2005 – Page 34

Last Wednesday, Boston Red Sox pitcher Pedro Martinez married journalist Carolina Cruz in a private civil ceremony, according to the bride’s mother Elvira Rodriguez, who did not disclose further details, saying the couple would do so later. Diario Libre reports that the couple went to Puerto Plata and Samana for the weekend. Martinez and Cruz …

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Facing the real possibility of a congressional stalemate on the tax reform proposals, the President will send two budget proposals to Congress. The 2006 budget proposals will include the tax reform plan on the one hand and a different budget if the tax plan is stalled or defeated as it stands. The President’s Minister for …

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According to local IMF representative Ousmene Jacques Mandeng, the current team visiting the Dominican Republic is worried that the prospects for economic growth are a possibility only if the structural changes suggested in the tax reform proposals are adopted. The team praised the country’s advances in controlling inflation, but at the same time has expressed …

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A new wave of blackouts is hitting residents of the Dominican Republic’s larger cities. Many parts of Santiago experienced 18-hour power cuts and Santo Domingo suffered two major blackouts over the weekend. This comes after a period of relatively stable energy supplies, at least for the areas where the bill payment rate is high. According …

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With headlines proclaiming an energy deal, the reader is quickly taken back to reality as the only deal that has been struck involves the creation of yet another commission to find a solution to the financial crisis that is affecting the Dominican energy sector. El Caribe says that the government, the power generators and the …

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For economist Markus Rodlauer and Alfred Schipke, the authors of a study for the International Monetary Fund called “Central America: World Integrations and Regional Cooperation”, the 2003 banking crisis in the Dominican Republic is a “textbook example” of the high cost a country pays when the banking system operates without an adequate regulatory framework. Rodlauer …

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The Dominican Republic has managed to obtain a major concession within the framework of the DR-CAFTA agreements. According to Arturo Peguero, the head of the Dominican Association of Free Zones (ADOZONA), the deal involves allowing Dominican manufacturers to locate labor intensive manufacturing procedures in Haiti, thereby cutting costs and allowing Dominican companies to remain competitive …

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Over 175 deputies, 32 senators and 151 mayors will be elected in May 2006, and there will be 960 municipal council members elected, as well. Nelson Gomez, the magistrate who heads the Central Electoral Board’ Administrative Court, told reporters from Hoy that voters should check to see that they are duly registered in their respective …

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The former magistrate for the Civil Registry office in Estabania, Azua, was found guilty and sentenced to five years incarceration and payment of a RD$200,000 fine to the Central Electoral Board for the crime of falsifying public documents. The accused had forged birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorces, death certificates and late birth notifications. The village …

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Former colonel Lidio Nin Terrero and his cousin, Tirso Cuevas Nin were taken from their cells at Najayo Prison and transferred to holding cells at the National Drug Control (DNCD) headquarters to await their extradition to the United States of America. Both men were moved under tight security and equipped with helmets and bulletproof jackets. …

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