And in Panamanian News...

Canadian Senior Drug Mule Busted in Panama
By Carlos A. Rodríguez

La Critica - 60 year-old Canadian citizen Mark Anthony Shephard was arrested by the drug unit of the Panamanian National Police at the Tocumen International Airport for international drug trafficking. Shepard was arrested and taken to the emergency room of the Santo Tomas hospital where he began to pass 18 packages of the drugs he ingested.

A/C is a Major Necessity in Panama

By DON WINNER

Panama-Guide.com

I would like to recommend a person who recently did some work for me to repair a Samsung 18,000 BTU split airconditioner in my office. I had another couple of guys working on this system and they didn't know what the hell they were doing. They had me buy and replace a fan motor that was not broken, and basically left me hanging.

Then someone recommended Alexander Marrugo. He does all kinds of work, particularly with welding, building aluminum doors, and general construction. He came over with an air conditioning specialist and they spent the entire afternoon yesterday and most of the morning trouble shooting my busted AC unit. It turns out the other guys who were here before at some point inverted two wires, and with those two wires inverted on the outside unit there was no way it was going to work.

These new guys came over and they were able to identify the problem, fix it, buy and install the required replacement parts, and get me running again. Alexander's cell phone number is 6733-5963 and you should be aware he does not speak a whole lot of English, so you might want to have someone standing by who can translate and provide directions. But honest guys who know what they are doing with air conditioning repair are worth their weight in gold, and sooner or later here in Panama you're going to be needing their services. Copyright 2009 by Don Winner

Fatal Bus Crash Claims 24 Lives in Panama

By DON WINNER

Panama-Guide.com

The fatal bus accident that killed 24 last night near Las Garzas de Pacora in the Eastern part of the province of Panama has obviously snarled traffic in that area. Pacora is located about eight miles East of the Tocumen International Airport. The highway to get there basically goes around the airport and passes through the area of 24 De Diciembre and then continues East. This highway eventually takes you out to the extreme eastern parts of Panama, including Chepo and the "end of the road" in the Darien. Now, at 7:40 am, it appears the wreckage of the two vehicles involved in this fatal accident has been removed from the roadway and at least one lane of traffic is slowly passing by the scene. The bus and the dump truck hit head-on at high speed, with the two drivers basically coming together face to face, and both were killed in the accident. There is one additional person who is hospitalized with severe injuries and no brain activity.

Copyright 2009 by Don Winner

Amendment To Law 23 in Panama Proposed

By Ereida Prieto-Barreiro

The Panama America

The government is preparing a draft bill to amend Law Number 23, in order to exclude from its benefits corporations that have "hijacked" lands with a high potential for tourism in different parts of the country. Law 23 was approved in Panama's National Assembly on 21 April 2009 and later signed into law by then president Martin Torrijos, with the intention of allowing mainly poor people with little income to obtain titled ownership of the lands they have occupied for many years.

This law establishes the costs - those titling up to 20 hectares would pay $50 dollars, from 20 to 50 hectares would pay $100 dollars, and for larger parcels of more than 50 hectares, $150 dollars.

This law "benefits" people who can prove they have occupied these lands for at least five years or more, and they would have up to ten years to pay the value of their lands. However, the Director of Taxes and State Property of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Publio Cortés, said the government intends to give free land titles to poor people, but not to those who accumulate large tracts of land. The tax office told Panama America that hundreds of corporations monopolize the country's coasts and island lands carving out acres to build resorts or other business activities.

New Bocas Mayor Trying To Fix Garbage Problem

By: Don Winner

Panama-Guide.com

I received the following via email this morning, and update on the garbage situation in Bocas - "The new Bocas mayor, Dr. Joe Anderson, was taken to the town dump last week to view the mess. Needless to say, he was horrified. Not one to waste time, he has been able to get some large tractors and trucks donated for the the immediate removal of all the trash that is by the sea side of dump.

Unfortunately, when he took over the office, he found ZERO money in the municipal account. Dr. Joe is trying to raise enough money to pay for 200 gallons of diesel, which is about 50 gallons/day for 4 days to clean up that mess.

I'll keep an accurate record and take the funds to Dr. Joe. We will make sure he gets receipts for all costs also and make everything accountable. He also plans to oversee much of the dump removal personally, along with several Bluff Beach resident volunteers. Please spread the word as far and fast as possible. Let's get moving on this.