2010 – Page 66

Baseball fans visiting the Quisqueya Ball Park for the 2010-2011 Winter Professional Baseball Championship this year will be pleasantly surprised. The city stadium has been improved with new seating, new areas, bathrooms and facilities for the press. The baseball teams will also enjoy new dugouts and the field has been significantly improved. The baseball season …

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Dominicana Moda is being held at Santo Domingo’s Hotel Occidental Embajador from 18-23 October. This year, Oscar de la Renta is the special guest fashion designer, and he will stage the closing show. Some 45 national and international designers will be participating in the annual event. Coming from abroad are Tirso Rubio of Honduras and …

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The National Statistical Office (ONE in Spanish) continues to insist on no-bid contracts, claiming a lack of time to carry out the 2010 Census on Population and Housing. However, according to Diario Libre, the agency has violated a series of legal requirements by allowing the Sinergit-Active Software company to carry out the contract. Sinergit-Active Software …

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The government proposes to add 642 megawatts of electricity to the national grid next year in response to the country’s economic growth and public demand. Diario Libre says that the authorities are also planning to have 1,600 megawatts for 2013, which will bring the total for these two years to 2,242 megawatts. According to a …

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The Ministry of the Environment has announced the discovery of a waterfall in the eastern province of Hato Mayor. Known by locals as “El Zumbador” (The Hummingbird), El Nuevo Diario says the waterfall, which is about 20 meters in height, is located on a farm belonging to Martha Frias, in the middle of some 300 …

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Eleven international organizations, business leaders and civil society representatives will release the 30 proposals contained in the “Anti-Corruption Participatory Initiative” (IPAC), on Wednesday morning. The IPAC seeks to reduce public corruption. According to Diario Libre, the agencies that will announce the suggestions are: the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization of …

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Representatives of the principal cruise lines operating in the Caribbean, together with other companies from related sectors, will be meeting in Santo Domingo between 25 and 29 October. The initiative seeks to promote the city and its port as a tourist and cruise line destination. The 17th Annual Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association Conference & Trade Show …

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Jesuit priests Rogelio Cruz and Regino Martinez Breton were delayed by US Immigration officials at the Fort Lauderdale International Airport over the weekend. Father Rogelio, assigned to a rural parish in the province of San Francisco de Macoris, was detained for two hours and then released, but Father Regino, an outspoken critic of immigration abuses …

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Dominican jails are exceeding their capacity to house the 20,513 inmates that populate the cells, putting the overpopulation level at 282%. In 2009, occupation levels stood at 263%, equivalent to an extra 10,133 inmates. Diario Libre quotes the Directorate of Prisons report “Capacity vs. Inmate Population” as saying that the traditional model has a capacity …

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The recent deaths of three young people who drank metomil, a highly toxic pesticide according to the World Health Organization (WHO), highlights, once again, the improper handling of agrochemicals. Products intended for export are rigorously examined for any residuals from a list of restricted chemicals. However, many highly toxic pesticides can be easily purchased at …

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