2004 – Page 41

The brilliant editorialist of the must-read column “De Buena Tinta” says that a lot of people are thinking that, with the end of his assignment in the Dominican Republic approaching, US Ambassador Hans Hertell might fire a parting shot. Hertell is not the “ugly American” portrayed in the novel by Burdick and Lederer back in …

Read more…

Hoy newspaper reports today from Higuey that an angry mob confronted Deacon Rigoberto de Jesus Gonzalez Padial, after a judge deferred the trial of those accused of molesting children at the Ciudad de los Ninos San Francisco Javier orphanage until 10 January 2005. Judge Rafael Cedano ordered five former employees of the institution (Ventura Perez …

Read more…

The Puerto Rican and Venezuelan press are focusing on the Saturday, 6 November royal wedding to take place at the Altos de Chavon chapel in Casa de Campo, La Romana. The ceremony will wed 30-year old Duke of Anjou, Luis Alfonso de Borbon and 21-year-old Venezuelan heiress, Maria Margarita Vargas Santaella. The bride-to-be is the …

Read more…

The National Council of Business (CONEP) has challenged the resolution drafted by the National Salaries Commission (CNS) that imposed a 30% increase on the minimum wage for private sector workers, and a 25% increase for those employees that earned above the minimum wage and less than RD$20,000 per month. CONEP’s argument is that the resolution …

Read more…

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will visit the Dominican Republic this weekend to sign an energy agreement with Dominican chief executive Leonel Fernandez. The arrangement will guarantee a steady supply of oil for the cash-crunched DR. El Caribe newpaper says that Chavez will arrive at 6am on Saturday for an official visit of eight hours. After …

Read more…

The Chamber of Deputies is trying to modify the Electoral Law in order for the political parties to receive money from the National Budget every year and not just during the election years, as was recently legislated. The proposed amendment, as reported by El Caribe, was approved after one reading yesterday, but will be subjected …

Read more…

The former head of ANJE (the Young Businesspersons Association), Marisol Vicens, says that ever since the sudden approval of the Primaries Law last 15, like other worried citizens, she has been awaiting the inevitable. Now, the Foundation for Law and Democracy, as headed by Julio Castanos, a former JCE judge, has brought a suit before …

Read more…

The Citizen’s group called Participacion Ciudadana in Spanish has asked the Minister of the Interior and the Police to explain to the people why he is interested in eliminating the different municipal police forces that are currently operating in some of the larger cities in the DR. An estimated 700 men make up the force …

Read more…

The Dominican Medical College (CMD) has asked the Minister of Public Health to cease the firings of qualified doctors in the public health system. Yesterday they were notified of 25 more firings, bringing the total to 525. The CMD also pointed out that in the three plus months of the new government, the hospitals are …

Read more…

The impact of Chinese textiles and products on the world market has placed the DR’s industrial free zones in a race against the clock to meet the challenge of quota removal in 2005, as reported in El Caribe newspaper. This will open the doors of the United States market to any and every textile producer …

Read more…