Did you happen to notice what other stores and offices are located there?

53 minutes ago, Marcelyn said:

I’m also beginning to wonder if this is a guy who is unwell. Steals money/valuables and is non-threatening; uses the same m.o. to gain entrance to someone’s property, and walks around different areas of town.

Must not have a job or be accountable to anyone,  IMO.

The guy who robbed me showed no signs of mental incapacity. He was very smooth and very clever.  I agree with Macelyn that he doesn't have employment; his job is roving around town stealing from others. And he's good at it. I agree with Pantah that he has zero respect for boundaries. It really shouldn't be hard to catch this guy. He's shown up at a LOT of places, and a lot of people can identify him.

People experiencing a visit from him need to call Rodny straightaway. He can talk to the police, and perhaps they'll arrive before the maleante has made a getaway.

Anyone besides me without electricity?

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It's true that not everyone uses Facebook. But everyone I know or know of is subscribed to News Boquete. Rodny's announcement went to News Boquete, which published it here. Perhaps Rodny knows that NB also publishes here and chose not to publish it twice on CL.

2 hours ago, Marcelyn said:

Why do people assume that everyone looks at Facebook?

There were 219 posts about about this robbery on Facebook (Boquete News) the last time I looked.

At the request of the police, I filed a denuncia yesterday so that the police can pick him up if they see him. His photo is on each policeman's phone.

Initially, I had decided against filing because of past experience. About three years ago, as a warden, I went with a newcomer/neighbor to file a denuncia when his and his wife's house was burglarized. The process was difficult and time-consuming. They insisted on one of their official translators, who had to be brought in from David the next day, thus requiring a return trip. The translator failed to show up, requiring a third trip. Then the neighbor's interview was unnecessarily prolonged, I thought, and the elderly interviewer slow to record what was being said. After well over an hour, and even though this was our third trip and they had had plenty of time to advise us of what they required, we were told the neighbor had to return with his wife (whose testimony, of course, was exactly the same as his). All in all, it was an extremely frustrating experience, and there was zero follow up.

Thursday was a totally different matter. I was pleasantly greeted, and the office already was familiar with the case. A policeman who was there pulled up the maleante's photo on his phone. I told them I would like to return the next day with my housekeeper, at the request of the police, and would need a translator. They said they could get one in from David or I could bring my on. I brought a bilingual Panamanian friend and my house keeper yesterday morning. A pleasant young man who typed very fast took a thorough accounting of what had happened, printed out the report, and we were done in about half an hour. He explained that under the new law the denuncia would have to be filed with the appropriate corregidora because the amount taken was less than $1000, but he was happy to do the report for us. On the way home we dropped the report off with the corregidora and were on our way. Total time: about an hour. Experience: professional but pleasant.

10 hours ago, Bonnie said:

Add my name to the list of good references. Will and his crew restored a dog-scratched front door and a damaged desk top today so that both look brand new. They came when promised and charged more than reasonably. And I’m more than satisfied.

I just reread this in the light of day and realized that "more than reasonably" could be misinterpreted. Will's charge for this approximately four-hour job was very reasonable.

Add my name to the list of good references. Will and his crew restored a dog-scratched front door and a damaged desk top today so that both look brand new. They came when promised and charged more than reasonably. And I’m more than satisfied.

Not that long. I remember it well. It was that way when we first visited Boquete in around 2004 and, I believe, was still in existence in 2007 when we moved down. I can't remember when the current one was built, but I do remember that it went up much faster that the Panamonte Bridge is going.

I thought I felt a couple of vibrations, or very mild tremors, yesterday. I wrote it off to nearby equipment of some kind, even though it was unusual.

Apparently, the storm was concentrated in the City as it had little to no effect on Copa flights. A Boquete friend flew from David to PTY in mid to late afternoon without incident.

You’re right. This is the best looking pizza I’ve seen in Boquete. I’m going soon.

2 hours ago, Andrea said:

Here are better pictures - these were posted on .Ning in June 2017 - This person has been to our home (In Volcancito) on 3 different occasions in 3 years, I've heard from other in Jaramillo that the same man has been there too.

It looks like this guy has struck all over town.

Sorry. I can't seem to get the pics to transfer from Messenger.

Yep. It’ll be coming down.

A friend sent me these photos of a man engaged in very similar activity for the past three years in (at least) Volcancito and Jaramillo, asking to come in and use the bathroom. I think it’s him even though the pics are far from crystal clear.

I agree. I don’t know what to make of it.

I don’t know how he could have known the door was unlocked. And if he saw my housekeeper sweeping the porch and then going inside, he would have known I was not alone. Palo Alto is a relatively small community, and my housekeeper has lived here her entire life. It seems she would have known him if he were from around here. But who knows?

37 minutes ago, Brundageba said:

Bill and I are sorry as well.   Habits become lax when report of home robberies become less frequent.    Alarms, & gates need to be secured 100% of the time and we thank you for that heads-up.    What time of day did this happen?  Glad to hear the officers were fast to arrive.

It happened shortly before noon.

I was robbed today in my home of all the money in my wallet while both I and my housekeeper were here. It's a long story, and a little frightening because the maleante was a big man, but I'm writing this to alert everyone and to pass along a few tips. My gate was open, and my front door was unlocked. The gate often is open during the day, but no more. I keep the front door locked, but my housekeeper had just come inside after sweeping the front porch and didn't lock the door behind her. I confess that I'm sometimes guilty of this too. Thankfully, no one was hurt; and I still have my cedula and credit cards.

My housekeeper called the police, and two armed officers in camouflage arrived in less than ten minutes. They were very professional and very polite and took all the necessary information. They stuck around awhile because the two of us were pretty shaken and ultimately gave us a long but gentle lecture about the importance of keeping all doors and all gates locked at all times. They reminded us how lucky we were not to have been hurt once the robber realized he was not alone. They told me I could file a denuncia. I said, "Por que?" and one replied "Exactamente." I appreciated the candor. We all agreed that it was a lesson learned. They patrolled the neighborhood and came back to let me know that they would be keeping an eye on things for a while. This kind of law enforcement response was reassuring.

4 hours ago, Marcelyn said:

I believe this STEP program is a good idea, but considering the many changes at the US Embassy in Panama will it work now?

I’m enrolled, and I receive all Embassy messages. (I actually receive all messages twice because they come to me as ACL.). This is an automatically generated email program. And, as an ACL, I can testify that having emergency information on file with the Embassy can be vital in the event of an emergency. This is standard, long-standing stuff and largely independent of other Embassy functions subject to change.

Rodny reports there was a lightning strike in David so it’s widespread.

I doubt it's a pre-event event because then contestants would have to make their chili twice. I believe what it means is that judging this year will be by professional chefs rather than popular vote, which some have complained was largely a popularity-of-the-cook contest and/or that cooks would recruit friends and family purely for the purpose of voting for them. I think I am safe in saying that the event will be held on September 2 (it's on the CL calendar), that everyone will be invited (they always have been because this is a fundraiser), and that there will be an entrance fee to sample all the chilis (again, because this is a fundraiser). I'm sure there will be follow up by AdA directed toward the general public.

20 minutes ago, Moderator_02 said:

We hope you are correct. But one would have to admit that poor wording is abundant here.

Note that the title is "Chili Challenge--Submit Your Chili!"