Penny

As promised I went with my Panamanian neighbor today to pay our garbage bills. Last year mine went up considerably (to $32.40) because I was a gringo. Yes, they actually said that was the reason. This year my bill stayed the same and my Panamanian neighbor's bill rose up to equal my bill. So, no profiling in our neighborhood. However, at the same time I paid the garbage bill for a house in Santa Lucia (Volcancito neighborhood) and that bill was $54 for garbage. I believe the rate difference was because Santa Lucia is a planned community and I live more in a neighborhood. In any case both $32.40 and $54 a year are pretty cheap. Also, many folks think that the rate increase was to pay for the new garbage trucks but I heard today that they were a gift from the government of Taiwan which, apparently, likes to give stuff to Panama. The big difference in bills seems to be the water bills. There are something like 21 different water systems in the Boquete area. My system is the Jaramillo Arriba system which has billed me $16.20 a year for many, many years and we never run out of water. The water bill I paid for the house in Santa Lucia which gets very, very little water was $108/year. Irony !!!!

I'm quite sure the inspection isn't free however a tin-foil hat is almost free and works well.

In my memory (13 + years), no Panamanian perpetrator of a crime against a gringo has ever been solved to the point where the perpetrator has been jailed. I would love it if someone could cite a case where I was wrong. They did catch Wild Bill and Ozzie and jailed them but they were/are both gringos.

The main address for the Panama taxation department is https://dgi.mef.gob.pa/ Click on DGI En Linea. I used this website yesterday to fill out and submit my annual corporate income tax form (called "La Renta") However, I can't figure out where to find the section where I enter the property RUC and my NIT and find out how much property tax I owe. Hopefully, somebody with better Spanish skills can figure lit out.

Last year this was the web address: https://dgi.mef.gob.pa/defaultsecure.asp However, like many things in Panama, the address to get your property tax information has changed again. I want to repeat Bonnie's question -- does anybody know the new address???????

Admission to the talk at the BCP theater today is:

I have known Celestino for about 10 years through my volunteer work with Fundacion Pro-Integracion (Handicap Foundation) here in Boquete. You will not find a nicer guy anywhere. He's the one I go to when a wheel chair needs repair, or a book case needs to be built. I'm going to buy a 50 lb bag of dog food for Celestino next time I go to Price Smart.

I don't think that my Panamanian neighbor and I are in different zones.

I will get the definitive answer to this question when my Panamanian neighbor and I go together to pay our garbage bill right after the feria. If they are different she will ask the municipio to explain why and we'll see what they say.

I remember when Krispy Kreme opened in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Lines around the block. They were my favorite when I lived in North Carolina.

I paid twice as much as my neighbor on each house. Still cheap !!

Be very careful driving the Alto Lino loop after dark. Many folks get drunk at the feria and then walk home in the middle of that road.

What Keith says may well be true, but I live in a basically Panamanian neighborhood and went with my Panamanian neighbor to pay and she paid half of what I paid and the explanation was that it was expected I would generate more garbage. This was last year. We'll see what this year brings. Still cheap and I'm still happy.

Here's what you do: drive up the Jaramillo Arriba road. Just past the school on the right and the basketball court on the left is the Corrigadora's office on the left. There is a sign on the door. Tell her you need a "ticket para la feria" and she will understand what you want. She wants your plate number, your name, the type and color of your vehicle. She will issue you a pass to drive past the feria. However, common sense dictates that you don't do it after 5 or 6 every night. The road is packed with pedestrians and you basically have to tap them with your bumper to get them to move. Also, going around the Alto LIno loop isn't a good option after dark. There are many drunks wearing dark clothes walking on the road during feria. Best option is to stay home after 5 pm for the ten days of feria.

I paid a friend's Tasa Unica ($300 for a corporation and $400 for a foundation) at Banco Nacional. I asked the service rep for 3 forms so I had one for my own fee and one for an extra. Today I went to Caja de Ahorros across the street from the new (still under construction) Deli Baru and I paid my own corporate fee. Many people aren't aware you can also pay at Caja de Ahorros and the lines are way shorter there.

I paid my water bill today to the Jaramillo Arriba water system today. The bill was the same as it's always been -- $32.80 total for two houses. This represents a discount for paying the entire year in January. I'm happy about this amount having come from a place that the water bill was $60/month for one house in Michigan in 2002. Last year my garbage rate paid to the Municipio went way up. The reason given was that I was a gringo and put out more garbage. The new rate was $32.40/year for each of my two houses. I paid it without arguing the gringo question because it's still way less than the $6/week I was paying in 2002 in Michigan. And, maybe it's true that I do put out more garbage. However, I know for a fact that many Panamanian pedestrians bring their garbage from farther up the hill and dump it into my container. Let's just keep it in perspective folks.

Marie I have a few more things to donate. Can I bring them next Tuesday to the ARF tent at the Tuesday market?

I also got Cableonda back just now but still no cell service.

Well, it's Wednesday and I finally got power back this morning. However,Cableonda isn't working so no internet or TV and Mas Movil isn't working in my neighborhood. Does anybody know anything??

The speakers at this week's Tuesday Talks and the topic are so important that Mr. Bud will probably film it and publish it as a podcast. For those of you who don't know Bud, he's a true asset to our community.

When I was growing up on the Great Lakes in Michigan, perch were plentiful and the basis for all fish fries. The perch are now almost gone in the Great Lakes and the few left are very, very expensive. Kind of like corvina is in Panama -- getting scarce and expensive. I think the solution to the Peacock Bass and also the Lionfish problem is "Eat 'em; beat 'em".

An article in Newsroom Panama today indicated that about a dozen Panama banks have been fined for irregular practices. The two banks in Boquete that are included are Global Bank and the government bank Caja de Ahorros.

Hi Bill There is no email address per se for the local FPI facility. Well, maybe there is but since the sole employee is Panamanian with only Spanish she probably doesn't ever read it and definitely can't answer you in English. I'm a volunteer for them and you can write to me at pjbarrett@aol.com. Another alternative would be to contact Susan Peterson. Write me at the above address and I'll give you her address.

I'm looking for a handyman who is capable of drilling out a lock and replacing it and also replacing a couple of locks that don't need to be drilled out. I don't think I need an actual locksmith. Just a handy type guy. This is for BCP. We need to replace all the exterior locks and maybe one of the interior locks.

I'm glad I wasn't invited to this "stitch and bitch" meeting. Those folks need a kick in the ass. Why don't they get off their collective asses and do something about their complaints?