2005 – Page 276

Grace Diaz, the first Dominican female elected to statewide office in US history, flew to Santo Domingo for the holidays shortly after being sworn in at the Rhode Island State House in Providence, Rhode Island on 4 January. In an interview with El Caribe, the new Democrat representative for District 11 of Providence commented on …

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The office of Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the US Senate Committee on Finance, issued today a statement welcoming reports that President Leonel Fernandez has signed into law legislation that repeals the DR’s 25% tax on soft drinks containing high fructose corn syrup. “With the repeal of this discriminatory tax, the DR has demonstrated …

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Alex Rodriguez, the star New York Yankees slugger, arrived today to play Three Kings in Yaguate, San Cristobal, southwest of Santo Domingo. Hoy newspaper reported that he flew into the La Romana International Airport. Rodriguez’s toys donation is handled by the UNICEF branch in the Dominican Republic.

The underdog team, the Gigantes del Cibao defeated the powerful Aguilas Cibaenas in their home stadium yesterday in an exciting game that ended 7-6. Jose Reyes (New York Mets) hit the single that brought in two runs in the second half of the seventh inning to propel his team to the lead. The Giants had …

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The dispute between the municipal officials of Santo Domingo and the electricity distributor EdeSur has produced some positive results after Mayor Robeto Salcedo and EdeSur administrator Ruben Bichara met. The parties agreed to let their legal people work out an agreement that will cover the payment due to EdeSur for public lighting and the 3% …

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Deputies from the three leading political parties, including the official spokespersons, representatives of different civilian institutions such as FINJUS (the Foundation for Justice and Institutionality), rejected the idea of a constitutional amendment that would extend the current term of the legislature and combine the next municipal and legislative elections with the presidential elections. In order …

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Less than 24 hours after the United States requested the Supreme Court of the Dominican Republic to issue arrest warrants for 23 wanted criminals and the seizure of their assets, the Attorney General announced that his office was preparing the paperwork of another 15 people wanted by the United States justice system. The latest 15 …

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The district attorney for Santo Domingo revealed that accused drug lord and former Army captain, Quirino Paulio Castillo bought a helicopter from colonel Pedro Julio Goico (a.k.a. “Pepe”) who worked as the advance security man for former President Hipolito Mejia and was accused of responsibility in the bank scandal that resulted from his use of …

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Eleuterio Guante, a.k.a. Pedro Guante, is the name of the fourth person to be arrested in the case of the 1,387 kilograms of cocaine that were seized by local DNCD agents on 18 December. The district attorney for Santo Domingo, Jose Manuel Hernandez, told Hoy reporters that Guante’s job was to organize the transport of …

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The National Police shot and killed 360 persons during 2004. The shootings took place when civilians and the police faced-off, either as a result of crimes or during investigations. According to the Human Rights Watch there were 160 more deaths at Police hands in 2004 than in 2003. The so-called “exchange of shots” is the …

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