2000 – Page 32

The Attorney General,s Office for the Defense of the Environment has cited 45 companies or individuals for contaminating Santo Domingo,s rivers and protected areas. Jose Antonio Trinidad Sena, in charge of office, declined to name any of the alleged violators of the new law on protection of the environment, but said that his office was …

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The National Police (PN) announced that it has arrested three individuals and charged them with bank fraud, counterfeiting and larceny. Jose Polanco Mercedes, Freddy Peyrera Ramirez and Wanda Cabrera were arrested at the farm of Polanco Mercedes in Bayaguana. On the farm, the PN found 116 false credit cards, a magnetic tape reader, an embossing …

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Garbage collection in the Distrito Nacional (DN, which comprises Santo Domingo and environs) has been decentralized, however city council members are wrangling over how many zones should be created. Santo Domingo,s Mayor, Johnny Ventura, and the block of PRD councilmembers, originally favored seven division. Now, however, reflecting what appears to be the preference of elements …

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Less than twenty-four hours after the revelation that staff of the Pan American Games Organizing Committee has a monthly payroll in excess of three quarters of a million pesos the President of the Republic ordered a "readjustment. It was only yesterday, El Siglo had published a list of the committee,s 36 employees and their salaries. …

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Not having been able to win a US$200 million, ten-year contract with the Cleveland Indians, outfielder Manny Ramirez must now decide whether or not to accept the counteroffer. The Cleveland team wants Ramirez to play for seven years at $117 million. The offer, which, if Ramirez accepts it, will be the richest in baseball history, …

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Lobbying and advocating for his ?maxi-packet? (paquetazo) of tax measures apparently has not left President Hipolito Mejia with sufficient time to travel to Calumette, in Elias Pi?a Province, on the Haitian border, to meet with Haitian President Rene Preval and former President Jean Bertande Aristide. The Foreign Affairs Minister, Hugo Tolentino Dipp, however, cited the …

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The government has granted concessions to three exploration companies to drill for petroleum and natural gas within the country?s borders as well as offshore. Commerce and Industry Minister, Angel Lockward, announced that long-standing contracts with Murfin Corporation, Maleno Corporation and Once Once Corporation have been renegotiated and, as a result, the three have committed to …

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Education Minister Milagros Ortiz Bosch and International Development Bank (IDB) Education Specialist, Carola Alvarez, announced that an initial grant of US$57 million would be provided to fund a three-year expansion of the nation?s adult education programs in remote areas. A second installment grant of US$90 million would fund the programs for an additional four years. …

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President Hipolito Mejia, accompanied by Canadian Ambassador Bruno Picard and Dominican Ambassador to Canada, Eduardo Fernandez, inaugurated ?Expo Canada 2000,? an event organized by the Dominican-Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Mejia acknowledged the nature and extent of Canadian investment in the country in tourism, mining, banking, and commerce, and affirmed that further investment would be welcome. …

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A front page article in this morning?s El Siglo revealed that the staff of the Organizing Committee for the Pan American Games, scheduled to be held in Santo Domingo, in 2003, has an annual payroll of almost DR$9.6 million (over US$580,000). Among the salaries being paid to the committee?s 36 permanent employees are; the Administrative …

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