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Moderator_02

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  1. Sorry, but we forgot to include a picture of our Alternate US Warden for the Boquete area -- Bonnie Williams -- who was also in attendance at this town hall meeting. Thank you, Bonnie, for everything you do for all of the US expats in the Chiriqui highlands area. P.S., if anyone needs to contact Bonnie, you can send her a PM (private message) via CL using @Bonnie. (That is a hotlink to Bonnie's profile, then click on the message icon.)
  2. Here are some interesting facts that were mentioned by Ambassador John D. Feeley at the town hall meeting in Boquete. Also we are posting some pictures taken during the event. Ambassador Feeley has been the US ambassador to Panama since February 2016. If you are interested in reading more about Ambassador Feeley, please visit https://panama.usembassy.gov/ambassador.html. The best estimate is that there are approximately 4,500 American expatriates living in the Chiriqui Province. Only 297 of them have registered with the US Embassy for the "STEP Notification Program". STEP is an acronym standing for "Smart Traveler Enrollment Program". STEP is an automated email system that facilitates distribution of information deemed to be important to US citizens who are living (and are registered) in a particular country. If you are interested in learning more about STEP, please visit https://step.state.gov/STEPMobile/Help/Help. Another interesting factoid is that only about 27% of US citizens have a passport. In case of an emergency, Ambassador Feeley provided the contact information for the US State Department's "Duty Officer". If you are a US citizen and find yourself in an emergency situation while in Panama, the Duty Officer may be contacted by telephone at 317-5000 (that is a Panama telephone number, not a US telephone number). To the right is a picture of the audience that was taken about 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. As you can see, the room was already full. It is estimated that there were 100 people attending this town hall meeting at the time the meeting officially began. It was a standing room only situation at Biblioteca de Boquete. Next are two pictures of Ambassador Feeley as he was fielding questions from the audience, followed by one picture of Thao Anh Tran. Ms Tran is the consular officer that US citizens should contact (or one of her staff) with their questions. The email address you should use to contact the American Citizen Services section of the Consulate is Panama-ACS@state.gov.
  3. http://www.newsroompanama.com/business/panama-4/corruption-scandals-earn-fitch-negative-bank-report
  4. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/jan/18/panama-chef-transforming-fine-dining-indigenous-ingredients
  5. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/honeymoon-ending-doctor-strike-looms
  6. Be advised that several replies in this topic have now been split out and merged with a different topic here on CL. The other topic is about safety/security, and is found at http://www.chiriqui.life/topic/5288-attempted-forced-entry/ This topic is about an Executive Decree of December 2016 and its implications for those living semi-permanently in Panama as "border hoppers" using a loophole in the law. The other topic is, as mentioned above, about safety/security and the use of certain public safety resources.
  7. http://www.prensa.com/in_english/Gobierno-decreto-aumentar-fiscalizacion-organizaciones_21_4710488906.html
  8. http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/surfing-tour-returns-panama
  9. http://en.centralamericadata.com/en/article/home/Call_Center_Business_Loses_Strength_in_Panama
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