2004 – Page 29

The Wall Street Journal’s Mary Anastasia O’Grady writes today to explain big business interests versus consumer interests, the underlying factors behind the DR-CAFTA impasse over the corn syrup tax. Given the status quo, O’Grady explains that individual and industrial consumers in the US and the DR pay a very high price due to the protected …

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The National Competitiveness Council will step up efforts to strengthen industry clusters as part of a strategy to bolster local competitiveness, as reported in Hoy newspaper. A “cluster” is the term for the geographical concentrations of interconnected companies, specialized suppliers, service providers and associated institutions in a particular field. In an interview with Hoy’s economic …

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David Osborne, the guru of “reinventing government,” will speak at the Salon La Mancha of the Barcelo Lina Hotel on Monday, 22 November at 7pm. Admission is free of charge. As part of his lecture, Osborne will describe five of the most powerful strategies developed by government reinventors around the world, along with the tools …

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The National Police, in conjunction with the Ministry of Environment and the District Attorney’s office, will begin an initiative today to reduce and control unnecessary noise. General Simon Diaz, the NP’s spokesman, made the announcement and said they would be visiting city stores and entertainment centers and would be monitoring vehicles that circulate with loudspeakers. …

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Verizon, the Central Electoral Board and the state-run postal service say that as of 2005, every person over 18 with a cedula (local identification card) in the DR will receive an email account, regardless of whether they have a computer or not. As reported in El Caribe, there will be no charge for accounts using …

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The Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana announced a RD$5 reduction in the price of the 22-oz bottle of Presidente beer. Presidente’s brand of beer will now cost RD$30 per12-oz bottle and RD$45 per 22-oz bottle. The company also announced reductions in the prices of their other brands: Bohemia, Ambar, Miller and Heineken beers, Malta Morena and Lowenbrau …

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Judge Victor Martinez ordered the release of 10 of the 12 men accused of the RD$1-billion fraud against the state and other irregularities in connection with Plan Renove. Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito filed the charges against those behind the governmental transport plan, including six cabinet ministers from ex-President Hipolito Mejia’s administration. Pedro Franco Badia …

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Transport union entrepreneur Ramon Perez Figuereo said that businessman Johnny Morales benefited from a US$90-million purchase order for transport equipment that was granted without a legal tender and without his ever having been a dealer or concessionaire of vehicles. Morales is presently under domiciliary arrest for his involvement in the Plan Renove case. Perez said …

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The Dominican Republic’s team finished in third place at the 14th Pan American Taekwondo Championships held over the past weekend in Santo Domingo, thereby earning three gold medals. Gina Maria Ruiz won the third gold on Sunday in the 72-kilo event, defeating Mexican Maria de Jesus Mata. Ruiz had won a gold in the 2003 …

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President Leonel Fernandez is traveling to Costa Rica today to join the XIV Iberian-American Summit Conference of Presidents and Heads of State. He is scheduled to return on Sunday, 21 November. First Lady Margarita Cedeno, Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso, the Presidential press secretary and the head of the Reserve Bank of the Dominican Republic …

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