2007 – Page 298

Conatra transport union leader Antonio Marte has disclosed that 20% of his drivers and fare collectors had tested positive in recent drug tests. Marte said that the random tests were conducted following a noticeable increase in the number of accidents without justifiable mechanical problems. Santo Domingo drivers had the highest rate of drug use, followed …

Read more…

The Spanish authorities are encouraging Dominicans living in Spain to change their Dominican driving licenses for Spanish ones. The Spanish Department of Motor Vehicles is providing a phone number, 902-300-175, so that Dominicans can call and set up an appointment between 8am and 7pm. The DMV is reminding Dominicans in Spain to bring their Dominican …

Read more…

Pediatric endocrinologist Rene Baez, who is also the secretary of the Dominican Endocrinology and Nutrition Society, says that between 35% and 40% of Dominican children are overweight. Baez attributed this to poor nutrition. Baez says that the country does not have enough nutrition experts in public hospitals and schools. He added that obesity and being …

Read more…

An exhibition game of American Football will be played at the Club Banco Central on 17 February. The event begins at 6:30pm and will showcase the Dominican Republic’s pioneer American Football team, the Dominican Raiders. Organized by the Dominican League of American Football, the exhibition is being held to promote increased Dominican youth participation in …

Read more…

The leading Dominican ballet company, the Ballet Clasico Nacional presents “Short Stories of Dance” on 17 February at the Plaza del Conservatorio’s Manuel Rueda Hall. The performances are: Anais Nin and You and I by Brazilian choreographer Antonio Gomez; Derrick Spear’s Martin Luther King and Susurros en la Sombra; Imagen de un Sueno by Victor …

Read more…

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube met with President Leonel Fernandez at the Presidential Palace on Friday, 9 February. The Presidency reported that the Spanish Foreign Minister discussed Haitian migration and its repercussions, the agreement that allows Dominicans to use their Dominican drivers licenses in Spain, and a Spanish proposal to train Spanish language …

Read more…

The Consumer Price Index for January 2007 was set at 0.93%, lower than the 1.55% for 2006 and well within the guidelines set for 2007. According to the Central Bank, the lower than expected CPI was somewhat of a surprise given the Dominican Republic’s oft-delayed entry into DR-CAFTA and the latest tax increases. The year-to-year …

Read more…

Last December the now infamous Santo Domingo Metro received more money than the capital expenditure of five ministries combined. The Office for the Re-Organization of Public Transportation (OPRET) received RD$479.7 million, according to the Budget Office bulletin released this week. According to Hoy, the Public Health, Education, Education Science and Technology, Public Works, and Environment …

Read more…

The Dominican government has assigned RD$210 million for the construction of modern infrastructure in the town of Dajabon. The essential element of the construction will be a new bi-national marketplace to replace the squalor and disorganization currently associated with market days in the frontier town. Diario Libre reports that the market occupies, in a very …

Read more…

Magistrate Aura Celeste Fernandez has formally asked the entire Central Electoral Board (JCE) to annul the retirement and pension plan as it now stands. In a formal document sent to the entire board last 7 December, the outspoken magistrate demonstrated that the current plan was in breach of several current laws as well as the …

Read more…