2008 – Page 188

In an op-ed contribution in El Caribe, economist Roberto Despradel focuses on the DR’s trade deficit with the US a year into the DR-CAFTA trade agreement. The trade deficit for the first four months of 2008 was US$850 million, which is double the deficit for the previous year. Imports were up 24%, while export declined …

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Cid Wilson, former President of the Dominican American National Roundtable (DANR) and a founding board member of Dominicans On Wall Street (DOWS) has been appointed to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) national board of directors. NCLR is the single largest Latino organization in the United States and is based in Washington, DC. Wilson …

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Emil Santos and Juan Vila Batista have won the gold in the Latin American Youth Table Tennis Tournament being held in Cartagena, Colombia. A total of 24 countries participated. The young team came through in the clutch as they defeated the Argentine team by a score of 3-1. Today Vila starts his defense in the …

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Being a star on the basketball court is not enough for All Star power forward Al Horford. The young star of the Atlanta Hawks is spending his summer doing what most high-priced athletes would never consider: he is getting his degree. Horford was the third overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft and left the …

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Through baseball, children from a small Dominican village are learning about love, northern California-style. Through Cleats for Kids, the people of Humboldt County, California have been sending hundreds of pounds of baseball and softball equipment as well as medical supplies to El Limon, Samana on the Dominican Republic’s northeast shore. The program was formed by …

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Carrefour is advertising its Tuesday meat and seafood sales day. The large supermarket and department store is also holding its 2008 Beer Festival at its Autopista Duarte store. Plaza Lama has green plantains for RD$5.95ea, purple eggplant for RD$5.95lb, carrots for RD$5.95lb, Cubanela green peppers for RD$8.95lb, corn on the cob for RD$11.95ea, and fresh …

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Hacienda MinisterVicente Bengoa told reporters over the weekend that the government is not able to cut taxes on fuels because the money it receives goes to pay the foreign debt. While denying that the government is thinking about increasing taxes (a new tax reform package), Bengoa said that after the income generated by ITBIS (16% …

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In 2007 alone, 150,233 new vehicles were registered, bringing the total number of vehicles in the country 2,121,244 units. Interestingly, as reported in Diario Libre, the category of “jeepetas” (SUVs) was the one that registered the most growth, up 21.6% with 31,175 more in 2007 compared to 2006. Gas-guzzling jeepetas are the vehicle of choice …

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The people of Madrid, Spain have donated three bookmobiles for use in the Dominican Republic. According to El Nuevo Diario, senior Immigration official Carlos Clemente and the assistant director of libraries in Madrid, Maria Jaudenes, will hand over the keys to three vehicles equipped as mobile libraries to Dominican ambassador Alejandro Gonzalez Pons. This gift …

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Rolling blackouts have returned to Santo Domingo. According to reports in Listin Diario, the increased blackouts are due to a deficit of between 200 and 300 megawatts in generation capacity. However, Francisco Mendez, the superintendent of electricity, has denied that there is any deficit in generation. According to the newspaper, areas where blackouts normally lasted …

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