2007 – Page 324

Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez is scheduled to undergo a heart bypass procedure today at the Cedimat Cardiology facility in Santo Domingo. Dr. Pedro Urena is the director of the cardiology section at Cedimat and Dr. Freddy Madera will head the cardiovascular surgery team carrying out the operation. According to newspaper accounts, the Cardinal …

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A tribunal in Dajabon has sentenced the principal culprits in the deaths by suffocation of 25 illegal Haitian immigrants in January 2006. The chief magistrate of the court, Martha Sanz Ferreira, imposed 20 years imprisonment and fines of 250 minimum salaries (approximately RD$900,000) on Elvis Rodriguez Ortiz and Esteban Martinez Rosario, the truck driver and …

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The National Drug Commission (CND) carried out a survey and found that as many as two-thirds of children of high school age drink alcoholic beverages. According to Hoy, 66.73% drink alcohol, 15.16% use tranquilizers, 15% smoke cigarettes, and smaller percentages consume drugs ranging from cocaine to hashish. According to Bolivar Valera de Leon, who coordinates …

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The Carnival Presidente Santiago 2007 has introduced some changes, with the idea of making the event more accessible to the public. Provincial Governor Jose Izquierdo announced that the festivities will get under way with the crowning of the Carnival Queen on 3 February and the “warm ups” will be held on the first three Sundays …

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The Round Robin phase of the Dominican Winter League, dedicated to Ozzie Virgil, got really hot last night as the Tigres del Licey conquered the Aguilas Cibaenas 2-0 in Santo Domingo. At the same time, over in La Romana, in a nearly empty Estadio Francisco Micheli, the Azucareros del Este were defeating the Gigantes del …

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Diandino Pena, director of the Office for the Reorganization of Transport (OPRET) has promised that the first line of the Santo Domingo Metro will be ready by 2007, saying that it would be a great surprise in time for Christmas. The government hopes the modernity of the metro will convince Dominicans that it is the …

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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has postponed the review of the Dominican Republic’s Stand-by agreement once again, but this time it’s not because the Dominican side has not done its part. The meeting had been scheduled for 24 January, and is now being postponed until 14 February because IMF Managing Director and Chairman of the …

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The Department of Taxes (DGII) has announced that wages paid this month are exempt from income taxes up to RD$290,243 a year, or RD$24,186.91 per month, which is up from the 2006 exemption level of RD$23,035 per month. Anyone earning between RD$290,243 and RD$435,364 will pay 15% of the surplus of RD$290,243.01. People making RD$435,364.01 …

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The State Run Electric Companies’ (CDEEE) vice president Radhames Segura has announced advances in renegotiations of power rates authorized by the Madrid Accord with private power companies. Private power companies have accepted 4 cent per kWh reductions in the cost of power for resale to the distributors. Segura said in Hoy newspaper that the CDEEE …

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Santiago plans to become the leading medical city in the Caribbean, with the opening of its state-of-the-art Santiago Metropolitan Hospital (HOMS) this spring. The hospital’s board of directors’ president, Rafael Sanchez Espanol expects to see an increase in health tourism, with more visitors coming to the DR for medical services. HOMS is being built at …

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