2004 – Page 272

Architect Emilio Jose Brea Garcia reminds overenthusiastic city mayors today that there is such a thing as a park. Brea expresses his concern that after the success of turning a stretch of the sea-bordering Malecon into a park by closing it off on Sunday’s, city governments are forgetting that residents have the option of many …

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One week past tradition, the non-traditional President Hipolito Mejia yesterday received New Year greetings at the Presidential Palace. At his side were First Lady Rosa Gomez de Mejia, Vice-President Milagros Ortiz Bosch and Foreign Relations Minister Frank Guerrero Prats. As protocol dictates, first in line were Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, Papal Nuncio Timothy …

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The crumbling of the public health system in the Dominican Republic, due to lack of timely government funding, has produced the end to the services of the Luis Eduardo Aybar Public Hospital’s Pearl F. Ort Burn Unit. Built through a donation from an American philanthropist, the hospital prior to 2002 had been regarded as a …

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United States Trade Representative Robert Zoellick will be coming to the Dominican Republic next Wednesday to discuss the proposed bilateral Free Trade Agreement, according to a Mario Mendez piece in today’s Hoy newspaper. Marking his first visit to the DR, Zoellick will meet with representatives of both the public and private sectors. Next weekend, a …

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The Chamber of Deputies approved the 2004 National Budget yesterday, with 123 votes in favor and 12 against. Of the PRD block, 71 voted in favor, while the PRSC accounted for 29 in favor and 2 against. Of the PLD block, 22 voted in favor, 8 voted against and 9 abstained. The bill to implement …

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The Dominican Association of Rum Producers criticized the bill approved yesterday in the Senate that ups the taxes on alcoholic beverages based on their alcoholic grade. Consumer taxes on rum are increased from 35% to 90%, while those on beer are diminished, as per the new legislation. In a paid advertisement published today, the rum …

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The Diario Libre reports today that Central Bank Governor Jose E. Lois Malkun says the CB will not intervene in the foreign exchange market under any circumstance. He said he met with the exchange houses, bankers and remittance companies, who were not interested in agreements to fix the rate, but rather in allowing the market …

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The Senate approved a loan for US$89 million with the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) for the Programa Multifase para la Equidad de la Educacion Basica, a government program to aid grade school education. This is the exception to the usual procedure of foreign borrowing with commercial banks. On the same day, the Senate passed …

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The Senate gave the green light to a second reading of the bill that creates the Programa Excepcional de Prevencion del Riesgo para las Entidades de Intermediacion Financiera, a financial risk legislation, said to be one of the prerequisites for resuming the stand-by arrangement with the IMF. The bill calls for the creation of a …

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Henry Sarraf, the PRD deputy for the province of Independencia who achieved notoriety for his proposal to introduce the Ley de Lemas in the Dominican Republic, sent a letter to Diario Libre correcting the newspaper’s statements on his absences from the Chamber of Deputies. Sarraf clarifies that he has only been absent from 37 of …

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