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Daily News - 7 January 2000
Monday is a holiday in DR
Monday is a national holiday in the Dominican Republic. Thus, a Monday edition of the DR1 Daily News will not be published. The headline news of the day will be compiled for the Tuesday, 11 January edition. In the DR, January is the month with the most holidays.
This year, Three Kings Day, 6 January fell on a Thursday. By law it will be celebrated on the following Monday. Also coming up is the 21-24 January long weekend. The second long weekend in January occurs because Día de la Altagracia, which commemorates the Virgen Mary, falls on Friday, 21 January, and the birthday of forefather Juan Pablo Duarte, which falls on 26 January, will be celebrated this year on the previous Monday, 24 January.

For yesterday's news see http://www.dr1.com/daily/news010600.shtml

New cedula is obligatory for government transactions
President Leonel Fernández issued yesterday a decree establishing that the new voting registration card/identification card, or cédula, is obligatory for Dominican citizens to carry out transactions with the government. The decision seeks to motivate Dominicans to exchange their old cédula for the new document. The deadline to obtain the new document is 15 January for new voters and 31 January for those exchanging their old cédula for the new.
Money paid towards the San Pedro port remodeling
The director of the Dominican Port Authority, Melanio Parades announced he has handed to Cocimar and engineers Hernández Vázquez and Gerardo García Luzón, a first allotment for RD$3 million of a total of RD$28 million for the rehabilitation of the Port of San Pedro de Macorís, in the Southeast. Paredes said that works will be carried out at the cargo terminal, and should be completed within 60 days. As part of the remodeling, new offices and a warehouse will be built. Interior streets will be rebuilt, as well as sections of the dock and an expansion of the dock and port area. Years back, the Fernández government had announced the remodeling of the port at a cost of RD$20 million, but works were discontinued. The port today is in a state of abandon.
River slum renewal gets underway
The government began yesterday work on the ambitious urban renewal of the Hoyo de la Zurza slum area adjacent to Ozama River. The project calls for the construction of 350 apartments and 40 stores in the La Zurza area, one of the poorest in the city. The project is being carried out to protect the Ozama River, and is seen as contributing to a definite ecological solution of the environment. It is estimated to cost RD$65 million.
The works will be carried out by the Oficina de Ingenieros Supervisores de Obras del Estado and the Consejo Nacional de Asuntos Urbanos (CONAU). Twelve contractors will participate in the constructions.
JCE update
The Junta Central Electoral confirmed that 15 January is the deadline for those who will be of voting age for the 16 May 2000 presidential election to request their new voting card/identification card, or cédula for those living in Santo Domingo and other main urban areas. JCE spokesman Wilfredo Alemany says that 31 January is the deadline for changing from the old cédula to the new.
According to the JCE, some 3,918,497 persons have requested their cards, of which 2,840,629 have been issued, as of 3 January. Alemany also announced that the JCE appointed Rosa Andujar Campillo and Benelly Ramírez Pérez to replace resigning Antoliano Peralta Romero and Mukien Sang Ben at the electoral board of the National District.
MUICA, UNIDO and PNA get JCE recognition
The Junta Central Electoral recognized three more political organizations as having the right to participate in the 2000 presidential elections. These are the Movimiento Independencia Unidad y Cambio (MIUCA), Movimiento de Unidad e Integración Dominicana (UNIDO), and the Partido Nueva Alternativa (PNA), which fulfilled the legal requirements. MIUCA is lead by Virtudes Alvarez, Unido by César Estrella Sahdalá and PNA by Ramón Almanzar.
With these three, the JCE says 19 parties have the right to present candidates in the presidential election.
Customs collections up 20%
Customs Bureau announced it collected RD$16,691.9 million in 1999. The 1999 income of the Dirección General de Aduanas was up 20% compared to 1998. Miguel Cocco, director of the department, said the increase comes despite the government eliminating taxes on textiles and farming items.
Customs tax collections per month were: January RD$1,123.7 million; February RD$1,258.2 million; March RD$1,403.7 million; April RD$1,305.0 million; May RD$1,365.9 million; June RD$1,463.8 million; July RD$1,354.2 million; August RD$1,375.2 million; September RD$1,303.2 million; October RD$1,453.9 million; November RD$1,588.6 million; and December RD$1,696.0 million.
Police to reinforce crime watch in tourism areas
The National Police announced the transfer of the the police inspector and several police agents on service in Puerto Plata. Major General Pedro de Jesus Candelier announced the implementing of an increase in measures to prevent crime, such as an increase in patrols. The recent murder of a Canadian resident in Sosua has caused concern among judicial and police authorities.
Iberostar to build hotel in Dominicus
El Siglo newspaper announced that the Spanish hotel chain, Iberostar will invest US$35 million to build a hotel in the Dominicus (Bayahibe) beach area, adjacent to the National Park of the East. Iberostar already operates two hotels in Punta Cana and a hotel in Costa Dorada, Puerto Plata. This would be their fourth hotel to open in six years in the DR. In total they have 1,450 rooms in the DR.
El Siglo reported that the chain purchased 125,000 meters for the development of the 500-room hotel that would be ready for winter 2001. Other hotels already operating in the area are the Viva Dominicus, the Dominicus Palace, Gran Dominicus, Coral Canoa. José Antonio González said the new hotel would operate as a five-star all-included property. He described the DR as the best-value-for-money destination in the Caribbean.
Tamaury to be shown at National Aquarium
El Carbe newspaper reports that the orphan manatee rescued from the coasts of Barahona will be shown to the public in a special tank built for her at the National Aquarium. The director of the National Aquarium, Enrique Pugibet said that those visiting the Aquarium in January will be able to meet Tamaury. He explained that they need to secure funds to build a better space for her, and would like to find a companion for Tamaury. Tamaury came to the Aquarium in March 1995 with barely one week old and weighing only 68 pounds. At the time, she was bottle-fed every two hours. Today she weighs around 400 pounds.
Revamp COD and bring National Games to Santo Domingo
A former director of the National Physical Education Institute, Emigdio de Peña urged that the National Sports Games return to Santo Domingo, the capital city. In an interview with the Listín Diario newspaper he said that the celebration of the National Sports Games is very profitable for several, because of the mega constructions they require. But he says the Dominican athletes are the big losers. He said that 90% of the millionaire sports facilities that have been built around the nation are in ruins, due to lack of maintenance and construction flaws. He said that the celebration of the games in Santo Domingo would allow athletes from all around the country to visit Santo Domingo. He said this would enable the government to invest the moneys spent to build the millionaire facilities in the provinces in the real development of regional athletes.
Furthermore, De Peña urged a prophylaxis of the Dominican Olympic Committee. He said that Olympic Committee president, Dr. José Joaquin Puello is the "caudillo" of Dominican sports, who has maintained himself at the pinnacle of Domincian sports with the support of a group of sports leaders who he said make a living off their sports federations.
He said that as happens in governments, in the Olympic pyramid there is much corruption and the way to rid the movement of this is by dethroning the leaders. He said in the DR there are sports directors that have built their homes and fortune and even gone beyond this, profiting from sports. He said that sports in the DR needs new leadership, and was critical of those that have 20 years at the helm of a Federation, managing these as if they were their personal property or their own company. He said the long terms of the sports leaders in the Olympic Committee, sports federations, sports associations and even neighborhood sports clubs leads to mediocrity.
The next National Sports Games are slated for La Romana in February 2000.
Sports in the DR are at an all-time low, most sports centers are in a state of abandon. The present Olympic Committee directors have argued that the celebration of the Pan American Sports Games in 2003 in Santo Domingo will spur better times for sports.
Baseball playoffs
Playoffs (round robin) standings as of Thursday, 6 January 2000
Leones 3-1 (.750)
Estrellas 2-2 (.500) ­1 game
Aguilas 2-2 (.500) ­1 game
Tigres 1-3 (.250) ­2 game

The play offs games for today at 8 pm are:
Santo Domingo: Estrellas vs. Escogido
Santiago: Licey vs. Aguilas
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