The first "Red Devil" bus repaired by students from the National Institute of Vocational Training for Human Development (INADEH) was delivered Wednesday to the Ministry of Education (MEDUCA). The elementary school in 24 de Diciembre is the beneficiary of the donation, where they will now use this bus to transport students. Edilma Coronado, the Director of the school, thanked the authorities for this assistance which will save money and time for parents and students. Meanwhile, the Minister of the Presidency, Jimmy Papadimitriu, was satisfied with the "exorcism performed on this red devil," and at the same time he thanked INADEH thanked for this bus and the work they will do in the future. Papadimitriu said they have yet to deliver two more buses that are ready, but the Minister of Education, Lucy Molinar, must choose the schools where the buses will be delivered. For his part, the Director of INADEH, Themistocles Rosas, said the repairs for each bus cost less than $2,000 dollars. (Source: TVN Noticias)
Editor's Comment: Right now private bus owners are required by law to transport school children at 10 cents per head. In fact when the bus drivers see a bus stop packed full of school students they will just drive right by and not stop because they don't want their buses filled with kids who don't pay as much, and who have a tendency to tear up seats, mark things up with graffiti, etc. The government plans to eventually remove all of the old "Diablo Rojo" buses from the streets and to replace them with the new "Metro Bus" system. These buses will be government owned and operated by a contractor. The old school buses are being repaired by the INADEH students as practical training and experience in the field of mechanics, and the buses are being donated free of charge to the schools. So, sooner or later all of the "Diablo Rojo" buses will turn into "Diablo Amarrillo" - once they are painted yellow and pressed back into service as school buses once again. It's a good plan, as long as the school buses are operated in an responsible manner. It's ironic that these buses started life as school buses, came to Panama for general public transportation, and now they are being pressed back into service once again for schools.
BOGAMANÍ, Chiriqui - The Anti Drug Prosecutor inspected a Cessna small single engine aircraft with Costa Rican registration TI AUJ that landed unexpectedly on Thursday afternoon at a dirt strip of one of the banana plantations in Baru. The Anti Drug Prosecutor from the province of Chiriqui, Javier Soriano, said he could not give an interview or speak about the inspection they conducted. But he did say they did not do an ion scan of the aircraft and that they just conducted a visual inspection of the inside of the aircraft and they didn't find any suspicious items. Residents of the village said last Thursday afternoon a small plane flew overhead and then landed at the Bogamaní airport. They added that two people got out of the aircraft because there were two 4x4 vehicles waiting. The National Police cordoned off the area and later three Costa Rican citizens appeared together with one US national, who claimed they were the crew of the aircraft and that they landed there because they had made a mistake. The aircraft was guarded all night by agents of the National Police and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). (Source - La Prensa) 
Once he returns from Mexico, President Ricardo Martinelli will hear about the results of the audits conducted on the Northern and Southern Corridors, and he will use that information to decide on their future. Ivan de Icaza, the Vice Minister of Public Works, said Tuesday the audit revealed "interesting elements for both good and bad," and that the President will make the decision. In August 2009, Martinelli said that some parts of the highways will return to government control shortly, because the companies charged with their administration and maintenance of these roads do not have sufficient resources to complete the projects to which they agreed when they signed the contracts. Following this, reconsiderations of this position have surfaced, because some officials have explained "there are technical construction considerations as well as economic," that are added to the complexities in the interpretation of the contracts. (Source: Telemetro Reporta)
Starting yesterday, thousands of people are returning to Panama City after almost 96 hours of fun, rest and visiting their relatives in the countryside. At the Transportation Terminal in Albrook the activity was notable. The baggage-laden travelers gradually incorporated into the normality of the capital, still submerged in the aftermath of the Carnival. Figures from the Ground Transit and Transportation Authority say that as of 5:00 pm on Tuesday, 131.222 vehicles had traveled into the interior and of those 83.540 vehicles had returned to Panama City. The death toll from accidents stood at eight, through last night. (Source: La Estrella)
Severe traffic congestion was recorded Saturday afternoon on the highway bewteen Arraiján and La Chorrera. Several drivers complained because they remained totally stopped for about 20 minutes on the road. Meanwhile, traffic police officers tried unsuccessfully to accelerate the pace of vehicles. The Emergency Operations Center (installed in Aguadulce, Cocle, for Carnival) reported that already about 60,000 vehicles had passed by the weigh station in La Chorrera headed toward the interior by noon today. Meanwhile, authorities have announced they will maintain security operations until Wednesday, 17 February. (Source: La Prensa)
Benjamin Solis, Operations Manager of the Albrook bus terminal, said they are taking all appropriate security measures and giving as much guidance as possible to those citizens who who intend to travel to the interior of the country via bus, so that they can do so expeditiously and comfortably. Solis said his staff at the transportation terminal is continuing to work to provide services to the public on the various bus routs and other concerns they might have, and he added that there are National Police officers augmenting security. "This year we expect about 350,000 people will use the terminal to go to the interior of the country, so we encourage people to have a travel plan in order to avoid long lines to to buy tickets and to board buses," said Solis. According to Solis these security operations will continue during the four days of Carnival, and they expect the situation to worsen after next Tuesday when everyone is returning to the city from the interior, however they are in a state of fatigue and need more attention. The most visited provinces, according to Solis, are Los Santos, Herrera, Coclé, Veraguas and Chiriquí. (Source: La Estrella)
