've always heard there were 1,000 taxis in La Ceiba. Maybe the other 174 are illegal.

The Yo sí puedo! (Yes, I can!) program is being launched in La Ceiba to combat illiteracy. Adult students will be given 2-hour long night classes in their neighborhoods if they can get 20 students per class. --Excellent, but the classes are only three months long and the teachers are not paid. How much can they really learn?


The following articles are from the weekly El Ceibeño section of La Prensa, July 19, 2008. This section is not provided online, hence no links.

In La Ceiba, 45 police officers are being taught English in order to be able to communicate with international tourists. Volunteers from Finland, Canada, and the US are giving the classes. --That's a good thing.

Rio Viejo, outside of La Ceiba: Eight manzanas of trees have been destroyed along the Cangrejal River in the government-protected Pico Bonito National Park (one manzana = 1.68 acres). The trees were cut for lumber or to clear and burn the land for agricultural purposes. The loss of thousands of trees endangers the environment and the source of water. --When is it going to end? When we have no water? Protected, shmotected. It means nothing.

In a related article, José (Pepe) Herrerra, local environmentalist and USAID representative, said, "The truth is that the authorities in our city need to do much more." --Translation from PCness: they are doing nothing.

The online Paginas Amarillas (Yellow Pages) is opening a La Ceiba branch! --Thank goodness. I hope the local businesses will advertise. Do you know the most common sentences uttered by gringos throughout Central America and Mexico? "Do you know where I can find ....." Ditel.hn − It's a good thing.


Don't expect a La Ceiba summary every week because sometimes our big news is getting a couple of new traffic signals or painting the lines on the streets − though I have been known to write about those, too. ;-D