2008 – Page 358

ESPN and Cultiva Entertainment have signed an agreement making ESPN Deportes the official broadcaster of the Caribbean Series in the United States. The Caribbean Series will be played between 2 February and 7 February in Santiago. ESPN will offer exclusive coverage of the tournament including the inaugural game between the DR and Venezuela on 2 …

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To take advantage of the Dominican talent gold mine, the Pittsburg Pirates have announced that on 22 January they will officially inaugurate the construction of their own Latin America baseball academy. They have been renting a local facility. The new baseball complex will be in El Toro and will serve as the Pirates headquarters for …

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Baseball fans wouldn’t have expected this from the 2008 Round Robin post season tournament. Two teams are tied for first place, Licey and Estrellas, while the Aguilas are only one game behind. And though the Gigantes are in last place they are technically still in the hunt as they are only three games behind with …

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President Fernandez’s mother Yolanda Reyna became one of the first passengers to tour the new Alstom metro cars. Diandino Pena, director of the Transport Reorganization Office (OPRET) told reporters that the metro’s first test runs would be carried out in February. He told El Dia: “We are working towards the first test, there are dozens …

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Last night President Leonel Fernandez was awarded Person of the Year for 2007 by Dominican TV station TeleAntillas. Although Fernandez was honored to receive the award he seemed humbled, saying that singer/songwriter Juan Luis Guerra actually deserved the award. Guerra won six Latin Grammys during the 2007 award show. Never missing an opportunity to campaign, …

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The Chamber of Deputies has approved the 2008 Budget and Public Spending Law for the amount of RD$300 billion. The final step in making the bill official is for President Leonel Fernandez to sign the budget into law. The budget was approved with 94 votes in favor, 3 votes against and 34 abstentions. The opposition …

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Senate president Reinaldo Pared Perez denied yesterday’s accusations by Chamber of Deputies president Julio Cesar Valentin that the Executive Branch and the Senate had included phantom NGOs in the 2008 budget. Hoy quotes Pared as saying “we have not included one NGO, let that be clear” but he did not provide more detail to back …

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The breakdown of the National Budget as sent by the Presidency and approved by the legislators is as follows (millions): Public debt: RD$70,260.6 National Treasury: RD$36,300.8 Subsidies: RD$30,284 Presidency: RD$28,295.9 Public Health: RD$26,902.2 Education: RD$26,789.2 Public Works: RD$23,670.3 Interior & Police: RD$22,125.7 Hacienda RD$10,353.1 Armed Forces: RD$9,621.1 Economy & Planning: RD$7,094.7 Agriculture: RD$6,680.2 Pensions: RD$6,016.8 …

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Former District Attorney and dean of the Unibe Law School, Guillermo Moreno, officially accepted the presidential nomination by the Movimiento Independencia Unidad y Cambio (MIUCA). Moreno went right into campaign mode saying that this campaign will “provide the answers the public needs and will represent a new, progressive, popular and plural electoral option.” Journalists asked …

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The Tax Department (DGII) announces that for 2008, RD$26,241.86 is the tax threshold for wages. Employees making up to that amount will not pay taxes. This means that people making annual wages of up to RD$290,243 (RD$24,186.91 a month) do not need to pay taxes. Anyone earning RD$290,244 to RD$435,364 will pay 15% on the …

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