2005 – Page 249

Tourism is the motor that runs a lot of micro-businesses and provides thousands of jobs for both Dominicans and foreigners alike, as reported in El Caribe newspaper. The so-called “smokeless industry” provides jobs and opportunities for a wide variety of people from the artisan to the hairdresser, from the moto-taxi owner to the small restaurant …

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Nuria Piera, the popular investigative reporter of Channel 9, confirmed that she is going out with Tourism Minister Felix (Felucho) Jimenez. She described the relationship as time for them to get to know themselves. She denied they are engaged. Nuria Piera is divorced from a first marriage and has a daughter. Felix Jimenez has had …

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There are more Dominicans than ever on the Major League Baseball rosters as the time for Spring Training fast approaches. There are 30 teams in the National and American Leagues that have at least one Dominican on their 40 man rosters. Dominicans make up 15% of the men on MLB rosters. From the Texas Rangers …

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President Leonel Fernandez met Microsoft’s Bill Gates on Sunday, 13 February at the home of Venezuelan businessman Gustavos Cisneros in Casa de Campo, La Romana. They had lunch together. Fernandez was accompanied by First Lady Margarita Cedeno. Guillermo Cisneros, son of Gustavos Cisneros, was present at the meeting. President Fernandez arrived around noon in a …

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Environment Minister Max Puig said that his department is drafting a new environmental ruling to avoid the implementation of the “serious technical errors” contained within the Sectorial Law for Protected Areas (No. 2002-04 of 30 July 2004). He called the law a “juridical absurdity” that is contrary to national interest, which he says should be …

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El Caribe reports that when reviewing Sectorial Law for Protected Areas (No. 2002-04), the Supreme Court of Justice held contact with representatives of several law firms that in the name of businessmen and interested parties requested that the court not revoke the law. Lawyers making contact with Supreme Court judges were those of Mario Read …

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President Leonel Fernandez promised yesterday when visiting Samana to get the rock ash deposited on the shores of Samana Bay removed. He did not say if Puerto Rico had accepted to take it back, or where it would be sent. Using his campaign slogan of “It’s out they go!” as his war cry, Fernandez promised …

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Architect Rafael Tomas Hernandez warned the government that the subway system is not a top priority for the resolution of mass transit problems in Santo Domingo. The architect demonstrated how more bridges, up to date maintenance of current bridges and better bus service along improved avenues would solve the problem and cause less disruption inside …

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Metro Minister Diandino Pena avoided replying to questions of the press during the presentation he made to these last week. Among the questions avoided were why his calculations for the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo and Higuero airport were so wrong. Pena estimated the Pan Am Games would cost RD$500 million and the constructions …

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News commentator, Juan Bolivar Diaz, in an analysis in Hoy newspaper on Saturday, 12 February, comments that the proposed Santo Domingo metro will cost much more than the US$327 million figure being used. Diaz speculates that President Fernandez may seek to go down in history as the builder of a great public work, joining Nicolas …

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