2010 – Page 319

Monday, 4 January was a historic night for the Dominican community in the US. Dominican-born William Lantigua was sworn in as mayor of Lawrence, a city of 72,000 with a large first and second generation Dominican constituency. He became the first popularly elected Latino mayor for Massachusetts. He was elected amidst a scandalous fiscal collapse. …

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There is hope for a sunny weekend, but rains are still in the forecast for Thursday and Friday as a front moves eastwards from Haiti. The rains have mainly been affecting the north, northeast and east and the Central Mountain Range. A high-pressure surface is covering the area, bringing seasonal low temperatures and strong breezes.

Clave newspaper expects to see the Santo Domingo city teams, Escogido and Licey disputing the playoffs of Dominican winter baseball championship. The semi-final stage of the championship is half way over, with the Gigantes from San Francisco de Macoris in the lead. Sports Writers Association president Ramon Cuello says that Licey needs better teamwork, but …

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The Gigantes were the last to qualify for the round robin, but half way through the semifinals, they are leading. Yesterday, the Gigantes defeated the Toros 5-2 in San Francisco de Macoris. The series continues with the Gigantes vs. Escogido in Santo Domingo and the Licey vs. Toros at the La Romana ballpark. Both games …

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Dominican Ambassador in Haiti Ruben Silie is meeting Prime Minister Jean Max Bellerive of Haiti to prepare for President Rene Preval’s visit to the DR next week. Preval and President Leonel Fernandez are scheduled to take part in a ceremony marking the resumption of work by the Haitian-Dominican Bilateral Commission. Silie and Haitian ambassador in …

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Education Minister Melanio Paredes has urged parents to send their children back to school tomorrow, 7 January instead of waiting until Monday. Public school and many private schools resume across the country tomorrow after the Christmas and New Year holiday. In the DR schools re-open after the Three Kings holiday. Three Kings Day is traditionally …

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The National Geological Service (SNG), a dependency of the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development, has begun its operations. The SNG was created thanks to funding from the European Union. Deputy Pelegrin Castillo, president of the Chamber of Deputies Permanent Commission on Energy and Mines and a key supporter of the SNG, outlined the new …

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The Ministry of Hacienda reports that imports declined 30.3% from January to November. Imports this year totaled US$15.86 billion, down from US$11.05 billion. National imports were down 27.1%, free zone imports 5.3%, and petroleum imports 52.4%. The decline in imports represented an 18.9% drop in Customs revenues.

Center for Exports & Investments (CEI-RD) statistics show that exports in the DR for the period January-September were down 21.5%, as reported in Hoy. Exports to the US, the leading market for Dominican exports, were down 15.56%. Last year, the DR exported 54.13% of all its goods and services to the US. In 2008, the …

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The DR’s foreign debt increased from US$6.58 billion at 31 December 2004 to 30 November 2009 US$12.22 billion, after 6 years of the Fernandez administration. Diario Libre reports that according to the Ministry of Hacienda, the foreign debt increased from US$5.54 billion to US$7.53 billion during this period. Domestic debt increased from US$1.04 billion in …

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