By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - My apologies to the BESO organization in Bocas del Toro. They sent me this article about a fund raising event they held at the end of February and I marked it with a "to do" flag, and then promptly dropped the ball and forgot to get back to publish the article. So, my apologies, and here it is (better late than never...) "By by Mary Heckrotte - In Bocas we may have more than our fair share of land grabbers and too many unsavory politicians, but we've also got plenty of folks with big-hearts. Just last week the Bocas Educational Service Organization, fondly known as BESO, netted almost $25,000 at their Annual Charity Auction for the Bocas schools! Where did all that money come from? Donations, donations, and more donations, all made one-by-one by generous residents, tourists, and businesses with genuine concern for Bocas children. (more) (Photo Credit: Adrienne Ochenkoski)

ExPatsWest meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month. We have grown from less than 40 at our first social, to more than 150. We will be gathering again on the 26th of March 2008, starting at 5:00pm or whenever you get there. Our get-together will be in Coronado at El Rincon del Chef, as usual. Because our group is so large, Chef Fernando Paredes prepares a buffet for us. The cost is a special price of $10.00 plus tax per person for the buffet with no pensiondo visa discounts. It is a great buy featuring lots of choices plus desserts! Each month, the Chef tries something new for us. (more)

The next meeting of the US Vets Panama organization will be held on Tuesday March 25th at 12:00 noon in the Pizzeria Italia on Tumba Muerto in front of the Ricardo Perez Toyota dealership. All members and prospective future members are welcome to plan for this event. Our next big event will be to Meet the Members and Family Reunion, to be held at the Kiwanis bohio in the Ciudad de Saber next to the Clayton pool on Saturday, 5 April 2008, at 11:00 am. The event features food, music, polo-shirts sales, volleyball, Domino Tournament, and sign up of new members. The pool will be open at an additional cost of $1.00 per swimmer. (more)

This is a preliminary announcement of an upcoming event in honor of Panama and its wonderful people sponsored by the American Society of Panama. On Friday, 15 Feb 2008 at 7:00 pm the AMSOC will host our "Tambor de Alegria" event on the Amador Causeway. Please join us at this very special event to say "Thank You" to Panama. The AMSOC is an organization comprised of members of diverse nationalities residing in Panama. The purpose for this event is to express our gratitude and personally say "Thank you" to Panamanians in general for having us here as guests in their beautiful country. In return our members and their guests can enjoy a social event with a musical floor show and presentation representing the different cultures and eras of Panamanian culture. Dinner will be a buffet consisting of typical Panamanian cuisine. The cost for this event (dinner and show) has not yet been determined, and there will be a pay-as-you-go bar. For more information visit: www.amsoc.org. The event coordinators are Cedric Gittens and Eunice Greaves.

ExPatsWest meets on the 4th Wednesday of each month. We have grown from less than 40 at our first social, to more than 150. We will be gathering on the 23rd of January 2008, starting at 5:00pm or whenever you get there. Our get-together will be in Coronado at El Rincon del Chef, as usual. Because our group is so large, Chef Fernando Paredes prepares a buffet for us. The cost is a special price of $10.00 plus tax per person for the buffet with no pensiondo visa discounts. It is a great buy featuring lots of choices plus desserts! Each month, the Chef tries omething new for us. If you would like to be on our reminder list, send your email address to Honey Dodge at honey@laestanciadelencanto.com. Honey Dodge 6671-6449 cell

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - I play in a nonprofit duplicate bridge "Club" with my wife on Wednesday evenings at the Paitilla Inn. Although there is an average of six tables (24 people), we are always looking for more players at all levels - beginner, intermediate and advanced. The bridge starts at 7:30 P.M. and ends approx 11:00 P.M. I presume there are bridge players in the American Society who may be interested in participating. Would you forward this message to the Society at large to canvas any potentially interested bridge players? They could contact me at 236-1192 (Res) or 6672-6668 (Cell) to obtain additional information. Any husband or wife whose partner does not play bridge but who wishes to play anyway can be paired with another single on request. I would most appreciate your help with this. Thanks! My email is "Glickenhaus, Keith" glick@cableonda.net , Keith Glickenhaus

Happy New Year everyone! The next expat "Happy Hour" social is coming up. The event will be held at Alberto's restaurant on the Amador Causeway. Alberto's is located at the very end of the causeway on the right side, next to the yacht marina. The Happy Hour will be held on Monday, 14 January 2008, from 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm. There will be Happy Hour drink specials, with the regular menu available for those who wish to eat. Remember to check out our web site www.expatsocials.com for menus, pictures, and updates on the calendar.

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - In the past several years real estate developers and promoters in the Republic of Panama have sold literally thousands of apartments at preconstruction prices to both Panamanians and foreigners. Many of these properties have been sold to members of the English speaking expatriate community in Panama, as well as people who live in the United States, Canada, and other countries who purchased properties as an investment. (more)

By DON WINNER for Panama-Guide.com - The response to the articles I've written about Habitat's Realty and the Pacific Sky and Sun projects has been simply overwhelming. It is now obvious there are possibly hundreds if not thousands of people out there who are in similar circumstances. Many of these people live outside of Panama and are relying on communications with their lawyers to decide what to do. In order to better facilitate the communication and coordination of legal action between these individuals, I just created a new Yahoo Email group called Panama Fraud specifically to deal with these issues. To subscribe either visit the web page or send an email to Panama_Fraud-subscribe@yahoogroups.com. In talking to people who are in this situation it quickly becomes apparent that almost everyone has the same questions, and that the developers are taking advantage of the relative ignorance of the victims. Communication and coordination will probably be the key. And, this issue is going to get a whole lot bigger before it goes away.

Copyright 2007 by Don Winner for Panama-Guide.com. Go ahead and use whatever you like as long as you credit the source. Salud.