2007 – Page 104

Presidential environmental advisor Max Puig has resigned his post. He sent a letter to the President announcing his decision. As reported in Saturday’s Diario Libre, Puig said that his decision was based on the corruption he had to confront during his three years as minister of environment. President Fernandez removed him from the post in …

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Environmentalists are worried about the language being used by the new Minister of the Environment, Omar Ramirez on the issue of the ban on extracting sand and gravel from the country’s river beds. According to Luis Carvajal, a member of the UASD University Environmental Team, the being language used by the minister is “not entirely …

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Directors of the Fundacion Loma Quita Espuela in San Francisco de Macoris are warning that the National Drinking Water Institute (INAPA) is committing an ecological crime with the construction of an aqueduct that cuts through the scientific reserve. Juan Gelabert, the foundation’s press officer, said that engineers have cut a 2.5-kilometer highway inside the reserve, …

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With the approaching anniversary of 9-11, security at the country’s airports has been stepped up, leading to long lines of impatient passengers wanting to board flights to New York. The tightened security comes in response to a warning by United States intelligence agencies that say that Al Qaeda is preparing “large-scale terrorist attacks” against the …

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Cargo company spokesman Edgar Fernandez says that the announced doubling of the cost per transportation pound of cargo will put exporters out of business. As reported in Listin Diario, he said that Dominican airports are already “too costly” compared to others in the Caribbean. He said that the new cargo charge comes at a time …

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Aquiles Bermudez, president of the Santiago Free Zones Association, has denied reports that the free zones have asked the government to devalue the peso. He said that what the free zones are requesting are measures to reduce their production costs. They are focusing on the cost of electricity and fuel, for starters. Monsignor Agripino Nunez …

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Today’s Diario Libre reports that the Superintendence of Electricity has fast-tracked the Santiago Metropolitan Hospital, authorizing it to receive its electricity supply directly from the generators, bypassing the much more expensive power from EdeNorte distribution company. The newspaper points out that hundreds of other private hospitals and industries have long been on a waiting list …

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Three Catholic bishops have voiced their agreement with the statement issued by Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez concerning the high salaries of some government officials. The bishops said that they were insulted by the announcement that certain government officials were being paid salaries of a million pesos per month or more when most of the country is …

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The Fernandez government called a meeting with the Church to make RD$152 million available for improvements requested by the Catholic Church in the DR. The works will be carried out by the Presidency’s Public Works Supervisors Office, headed by Felix Bautista and will be ready by February 2008, according to a report in Listin Diario. …

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The secretary general of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Orlando Jorge Mera, said yesterday that the new regulations from the Central Electoral Board (JCE) would only affect the opposition parties and not the candidate for re-election. Jorge Mera said that he was concerned that the rules and regulations did not guarantee a level playing field …

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