During the meeting of the Development Council the government also announced he was appointing a commission to study changing the time. Members of the commission: Vice President Milagros Ortiz Bosch, legal consultant Guido Gomez Mazara, Minister of Work Milton Ray Guevara, Minister of Tourism Alfredo Bordas, and Minister of Public Works. Decree 820-00 of 29 October ordered clocks set back one hour. This has resulted in a 5 am dawn and a 5 pm sun set. There is a debate on whether it is advantageous for the sun to rise at around 5 am and set around 5 pm as is occurring at present. Sang Wong writes agreeing that "there is absolutely no need for Daylight Savings Time in the Dominican Republic – a country that lies squarely within tropical latitudes and thus minimally affected by diurnal variations in ambient sunlight." John Gaines likes the time change. He writes to comment on the winners and losers mentioned yesterday (http://www.dr1.com/daily/news112100.shtml). He writes: "As an American who is here on business often, I am also a tourist on the week-ends. I went to the beach last Sunday at 11:00 am instead of my usual 12 noon. How was I short-changed sunlight? As for the children on the evening shift, yes they lose. On the other hand, the children on the morning shift could start one hour earlier and therefore give the afternoon shift one extra hour. Airport operators? Come on now. If they have to charge night rates sooner, they must also have to charge day rates at 5:00 am, correct? He continues adding: "Here are some other "winners" you didn’t mention: 1) Every Dominican who has ever watched Monday Night (NFL) Football. The game is over at midnight instead of 1 am. 2) Every Dominican who has friends/relatives on the Eastern seaboard of the US. Holiday phone calls will now be on equal time, instead of having to wait until 10 pm so as not to disturb their relatives’ dinner. The last I knew, there were some 900,000 former Dominican residents in New York City alone. 3) Every free zone in the country that must coordinate shipments to the US for those who ship to the US." As for energy consumption, he disagrees with both sides, stating that while there will not be energy savings, there will not be an increase in consumption either. "Yes, more lights will be needed longer, however, air-conditioners should be running less", he writes. (22 November 2000)
