2009 – Page 308

The municipality of Santo Domingo North has announced the celebration of Carnival on 22 February, with more than 100 groups and floats that will parade along Hermanas Mirabal Avenue in Villa Mella. Mayor Jesus Feliz made the announcement accompanied by folklorist Dagoberto Tejeda and he promised reporters that the event would be a genuine demonstration …

Read more…

Beijing Olympics gold medal winner, boxer Felix Diaz has been chosen as the Dominican athlete of the year. He is the second Dominican “Felix” to win a gold medal. Felix Sanchez won the country’s first gold in the Athens Olympics. Other winners this year by sports categories are: Chess: Kenia Jose Polanco, Ramon Mateo Archery: …

Read more…

Initial reports from the first few days of the Summit convened by President Leonel Fernandez indicate that the talks so far have been constructive and positive. The summit is divided into seven sections and is being held at three city hotels (Jaragua, Hilton & Dominican Fiesta) where designated moderators led discussions on the proposals that …

Read more…

More than 400 proposals were presented at the working group dealing with “Economy and Competitiveness” at the National Summit last week, of which 100 ended up being taken to the discussion tables. According to Hoy, the group moderated by National Competitiveness Council executive director Andres Vanderhorst Alvarez and coordinated by National Business Council (CONEP) president …

Read more…

The Ministry of Environment has continued its forceful environmental recovery programs for 2009 by turning it focus to the wetlands of the Ozama National Park. As part of World Wetlands Day celebrated on 2 February, Environment Minister Jaime David Fernandez Mirabal, together with other government officials, made their way to the wetlands to observe conditions …

Read more…

The government has remained adamant that it will not raise taxes or add new taxes, but according to Listin Diario the Tax Department (DGII) is finding ways of increasing collections for taxes already on the books. To this end DGII has updated the way assessors value a property with the intention of increasing collections on …

Read more…

President Leonel Fernandez met with importers yesterday to discuss comparative pricing on several imports in the hope that importers would pass on these new savings to consumers. The comparison clearly showed that the importers are paying less for products but have not been passing the savings on to consumers. As a result of the meeting, …

Read more…

Formidable competition from the fast, comfortable and safe Santo Domingo Metro has led to price cuts by drivers of carros publicos (shared taxis) that service the Metro routes, primarily the Maximo Gomez corridor, as reported in Hoy. The newspaper reports on the number of commuters who chose to leave their vehicles at the Metro parking …

Read more…

The Central Bank has again cut the interest rates it is paying on deposits. Overnight deposits are now at 7%, down from 8.5%, and Lombarda deposits at 12.5%, down from 14%. It also reduced 2% from interest rates on all certificates of deposit. This is the second cut in less than a month.

In a contribution to Hoy, businessman Jose Antonio Martinez Rojas is questioning the legality of Decree No. 655-08 that imposes a US$15 charge on every passenger traveling to or from the DR as of 1 February. The money collected will be used down as follows: US$7 will go towards travel advertising and the Dominican Institute …

Read more…