2008 – Page 156

The Dominican government is flush with cash, with taxpayers serving more than was budgeted for the year. Clave newspaper reports that for the first half of the year, the government tax collections were 105.3% more than budgeted, for RD$6.77 billion windfall. “This makes it clear that the fiscal deficit is not due to a lack …

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Jose Tomas Perez, director of the Civil Aviation Institute, was present at yesterday’s inauguration of the Santo Domingo Ecological Heliport. The heliport, which is located on the 30 de Mayo Highway, has the capacity for 40 helicopters. During his speech Perez said that before this heliport’s construction, there wasn’t a public landing pad for use …

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While city government workers might feel happy at the prospect of a pay rise, Fausto Ruiz, president of the Dominican Municipalities Federation (FEDOMU), said there is no way that the nation’ s municipalities can implement the wage increase initiative proposed by President Leonel Fernandez yesterday because they simply don’t have the money, and payrolls are …

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Agriculture Minister Salvador Jimenez has said that all shipments coming from Haiti will be fumigated as part of an initiative to prevent the spread of a carnivorous ant outbreak that has been reported in border areas. Jimenez said the ant, the Paratrechina (Hymenoptera formicidae), is a very aggressive ant that attacks crops and livestock. The …

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Luisa Fernandez, director of the National Free Trade Zone Council (CNZFE), says that many of the free trade zone (FTZ) companies that had left for Mexico, Central America or Asia have returned to the DR. Fernandez said that in Asia there are increasing salary requirements and that companies have to meet American environmental requirements. While …

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Telecable de Tricom and the Venezuelan consortium Latin American Pay Television Service (LAPTV) have signed an agreement which will allow subscribers to access Movie City HD, a high-definition movie channel. According to Hoy, this agreement will allow Dominicans to be the first subscribers in the region with access to high-definition television viewing. Officials say the …

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El Caribe, quoting a story in the Cuban government newspaper Granma, says that the 1976 bombing of a Cubana flight in which 73 people died, was planned in Bonao by Romanian national Alexander Vlonsky, a.k.a Sacha Volman. The newspaper writes that anti-Castro activist Luis Posadas Carriles planned the bombing on 11 June 1976 alongside Volman, …

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Dominicans are quick to smell a new business opportunity. Now, given the widespread shortage of change that is affecting stores, there are businesses that will cash bills for a fee. This is only making matters worse, because they have collected coins in the market for distribution to businesses needing cash and willing to pay the …

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On 19 June news outlets reported that US federal agents were in the DR investigating a money-laundering scheme involving Medicare funds. Sources revealed that the perpetrators of the scam had defrauded the Medicare system out of millions of dollars and laundered the money through the DR. Three FBI agents as well as other enforcement officials …

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Luis Alvarez Renta, one of the men convicted in the BanInter banking scandal, was sent to Najayo jail last night. Renta has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Hoy writes that before Renta made his way to the jail he and his lawyers made a series of requests to judge Saulo Ysabel, including a transfer …

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