2006 – Page 320

Sixty families left out in the rain, a score of houses carried away by the River Camu, and landslides that cut the Santiago-Puerto Plata highway is the toll of the recent heavy rains along the North Coast. The barrios called Buen Pan, Los Perez, Los Cartones, El Mango, El Tamarindo, and El Anon, all in …

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Two serious accidents on the highways to the west of Santiago were among the main news items in today’s newspapers. One accident involved a delivery truck carrying, according to El Caribe, about 60 Haitians coming from the area around Dajabon. The truck driver apparently lost control, for reasons that are still under investigation, and fell …

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Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and their two adopted children, one-year old Zahara from Ethiopia and four-year old Maddox from Cambodia, were spotted at a Santo Domingo ice cream shop yesterday. Reportedly, Angelina stayed in the car as Brad Pitt bought ice cream at the Haagen Dazs shop on Abraham Lincoln Avenue. In Santo Domingo …

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With last night’s victory of the Azucareros over the Tigres del Licey, the Round Robin Tournament got a little more exciting. Visiting the Tigres home field in Santo Domingo, the Azucareros scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to win 7-6. The loss puts Licey into second place, a half-game behind the …

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The bi-cameral commission studying the National Budget and Expense Bill will meet again today, to evaluate the data received from government technicians. Diario Libre reports that the Congressional spokesmen for the PRD, the PRSC and the PRSD have stated again that they will not vote in favor of the budget as long as the government …

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This year the government will provide US$611 million to reinforce the national energy system. This was agreed during a meeting of the “Electricity Cabinet”, led by President Leonel Fernandez at the Presidential Palace over the weekend. Diario Libre reports that US$500 million will be used to cover the distribution companies and the State-Owned Electric Companies …

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Saturday newspapers pointed out the strange occurrence that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce issued two resolutions regarding fuel prices in the same day. A first one announced that there would be a RD$4.50 increase in the price of premium regular gasoline in the weekly disposition. A half an hour later, another communique was issued …

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The Presidente beer brewery has explained that beer prices are up to reflect accumulated inflation of 8%, the 20% depreciation of the peso in 2005 in comparison to December 2004. The company explains that the increase in the luxury tax is also taken into consideration, but the other two factors are more relevant to the …

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Computers are included in the items that are now subject to the 16% ITBIS (VAT) sales tax. Others are fish fillet, codfish, herring, lobster, shrimp, crabs, cheeses (with the exception of fresh cheese), grapes, sardines, tomato sauce, vinegar, salt, toothpaste, detergent, and matches. The tax office (DGII) reports that the 13% exchange surcharge has been …

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Journalist Juan Bolivar Diaz explains the real and subjective reasons that have triggered a series of price increases locally. He explains that the subjective reasons bore more weight, as in the past fiscal reform has always spelled increases in prices. This time around, matters worsened when the government said it would keep the exchange reform …

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