2007 – Page 43

Last night the Senate approved a name change for Salcedo province. In the future, if President Fernandez signs the bill into law, the province will be known as Hermanas Mirabal. The name change honors three sisters who were cruelly assassinated in 1960, during the last years of the Trujillo dictatorship. Maria Teresa, Minerva and Patria …

Read more…

The government announced last night that it will invest RD$1.6 billion to rebuild the irrigation, drainage and aqueduct systems damaged or destroyed by the floods caused by Tropical Storm Noel. These major installations are dams, pumps, the largest irrigation canals, and local aqueducts. The directors of the National Institute for Hydraulic Resources (INDRHI), Hector Rodriguez …

Read more…

The Center for Export and Investments (CEI-RD) is predicting a lull in exports worth about US$18 million for November and December due to farm damage caused by Tropical Storm Noel. Nevertheless, Eddy Martinez, head of CEI-RD, said that the year should end with total exports reaching an annual total of US$2 billion. He said that …

Read more…

The National Drug Control Department (DNCD) has announced the confiscation of 100 kilos of cocaine in the municipality of Higuey, as reported in El Caribe. Major General Rafael Radhames Ramirez Ferreira said that the drug control agents also confiscated a Toyota Lexus vehicle, a locator beam with battery, and a bag containing several cell phones …

Read more…

The National Health Insurance group (SENASA), a government-sponsored HMO, has received hundreds of requests from the National Pharmacy Union to become affiliated under the Family Health Insurance Program (SFS). This is an important step forward for the program, since pharmacy owners have been reticent to take part in the program due to the payment schedules …

Read more…

Premium gasoline was again available at local gas stations yesterday as the Dominican National Refinery (Refidomsa) resumed dispatching the fuel to tanker trucks. There were long lines of tankers, and drivers told Diario Libre reporters that they were having to wait for up to three hours. According to the report, things got “congested” close at …

Read more…

The Supreme Court (SCJ) has sent the files on the controversial Sun Land financial transactions to the Attorney General’s office. The case was presented to the court by the PRD political party and the Alternative Social Forum who have argued that the deals for US$130 million and US$200 million were in violation of the Constitution, …

Read more…

After much hue and cry, the PLD party has announced that it is removing the controversial television spot featuring the President and an active military officer, who is also a professional actor. While stating that “no one can be forced to do something that is not covered by the law, nor prohibited from doing something …

Read more…

Today’s Diario Libre page two editorial is a lesson in law and politics. Editor Adriano Miguel Tejada, himself a lawyer, clearly defines the role of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) according to the law. The JCE is in charge of running the elections, especially the period, more or less ninety days before the elections, until …

Read more…

Torrential rainfall in the eastern Dominican Republic has forced hundreds of people to flee their homes, cutting off several villages from the rest of the country. According to Listin Diario, in the town of Miches in El Seibo and villages in La Altagracia provinces, more than 60 houses were flooded. The town of El Cedro, …

Read more…