1998 – Page 25

Sammy Sosa, whose idea to celebrate a mega benefit concert following Hurricane Georges caught on with leading contemporary Hispanic music stars Gloria Estefan and Juan Luis Guerra, promises that a second mega concert will be organized at the Santo Domingo Olympic Stadium (capacity about 45,000) for those that can’t get tickets to attend the first …

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Cuba won the 22nd Pan American Judo Championship held in Santo Domingo over the weekend. The Cubans won 12 gold medals, one silver and two bronze in the championship. The event is a classifying round for the Pan Am Games of 1999 to be held in Winnipeg, Canada. The United States placed second, Brazil was …

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Asked about reports that Trinidad and Tobago has informally suggested negotiating a bilateral trade pact with the Dominican Republic, Minister of Foreign Relations Eduardo Latorre said such a possibility was very unlikely. The DR plans to stick with the multilateral approach agreed to with the Caribbean Common Market (CARICOM) in a framework agreement signed this …

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The Administrator of the Dominican Electricity Corporation (CDE), Radhamés Segura, declared yesterday that CDE will not tolerate any delays in reconnecting all Dominican communities to the electrical grid by the holidays. He said that President Leonel Fernández has made CDE responsible to see that all Dominicans affected by Hurricane Georges have their electricity back before …

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The Central Bank reported yesterday that in the first three quarters of 1998, the Dominican Republic’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew 6.8%, in line with the Bank’s projection of a 7% growth rate for the entire year. According to the Bank, the sectors experiencing the most growth so far in 1998 are: communications, 19%; manufacturing, …

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The Association of Wine and Liquor Agents yesterday condemned proposals by the Fernández government to raise the Selective Consumption Tax (ISC) as part of an effort to offset expected losses in government revenue due to tariff cuts. Last week the Government sent to Congress proposals to reform the DR’s tariff system and to compensate for …

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In today’s release from the November 7-12 Hoy-Hamilton & Staff poll of 1,000 Dominicans, most appear to feel that the present government is the same or better than past ones. Asked "Comparing the government of Dr. Leonel Fernández with that of Dr. Joaquín Balaguer, would you say that the country is better, worse, or the …

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The Minister of Public Works, Diandino Peña, and the Mayor of the National District (DN), Juan de Dios ("Johnny") Ventura, announced yesterday a joint program to fix all Santo Domingo’s potholes by year-end. Dubbed "Christmas Without Potholes," the cooperative project between the national and DN governments will divide the city into six distinct sectors to …

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Workers from ten sugar refineries picketed the National Palace yesterday morning, creating havoc with traffic on Mexico Avenue. The workers are demanding payment of RD$300 million in unpaid salaries and arrears due to them from the State Sugar Council (CEA) since January.

Italian businessman Augusto Reyna has announced that he will finance the construction of four schools in San Cristóbal Province and guarantee a school breakfast program at each for a period of ten years. Reyna is the president of the liquor firm Amaretto Di Saronno and the president of the Italian-Dominican Chamber of Commerce. He also …

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