Every weekday for 17 years English-speaking expats and readers all over the world welcome A.M. Costa Rica to their computer to find out the latest about this country. The original news reports compiled here are geared to the needs of foreigners living here and those elsewhere with personal or business interests in this vacation paradise. Some of the reports are grim because there are grim aspects this society. Others are humorous. Each seeks to tell something new or original about the country. The daily report comes from staff members, contributors and sometimes from concerned readers. This compilation of diverse articles marks the 17th anniversary of the online newspaper, which has never missed a day of publication, and the daily newspages have grown from just two pages to the current seven. The newspaper began as a simple webpage listing of daily events. But a month after the first issue, terrorists conducted the infamous Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. The tragedies hit Costa Rica hard because aircraft were grounded and the tourism business came to a halt. Visitors were stranded, and all cried for information. The newspaper staff stepped up to fill that need, and a professional-quality newspaper has come out each weekday morning since.