2004 – Page 157

The Atlantic Basin Hurricane Season begins today, 1 June. This year, the above-average hurricane activity that began in 1995 is expected to continue in the region. The last hurricane to hit the Dominican Republic was Georges in 1998, which primarily affected the southeast of the country. Meanwhile, the Dominican Meteorology Office told the Listin Diario …

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New record price increases in diesel, regular and premium gasolines have forced bus, publico and taxi operators to raise their fares. The OTTT (Office for Transportation) accepted fare increases of RD$5 for routes that cover 50 or more kilometers, and of RD$1 for the city routes. Premium fuel now costs RD$116.90 per gallon, regular RD$106.70 …

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President Hipolito Mejia vetoed the Sectoral Protected Areas Bill as approved by Congress. In his message to the Senate, the President said the bill went through despite containing errors and inexactitudes that make it technically impossible to implement. Mejia?s statement furthermore highlights that the way it was approved surpassed the constitutional jurisdiction of the Executive …

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The first stage of the program to modernize the land titles office has concluded with the entry of 600,000 titles and plans from the National District and the four municipalities of Santo Domingo into the computers. Doctor Angel Pappalardo explained how the new system provides precise information in just a few seconds. The innovations also …

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Ana Mitila Lora writes in the Listin Diario today on the dangers of Dominican Presidents accepting ?favors? from businesspeople. She begins by commenting on the scheduled televised interview of a former jail inmate today. ?The same person who generously put his private airplane on innumerable occasions at the service of the President of the Republic …

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Most of the weekend papers dealt with the upcoming visit by the IMF. The various articles on the topic reminded one a bit of Chicken Little: ?The IMF is coming, the IMF is coming!? Saturday?s Listin Diario, the government intervened paper, says that the IMF will be looking to see that the next government restarts …

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The ?De Buena Tinta? column in the Diario Libre has learned that Dominican consulates in many cities in the United States will be closed by the Department of State because they are operating without proper accreditation. According to the news, offices in Houston, Boston, San Francisco, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Juneau, and a city in Alabama will …

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All of the weekend papers dealt with the relief efforts in the Southwest in the aftermath of last week?s disastrous floods. Jimani and the surrounding areas were crowded with relief workers, soldiers, and bureaucrats, along with do-gooders who seemed to get in the way of the professional teams. The parish priest of Jimani, Jose Ramon …

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Don Amilcar Volquez, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Jimani, lost everything in the flash floods last week caused by the deep tropical wave that swept over the Southern portions of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Soliette River took everything he had: his market, his furniture store, his computer store, his Ede-Sur office and …

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The Listin Diario reports that the woman who killed four men last week acted in self-defense and is not likely to be tried in the justice system. District Attorney for the province of Santo Domingo, Eddy Olivares, declared that Maria Elena Santana acted in what he called ?legitimate (self) defense? and, therefore, will not be …

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