'Sosua police executed a search warrant Thursday and confiscated a pistol and a revolver, said Eddie Bueno Disla, the lead investigator on Tarlow's killing. Bueno said he had detained two people -- the driver and security guard of Sosua businessman Armando Casciati. The investigator did not release the names of those detained or say where the search warrants were served. Casciati, the Italian owner of the company that Tarlow's group faced off with in court, has been told that he cannot leave the country, Bueno said..........In an e-mail earlier this week, Casciati told The Oregonian that he believed Mocarello's investors were all Dominican and that a decision on the sale of the hotel remained in legal limbo. "I never met Mr. Tarlow - I did not even know of his existence," Casciati wrote. "All the shareholders of Mocarello are Dominicans and I have no clue of other people having interests in this company." ' The story continues at the first link on Oregon Live.com and some of it also appeared in Friday's El Faro print version. Meanwhile the original article which appeared in Oregon Live.com has now been translated into Spanish and published in Puerto Plata Digital.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/06/dominicans_seize_guns_detain_t.html
Althought the headline reads "Foreigners Disrobe In Protest At Beach Access Closure' the video of the event would appear to feature Dominican not gringo posteriors. The beach in question is Playa Encuentro and once again developers want to close off a frequently used access path. It will be remembered that the new Constitution confers rights to owners of beachside property to limit access.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvj2ycQJflA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9557
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4866&start=1
Canadian tourist, Daniel Vinco Longeo, 50, died in the reception area of his hotel, Ocean Manor, Cabarete, while chatting online in the early hours of Friday morning. A heart attack is suspected but, as is usual in these circumstances, police have opened an enquiry.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2724
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7609/Default.aspx
Georg Slaus Jurgen Ignaszewski, 63, resident of apartment 2-D in Villa Liberación, got into a drunken brawl with a Dominican in El Batey, Sosua last Saturday afternoon. During the confrontation someone stole his gun, possibly to help avoid the interchange becoming fatal.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4852&start=1
'Caribbean Casino and Gaming Corp announced today that ESPN has postponed the scheduled Fight Club Boxing Series until August 21, 2010 because of production scheduling problems. CEO Steven Swank is looking forward to the Investor Conference on June 25th and the Oppliny Fashion Show featuring top models from the Dominican Republic, professional Salsa Dancers and live entertainment on June 26th, 2010. Mr. Swank stated, "Occasionally, there are scheduling conflicts with events, however our location is a greatly desired place to hold events. Within a few days we have scheduled and promoted a great fashion show with top models, dancers and live entertainment. It will be here in Sosua Bay Location, and I am happy to offer it to the surrounding areas and our investors." ' The press release continues here:
'One dead, a little girl disappeared, and 750 person displaced as the result of the rains that have fallen over a large part of the country since the weekend, all caused by a tropical wave. The fatality is Argelis Diaz, 21, who drowned when he tried to rescue a 13 year old girl, only known as Vicky, who was swept away by the flood waters of the Arroyo Lebron, in the Nuevo Amanecer section, located around Kilometer 18 of the Duarte Highway. The tragedy occurred around 4:00 in the afternoon, and into the evening the Civil Defense team had not been able to locate the body of the young girl. Meanwhile, the Center for Emergency Operations (COE) also reported that 259 homes were flooded and seven of them suffered severe damage, five of them in San Juan de la Maguana, all from the rains.' The story continues in the English language version of Diario Libre:
Dalco Didier, a 41 year old Belgian, was arrested in Bayahibe on Wednesday, where he was passing himself off as a tourist. He is wanted in Belgium for international drug trafficking.
http://www.noticiassin.com/www/index.php?go=Display&act=display_article&aid=17449&tif=4
'Elite commando units from across the Americas tested their skills Monday in a U.S.-sponsored competition for hemispheric bragging rights — part of an annual event designed to boost military relationships. The Dominican Republic is hosting more than 500 people representing police and military special operations teams from 18 countries including the United States. A team from Ecuador held the lead after events in aquatic skills, weapons marksmanship and physical fitness, according to the Dominican Armed Forces Ministry. Brazil, the defending champion, was in second place..........The eight-day event, which includes a seminar for senior leaders on security challenges, ends Wednesday with a joint parachute jump at the San Isidro military base, 20 kilometers (32 miles) east of the capital, Santo Domingo.' More here:
'When members of the First Baptist Church's Dominican Republic Mission Team first arrived to host a medical clinic in the Haitian sugar cane villages last year, hundreds of poverty-stricken Dominicans were already lined up waiting for their chance to get help. The pictures of the lines, taken during a trip last summer, touched Liz Zakrzewski and convinced her to help. That's why she and her children, Kristen and Jeffrey Zakrzewski, have been collecting extra medicine and vitamins that they will deliver when the team returns to La Romana, Dominican Republic, on July 2. Liz Zakrzewski, a broker for Coldwell Banker in North Haven, has turned her office into a drop-off point for the mission team's annual collection drive and she said Friday that the team will continue to collect donations from the public through July 1.' Read on:
http://www.myrecordjournal.com/wallingford/article_039cbef2-7cec-11df-b567-001cc4c002e0.html
'Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club with corporate offices in Puerto Plata on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, has added Dream Suites by Lifestyle at Grand Oasis Bavaro, to its portfolio through the ongoing strategic alliance with Spain-based Globalia Corporation. The joint product is the second venture in Punta Cana, which also includes the adjacent Dream Suites by Lifestyle at Grand Oasis Punta Cana with 46 luxury suites. Dream Suites by Lifestyle at Grand Oasis Bavaro is located next to Cabeza de Toro Beach features large suites with designer-appointed décor, and includes six restaurants, six bars, adult and children’s swimming pools, fitness center and spa, casino, daily activities, nightly shows and nearby golf at the 18-hole Catalonia Caribe Golf Club.' The story continues:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Lifestyle-Holidays-Vacation-bw-2769579454.html?x=0&.v=1
'Today, the Paradise Is Mine Company, an international real estate marketmaker of luxury tropical real estate properties, announced its impending plans for the acquisition of hotel properties on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. “In response to the overwhelming interest of our investors in Latin America, we are acquiring properties and projects in this developing region” stated company spokesperson Daniel R. Du Pont III. "Now is the time to identify and capitalize on the opportunities the real estate market has presented. Now is when we have a prime opportunity to create wealth for our investors.” Du Pont further stated............. Paradise Is Mine has strategically targeted the north coast of the island but would not reveal the exact location of its acquisition targets.' The press release continues at the link..........doubtless some prankster will suggest rebranding to Paradise Is A Mine..................
'A quick count of those cases which, because of their importance, were highly publicized shows that a total of 58 persons lost their lives in what the authorities call "death by decree". This number only includes the cases that happened between 2008 and up until now, and for which the National Police have arrested and prosecuted some 40 persons. Of these murders, in just seven cases in which the amounts paid were revealed, these totaled RD$2,887,000. The life of each of the victims, or their deaths, cost RD$30,000 or more..............For the president of the Dominican Society of Criminology, Wilfredo Mora, contract killing is no longer an isolated incident, but rather it has become a real industry in the country. This industry is based on "infamous individuals that are hidden because political power allows them to get easy money", according to the expert. Mora also blames the issue on "a moral deterioration that affects the people in the lowest strata, who will do anything for money". 'Read on:
'When they left Staten Island, they were typical high-school seniors, waiting anxiously for commencement and planning to head off to college at the end of summer. But the Staten Island Academy students, members of the Class of 2010, who spent a week in the Dominican Republic volunteering at a boys' orphanage, returned home different people, their lives changed by an unforgettable experience.' More here:
http://www.silive.com/eastshore/index.ssf/2010/06/sia_students_serving_others_in.html
'..............But now new problems were added to old ones. There were even more orphans to care for. Many had been moved from Port au Prince to safer areas, including inside the Dominican Republic. One school in particular, Lumbrera de Caballona in Santiago, now had over 100 children sharing three small classrooms. Worst of all, most of these children go through the day unfed. No breakfast, no lunch. Some are lucky to even get a meal at night. The Skip1 volunteers brought the children lunch the day of their visit. It was the first meal served at the school since it opened over three years ago. The teachers shared how the children often struggle to focus and learn because they are so hungry. The school had been trying to gather enough money to build a kitchen on site, but funds were non-existent.' The story continues:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20100626/bs_prweb/prweb4190934_2
http://www.crowdrise.com/caballonaschoolkitch/fundraiser/monkeysplat
'A toddler who had blood flooding her lungs recently returned home healthy to the Dominican Republic after undergoing lifesaving heart surgery at Wolfson Children's Hospital, thanks to help from two organizations. Healing the Children and Patrons of the Hearts paid travel and medical expenses for 2-year-old Diosribel Santos and her mother, Diomaris Santos, to come to Jacksonville.' Read on:
http://jacksonville.com/news/columnists/good-news/2010-06-26/story/sandy-strickland-mary-maraghy
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read! 
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
'Art Tarlow and a group of businessmen invested $1.8 million to build a luxury casino in the small Dominican Republic town where the Portland lawyer spent his winters for nearly a decade. When construction fizzled on the Sosúa Bay Grand Casino, the group moved to take possession of the boutique hotel put up as collateral. But June 10, the night before the court was to set an auction date, Tarlow was shot to death at his home..........Early pitches showcased a bright yellow stucco building with open-air walkways and iron trim. The 7,000-square-foot facility neighboring the resort was to include a ritzy casino, convention center, fitness center and two squash courts. The Sosúa Bay Resort's Web site still touts plans to build "one of the biggest casinos of the Dominican North Coast." To do that, the hotel operators needed money................But the project stalled, bogged down by several lawsuits. One questioned the ownership of the land where the casino was to be built. Another challenged who held the title to the Victorian House hotel that served as collateral on the deal, according to Mocarello documents. Further delaying the project was a long-running battle -- nearly bloody at times -- between Casciati and one of his former partners............By December, courts had established that the Victorian House and the neighboring empty lot with the half-finished casino would be auctioned in July, with an opening bid of $3.9 million. The hotel was valued at $5 million and the lot, $3.2 million, company documents show. The $3.9 million was to cover the initial $1.8 million investment as well as damages -- mostly years of legal fees -- and a separate $750,000 lien on the property............Family told police that Tarlow's most recent Mocarello files weren't in his home.' The full story can be read at the first link OregonLive.com. The auction of the properties was set for 9th. July 2010 and last Friday's El Faro carries a public announcement of the auction.
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/06/tarlows_slaying_raises_questio.html
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2626
'An Edmonton woman has launched a $7.45-million lawsuit after alleging she suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and her friend died while on a Caribbean holiday. According to a June 2 statement of claim, Boryana Saveva and Seyed Mosavi went on an all-inclusive vacation to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, on Nov. 28, 2009. Saveva, an accountant, alleges she and Mosavi checked in at the Barcelo Puerto Plata resort hotel, and that evening, she retired to her Prestige Class room and went to sleep. Her next recollection "was awaking several days later in hospital" suffering from serious injuries, including carbon monoxide poisoning, says the statement of claim. Mosavi, a male friend who also lived and worked in Edmonton, died as a result of the carbon monoxide poisoning, says the lawsuit against the hotel, the Spanish corporation that owns the hotel and the Flight Centre.' The story continues here:
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2010/06/14/14391441.html
http://www.inews880.com/Channels/Reg/LocalNews/story.aspx?ID=1241164
Last Monday three Canadian women tourists were arrested at Puerto Plata airport trying to smuggle out approximately eight kilos of cocaine hidden in five squash. Allen Rivett Lindsa, 22, Herd Khadija, 19 and Agustín Clorianne, 20, never made the Montreal flight but were instead taken to Santo Domingo DNCD.
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=202806
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2640
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4814&start=1
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/06/detienen-canadienses-con-auyamas.html
On Wednesday Serbian resident Slobodan Momcilov, aged 42 who lives on Avenida Luis Ginebra in Puerto Plata, was arrested for being in possession of a stolen jeep with a false number plate.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2652
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4840&start=1
Canadian expat Louis Claude Joseph Cote Marleau, 77, died in his sleep at his home in Maimon last Saturday. The local friends and neighbours he usually met for breakfast went looking when he did not show up. Foul play is not suspected and none of his possessions were disturbed.
Members of the Asociación de Vendedores de Artesanía blocked the entrance to Playa Dorada last Monday as a protest against security at Barcelo Premium Hotel not letting them in, in contravention of prior agreements made. One vendor was arrested.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4817&start=1
On Monday an Israeli citizen, Kreh David, 27, threatened to detonate explosives he allegedly had in his hand luggage at Santo Domingo airport. Authorities found no explosives but Mr. David was handed over to police.
http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/Noticias/Noticias.aspx?id_Articulo=29491
'The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic reported that on 1 July they will issue a new RD$20.00 bill which will be safer, cleaner and more durable. "The bill is a polymer and is neither fibrous nor porous, and so it will last three or four times what paper currency does, which makes it more convenient to print bills of lower denomination" says the press release sent to the media. The state entity says that the polymer bill is more hygienic since it absorbs less humidity, perspiration, and dirt; and the modern technology with which is it made allows the incorporation of more effective security measures that make it difficult to counterfeit.' Read on:
'The Dominican Republic was downgraded to Tier 3 in the fight against trafficking in persons in a report by the State Department of the United States. The report says that the Government does not meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking in persons and is not carrying out significant efforts to do so.....The report suggests that in order to improve the efforts that are carried out against trafficking in persons, the Dominican Republic could implement several measures, such as increasing the efforts that it carries out to investigate, prosecute, and punish violators of the laws covering the trafficking in persons, especially those public officials that are involved in these crimes.' The story continues in the English language version of Diario Libre and the full report is at the second link. Predictably, the Minister of Foreign Affairs rejected the contents of the report. The Obama administration has informed 13 countries including the DR that they face possible U.S. sanctions for failing to meet minimal international standards.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=249510
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/142982.pdf
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/192069.php
http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/Noticias/Noticias.aspx?id_Articulo=29476
'Unigold Inc. Is pleased to announce the discovery of a new gold zone on its wholly-owned Neita Property located in the western region of the Dominican Republic. The gold zone is grading 2.3 g/t gold over 27 metres (true thickness) and is included in a 52-metre intercept (true thickness) grading 1.4 g/t gold........The discovery at Lomita Pina is located 3 kilometres South-East of Unigold's Los Candelones deposit. Drilling was positioned to follow-up on trenching results that returned 34 metres at 2.2 g/t gold (Press release Feb 24 2009).' The press release continues here:
'Doctor John Mina of Lee County is a podiatrist by profession, but he's an explorer and adventurer at heart. Starting this Friday, Dr. Mina, his 17 year old son Tony, and eight other veteran explorers, will head into the jungles of the Dominican Republic, looking for a 'Lost City of Gold'. "When you have a passion to discover, only an adventure will quell it," Dr. Mina told WINK News. "It is a rush, very exciting, to un-earth something that no human hands have held for maybe 2000 years!", he added. The Mina's will fly to the Dominican Republic and will become the first foreigners, officially invited by the government there, to try to find the lost city of Bartholomew Columbus...........In addition to singing doo-wop, John Mina is a podiatrist, has five children, does community theatre, is a Rotarian, and a published science fiction author.' Read on!!
'Millions of years before humans began battling it out over beachfront property, a similar phenomenon was unfolding in a diverse group of island lizards. Often mistaken for chameleons or geckos, Anolis lizards fight fiercely for resources, responding to rivals by doing push-ups and puffing out their throat pouches. But anoles also compete in ways that shape their bodies over evolutionary time, says a new study in the journal Evolution. Anolis lizards colonized the Caribbean from South America some 40 million years ago and quickly evolved a wide range of shapes and sizes. "When anoles first arrived in the islands there were no other lizards quite like them, so there was abundant opportunity to diversify," said author Luke Mahler of Harvard University. Free from rivals in their new island homes, Anolis lizards evolved differences in leg length, body size, and other characteristics as they adapted to different habitats. Today, the islands of Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica and Puerto Rico — collectively known as the Greater Antilles — are home to more than 100 Anolis species, ranging from lanky lizards that perch in bushes, to stocky, long-legged lizards that live on tree trunks, to foot-long 'giants' that roam the upper branches of trees.' The story continues:
'Dwight A. Miller, 65, of Palm Beach died Tuesday, June 15, 2010, while vacationing in the Dominican Republic...........A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 19 at The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea, 141 S. County Road. Funeraria Blandino in the Dominican Republic handled arrangements'. The obituary is here:
http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/dwight-a-miller-753071.html?cxtype=rss_news
'One of two stowaways who survived a ride on a cargo ship from the Dominican Republic to Charleston a week ago is a veteran of the U.S. Court system. Eddy Martinez-Reyes, 41, was convicted in New York of selling a controlled substance in 1997 and sentenced to five years of probation, according to U.S. Attorney's' officials. Martinez-Reyes, also known as "El Baron," then was convicted of selling a controlled substance again in New York in 2005 and was sentenced to two to four years in prison, officials said. Martinez-Reyes faces up to 20 years in federal prison, three years of supervised released and a $250,000 fine on the new charge of re-entry of an alien after an aggravated felony conviction, according to prosecutors. Two other men arrived onboard the Mediterranean Shipping Co.'s ship Debra on June 12, including one found dead inside a container. Officials have not released that man's name or cause of death' More here:
http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jun/19/1-cargo-ship-stowaway-has-us-conviction/
'Desires Hotels has announced the addition of the under-construction Cliffs Ocean Resort in the Dominican Republic to its collection. The project—the first on the island to be LEED certified—is set to open in summer 2011 and will feature guestrooms with large living areas and private terraces. Built on 25 acres of oceanside property, the Cliffs Ocean Resort will include a luxury spa, two salt water infinity pools overlooking the Caribbean, a beach club equipped with a bar and cigar lounge, fitness center, helipad, golf practice facility, sports center with tennis courts, and equestrian center'.
http://www.hospitalitydesign.com/hospitalitydesign/industry-news/Desires-Hotels-to-Ad-1297.shtml
http://www.thecliffsoceanresort.com/site_eng/index.html
http://www.thecliffsoceanresort.com/site_eng/files/descargables/newsletter.pdf
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
'Art Tarlow, a well-known Portland business and construction trial lawyer, was found dead Friday, fatally shot at his winter home in the Dominican Republic. He was 68. The founder of Tarlow Naito & Summers LLP was alone in the oceanfront home, according to his business partner Brent Summers. Police are treating the case as a homicide. Investigators said they found no sign of forced entry and have not said whether they have any suspects, Summers said. Tarlow, who also had a home in Southwest Portland, had telecommuted half of the year from the small town of Sosúa since buying the home in 2002...........In one of his more well-publicized cases, Tarlow represented Bill Naito's branch in one of Portland's most protracted family feuds. Tarlow helped the family reach a settlement after eight years of legal wranglings that split up the Naitos' company and gave his clients the bulk of the real estate assets.' Mr. Tarlow's distraught apartment staff in Playa Chiquita have confirmed to Dominican newspapers what a considerate employer he was. Puerto Plata Digital is reporting that two people have been detained. The story in English continues at the first link:
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2010/06/portland_lawyer_art_tarlow_fou.html
http://dailyme.com/story/2010061200001146/portland-attorney-art-tarlow-found-dead.html
http://wweek.com/html/leada072998.html
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2598
http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2010/6/12/329618/Matan-norteamericano-gano-litis-de-3-millones-dolares
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=249180
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4786&start=1
http://noticiassin.com/www/index.php?go=Display&act=display_article&aid=17030&tid=4
http://enbromayenserio.blogspot.com/2010/06/encuentran-norteamericano-muerto-en.html
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2594
http://miradoroeste.blogspot.com/2010/06/investigan-asesinado-de-ciudadano.html
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7509/Default.aspx
For the last week manatee have been seen in the waters off Long Beach, Puerto Plata, much to the delight of tourists staying in Playa Dorada. They have also been seen by some of the dive school staff at Sosua.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2543
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7466/Default.aspx
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/06/observan-manaties-jugueteando-en-playas.html#more
On Thursday night at around 9.45 pm 14 year old Tony Pie was stabbed with a broken bottle by a 15 year old Haitian on Pedro Clisante in Sosua. Although Puerto Plata Habla gives the name of the alleged killer, this report will not, since it is believed to be against the law to do so. There are conflicting reports as to whether this was as a result of an argument or whether it was a sudden attack with no words spoken. One paper cites the argument as being over control of a glue-sniffing drug punto. Tony Pie later died in Ricardo Limardo hospital in Puerto Plata.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2593
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4782&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2589
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7506/Default.aspx
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9466
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=202420
http://elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/6/11/51059/Ahorcan-menor-haitiano-en-PP
Three young Dominican men were caught in the act of robbing the apartment of Udo Hanser, 47, a German expat living in Vista del Caribe. One had a key, it was not specified if this was some sort of master key or one specific to that apartment.
Patrick Verheyen, a Belgian wanted in Belgium for alleged drug offences and living in Luperon as a fisherman, was arrested on Friday on an international arrest warrant and deported on a Jetairfly flight.
The arrest of Regino Martínez has been the talk of Puerto Plata for the past week. Local (anonymous) lawyers consulted by Puerto Plata Habla said the Courts would have a hard time trying to prove he was the 'intellectual author' of the crime since there was no proof. Then the Fiscal went public with the connection between Acevedo and narcotrafficking which was immediately denied by some family members. But not all. There are relatives who support the Fiscal's conclusion but those who do not, say this is 'sour grapes' over a home ownership litigation between various members of the family. Earlier this week the Appeal Court heard Regino Martinez's appeal against a remand in custody; this was done under strict security with Martinez wearing a bullet-proof vest and smuggled out the back door after the hearing. The Appeal Court rejected the application and he remains in custody for a year.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4779&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4783&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2534
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4753&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4756&start=1
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=248520
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4766&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4771&start=1
Last Monday a police captain went for a swim at Long Beach, Puerto Plata and while he was swimming his regulation weapon was stolen, apparently by a 13 year old who then took flight. Swimmers of any occupation are advised that if they take a gun to the beach it should be handed to a trusted friend whilst they take a dip....
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4759&start=1
'A diagnosis presented yesterday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) placed the Dominican Republic far from its goals of improvement in the areas of education and health, as well as in obtaining better levels of equality in the population and reducing poverty. The study-carried out at the request of the Minister of Economy, Planning and Development, Temistocles Montas-indicates in a general way the little progress being made in bettering the quality of life for Dominicans, the weakness of the social policies, and an economic growth that generates social exclusion. In the areas of education and health the study emphasizes the deficient quality and the low financing of these areas. In the presentation of this report, the coordinator of the Office of Human Development of the UNDP, Miguel Ceara Hatton, explained that this study also sets out the strengths of the Dominican State in these sectors and offers proposals for a 20 year program with the idea of improving these areas in a process of citizen empowerment.' The story continues in the English language version of Diario Libre:
Juan Bolivar Diaz analyses the three ways in which the President could run again in 2012: either via an amendment to the Constitution, or taking the issue to the Constitutional Tribunal or through the use of a referendum. The final link is to an interesting article which examines the difference between 'Continuismo' and continuity.
http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/Politica/Politica.aspx?id_Articulo=9028
'An Organization of American States human rights commission has asked a court to look into the 1994 disappearance of a Dominican Republic opposition leader shortly after he was taken into custody, the agency said Monday. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights filed an application last month with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to investigate what happened Narciso Gonzalez Medina , a university professor, columnist and opposition leader who claimed that electoral fraud had been committed in the 1994 presidential elections. State officials took him into custody on May 26, 1994. "In the days after that, he was seen alive and in very poor conditions in various security offices under the custody of officials of the state," the rights commission said in a release Monday. "To date, his fate or whereabouts are unknown, and no serious, diligent, effective investigations have been carried out to clear up the facts, identify those responsible, and impose the appropriate punishment. Sixteen years after the events, Narciso Gonzalez Medina is still disappeared, and the acts remain unpunished." ' More here:
'A British sailor stranded in the Caribbean was rescued after he sent a text message to his dad in Birmingham saying: 'Help me - I'm in the s***'. Former IT consultant Paul Mountjoy, 39, lost control of his yacht when the steering failed as he sailed between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. He sent out a MayDay call which went unheard by local authorities so he tried to ring his father Keith, 61 - in Dudley. The call wouldn't connect so Paul sent him a text message on his mobile phone explaining his predicament and giving his exact location.' The story continues:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/cornwall/10270174.stm
http://swns.com/sailor-stranded-in-caribbean-is-rescued-after-texting-dad-in-birmingham-091351.html
http://www.safetyatsea.net/login.aspx?reason=denied_empty&script_name=/secure/display.aspx&path_info=/
secure/display.aspx&articlename=dn0020100609000002
'A Haitian woman waited 11 days at the airport in the Dominican Republic's capital because no airline was prepared to fly the 220-kilogram passenger to the United States. But rescue came in the form of the air force of the Caribbean country, which agreed to return Dominique Lanoise Thursday on board a military plane to the US, where she has lived for four years, local media reported Tuesday. Lanoise, a naturalized US citizen, told the press that she flew to Haiti, the Dominican Republic's neighbour on the island of Hispaniola, in November on board a private plane. Since then, she has been sitting in a wheelchair after injuring her leg upon her arrival. The newspaper Diario Libre reported that she travelled from Haiti to Santo Domingo on a bed loaded in the back of a truck.' Read on:
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/327948,us-aboard-military-plane.html
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-424641?ref=feeds%2Flatest
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=248550
http://www.elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/6/8/50757/Se-llevaran-haitiana-pesa-500-libras
'Dominican pilots are calling for international experts to evaluate the country's air traffic control systems. Pedro Dominguez is chief of the Dominican Association of Pilots. He told reporters Wednesday that his group is urging the government to hire independent experts to analyze threats to flight safety in the tourism-dependent Caribbean nation. Dominguez asserts that local officials have too many economically driven concerns to properly evaulate air traffic safety. In a statement, the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute dismissed the pilots' concerns, saying "security of the Dominican airspace is totally guaranteed." A Dominican air traffic control group says local safety systems were never better.'
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100609/world/cb_dominican_aviation_1
'The Palace Resorts unmatched vacation experience fulfills every indulgence with the 1,500 Vacation Dollars promotion now through Dec. 23, 2011 at all 11 Palace Resorts properties in Mexico and Moon Palace Casino, Golf & Spa Resort in the Dominican Republic. Guests staying five nights or more receive $1,500 per room per stay, while guests staying three or four nights receive $750 per room per stay. With a room upgrade, guests can use up to $1,500 to choose an ocean view room or suite or the new Concierge Level and Family Level rooms. The Concierge Level includes guaranteed ocean views, nightly turndown service with petit fours and Comfort Menu, reserved beach chair with waiter service and other in-room amenities.' The press release continues here:
'Oceanic Research and Recovery Inc. (PINKSHEETS: ORRV), a marine salvage and exploration company, today announced that the vessel Deep Scan will be going to the Dominican Republic to work on several different wreck sites in areas under concession to Deep Blue Marine. The Deep Scan is a special vessel uniquely designed and configured for shallow water surveying and excavation. There are several sites in Deep Blue Marine's new area where the special capabilities of the Deep Scan will be particularly useful.' The press release continues:
'Kids to Kids, a youth-led program of World Connect, is proud to announce it has awarded a grant to Alanna Hughes, originally from Marblehead, to support her work in the Dominican Republic. This grant will fund a project to create structured Saturday activities for children in a new community park. The project will provide sports equipment, activities focused on health and environmental education, art, games, and healthy snacks for the children. Hughes, currently serving in the Dominican Republic with the Peace Corps, is sponsoring this project in partnership with a community leader working on behalf of children. Money for Kids to Kids grants is raised by kids throughout the U.S. Who want to make a difference in the lives of less fortunate kids around the world.' Read on:
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
Fallout continues from the firing of Puerto Plata Edenorte employees. One lawyer claims that the firings took place before any criminal case against the employees was proved. The ex-director of Edenorte in Puerto Plata has called on the Governor and Senator Vargas to press for the reinstallation of fired staff and in a press conference on Wednesday, the workers' union is threatening civil legal action against Edenorte executives. At least 10 technicians from the planta near the Malecon (EGE Haina), have also been fired. Meanwhile, the planned visit of Celso Marranzini, Vice-President of CDEEE to the Puerto Plata American Chamber of Commerce, scheduled for June 9th has been postponed until July 7th.
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=201032
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4714&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2509
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/06/hasta-que-se-enfrie-la-cosa-posponen.html
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/06/cdeee-sigue-festival-cancelaciones-en.html
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/edenorte-explica-causas-cancelaciones.html
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2471
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/abogado-puertoplateno-asegura-edenorte.html
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4734&start=1
Relatives of patients at the Ricardo Limardo public hospital in Puerto Plata were so disgusted by the general dirt and insanitary conditions, that they took up a collection, bought cleaning materials and cleaned the hospital themselves.
Police Sergeant Miguel Alexander Solano Pimentel from Santo Domingo has been arrested in connection with the murder of money exchange manager Omar Rodríguez in Sosua on April 13th. He has been remanded in custody for one year. Two others are in custody, another two being sought and it appears that the police sergeant has provided yet another two names of those alleged to be involved.
http://elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/6/4/50354/Acusan-sargento-PN-muerte-de-cambista
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2494
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4737&start=1
The high profile drive-by shooting of Puerto Plata fish shop owner Aladino Acevedo and architect Engel Sarita which took place in March 2006, was marked by an equally dramatic arrest. In the early hours of Wednesday morning a group of SWAT police carrying AK47s and M-16s, surrounded La Canita, a bar in the port area and arrested its owner Regino Martinez. He has been remanded in custody for a year.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2508
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/06/apresan-empresario-regino-martinez.html
The director of BlueBay Villas Dorada, Oscar Lora, has said that due to the increased number of hotels being built in the last five years and the smaller number of tourists visiting the north coast, hotel room prices have plummeted. Some are on offer at US$22 per night. Occupancy rates for June 2nd show Blue Bay at 81.59%, Barcelo 39%, Holiday Village 15.87%, Paradise 21%, Iberostar 62.59%, Oasis 57.36%, Viva 28%, Hacienda 53%, Gran Ventana 50%, Victoria Resort 28%, Casa Marina 56.88%, Puerto Plata Village 7.48%, Celuisma 32.62% and Fun Royale 15.76%. Playa Dorada and Sun Village are closed. These statistics appear at the second link.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4726&start=1
The Asociación de Hoteles de
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4704&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4703&start=1
'A summit of solidarity on Haiti's future called on the international community to support the earthquake-ravaged country politically -- and to deliver on its pledges. Two months after more than 140 nations pledged $5.3 billion toward Haiti's reconstruction over the next two years and $9.9 billion over the next decade, little of the money has arrived. So far, only Brazil has cut a check -- for $55 million. Meanwhile, more than 1.5 million Haitians remain under tents and tarps as the government struggles with a budget deficit, and opposition and frustration over a lack of progress'. Read on:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/06/03/1660855/haiti-summit-attendees-call-for.html
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/World-Summit-on-the-Future-of-prnews-4132169099.html?x=0&.v=1
'Civil rights lawyers filed a case before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday challenging the Dominican Republic’s treatment of Dominican-born people of Haitian ancestry. Although Haitians have worked in the Dominican Republic for generations and their offspring had long been entitled to Dominican citizenship, in recent years the Dominican government has decided that the offspring of illegal immigrants are not Dominicans. The suit was filed on behalf of a Dominican-born man who has been denied a certified copy of his birth certificate.'
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/02/world/americas/02webbriefs-HAITI.html
Continuing in the Balaguer tradition, the President invited poor mothers to line up outside his home for cash handouts on Mother's Day. Some, babes in arms, started the line the night before. The first 50 were given envelopes with RD$3000 but........these ran out. Officials returned with envelopes with RD$1000 but..........these ran out. Finally they appeared with envelopes with RD$500 and recipients were annoyed they received the runt of the offerings. Naturally, chaos ensued.
http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2010/5/30/327895/Dadivas-a-las-madres-como-en-los-dias-de-Balaguer
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court postponed the extradition hearing on Jorge Torres Puello for a second time. This time he wasn't late (!) but the Court had to clear his two plaints before being able to proceed to the extradition hearing. Puello's first plaint, that his arrest was illegal, was dismissed as being inadmissable. His second plaint was a bail application and this will be heard on June 23rd.
'Five Dominicans killed for knowing too much about a drug lord. Spiking murder rates in Puerto Rico. Shootings in the normally paradise-like islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Long before Kingston, Jamaica, erupted in violence last week, the Caribbean was already becoming an increasingly dangerous way station for drug traffickers. With the United States and Mexico working to tighten their border, which is the preferred drug trafficking route, the Caribbean is “re-emerging as a corridor” for South American drugs to get to the U.S., said Dominican security expert Lilian Bobea.' More here:
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/the-americas/100529/jamaica-drug-violence
'Fugitive from United States' justice Jose David Figueroa Agosto managed to get the help of many people to carry out laundering operations of the money gained from serious crimes. One of the first persons he recruited was the Police Colonel Jose Amado Gonzalez Gonzalez who, thanks to his official duties, was able to cover for all of the illegal transactions until 3 September 2009............They say that through the use of his criminal network, the fugitive bought a series of assets without any of his identities appearing and so hiding the real identity of the ownership of the properties.' According to a piece in El Nacional, authorities have unearthed property to the value of US$500 million tracking back to Figueroa Agosto, including an apartment in Ocean One, Cabarete.
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=248070
http://elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/6/5/50437/Alegan-Agosto-tiene-500-millones-en-bienes
'El Universal reported that the executive branch of Dominican Republic has urged its senators to speed up the approval of a sales contract for a 49% stake in state owned Refinería Dominicana de Petróleo refinery to Venezuela. Dominican Republic made the request through finance minister Mr Vicente Bengoa, who met with the Senate's Committee on Finance, which is discussing the agreement. Mr Bengoa stressed the importance of the contract by saying that the Dominican government will retain 50% of the refinery's stakes. He added that Dominican Republic would receive USD 133.4 million in the purchase of 49% of the shares.'
'The early results of the authorities’ economic program have been impressive. There is a clear economic expansion and real gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 2010 (year-on-year). Exports, imports, tax collections and private credit are expanding at healthy rates. While the 12-month inflation rate is above the 6-7 percent target of the Central Bank, this is mostly due to higher fuel and some food prices; core inflation (which excludes these prices) is still below 3 percent on an annual basis. It is expected that for 2010 as a whole, real GDP will grow between 5 and 5.5 percent, while inflation will be contained within the Central Bank’s target.' The press release continues here:
'Researchers from the UK and the Dominican Republic, with the help of a grant from the UK Government's Darwin Initiative, have embarked on a project called The Last Survivors , which they say could be our last chance to save the solenodon and hutia before they vanish from the forests forever.' 'Arguably the most exciting news is that we have had a BBC reporter and cameraman accompany us for a week while we were carrying out field work. Their time out here coincided with a visit from Dr. Sam Turvey (Zoological Society of London; EDGE) and Dr. Richard Young (Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust) which meant the BBC were able to get the whole “Last Survivors” team in action. Various reports have been produced and will be shown on the BBC website, radio and TV.' The story plus videos continues:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10146397.stm
http://www.thelastsurvivors.org/2010/05/special-edition-blog/
'This report looks at the economic and recreational value of the Dominican Republic’s coralline beaches, reef and mangrove fisheries, and ecotourism industry. We basically set out to quantify what the country stands to lose – in fishing, shoreline erosion, and tourism – if it does not take efforts to preserve its reefs. For example, the Dominican Republic depends on its beaches to attract tourists, but it’s the reefs that keep the shoreline from eroding. Without reefs, you start to lose your beaches, and this can have a huge impact on tourism. Our analysis finds that for each meter of beach a resort loses, the average per-person hotel room rate drops by about $1.50 per night. So if beaches continue to erode at the current rate, the Dominican tourism industry stands to lose $52-100 million in revenue over the next decade. It’s a similar story for fishing. The report estimates that the income from reef- or mangrove-dependent fisheries has decreased by 60 percent in the past decade – from USD $41 million to $17 million – because of pollution and overfishing. This trend endangers the livelihoods of many Dominican fishermen, and the country’s economy as a whole.' More here:
'Guyana has undertaken its first agriculture trade outreach to the Dominican Republic. Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud, at the invitation of the government and private sector of the Dominican Republic, met recently with government and agro-traders.' The story continues:
'Security in Dominican airspace has fallen to a critical point over the last few months. It reached the point of registering 307 incidents just during last January. These incidents were due in large part to inadequate procedures, repeated violations of the airspace and the lack of coordination with military aviation. A report from the Incident Prevention Unit (ATS) of the Dominican Civil Aviation Institute (IDAC) of which Diario Libre has a copy, reveals that among other dangerous events in January there was a dangerous lack of separation between 4 airplanes, near collisions because of airplanes crossing each other's paths at the Las Americas San Isidro, La Romana and Punta Cana airports as well as incidents committed by the Dominican ATS system...........According to the report from the ATS during last January there were 63 "operational deviations" in the air over the North sector, 32 in the South sector, 32 in Punta Cana, 28 at Las Americas, 57 at El Higüero, 6 in Puerto Plata, 2 in Samana and 57 in the tower of Punta Cana.' Which, incidentally, does not total 307. More here:
'WestJet today announced the launch of new seasonal non-stop service between Toronto and Samana, Dominican Republic. The inaugural flight departs from Toronto's Pearson International Airport at 10 a.m. EDT today. "Samana is the one of the Dominican Republic's best kept secrets and WestJet is excited to bring Canadian travellers to this part of the island," said Hugh Dunleavy, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Strategy and Planning. "The gorgeous blend of white, sandy coastline and lush rainforests provide ample opportunity to see the local beauty and culture of the Samana area. The popularity of the Dominican Republic is soaring with the addition of destinations to our ever-expanding Caribbean network, in combination with WestJet Vacations' reputation for offering low-cost, high-value vacation packages." WestJet will fly between Toronto and Samana once weekly until October 30, 2010.' Read on:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/WestJet-launches-service-to-cnw-3433410765.html?x=0&.v=1
'Boys in the Dominican Republic are playing baseball to stay out of trouble - and thanks to a few local organizations, they finally feel like a team..........The Santo Tomas team's coach was especially grateful for the matching shirts and hats because his youths had played as a team but had not worn the same colors.' Nuns living in a convent near the field started the team for the boys in hopes that it might insulate them from the crime of the city.' The story continues here:
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=224143
El Nacional ran a 24 hour online survey asking the question above. 93.64% of respondents said no.
http://elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/6/5/50433/9364-cree-no-fiables-jueces-dominicanos
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
Rumours had been flying all week about firing of staff at Puerto Plata's Edenorte office by order of Celso Marranzini or, as he is known, Huracán Marranzini, the vice president of CDEEE. First it was the two staff accused of rerouting a cheque, then it was rumoured 25 employees and by Thursday 40 employees would be fired. On Friday 182 staff were given notice by the new Director, Claudia Damirón and they apparently do not know the reason for their loss of employment. As of Friday no-one was permitted entry to the offices including staff, and police and military sent from Santiago were guarding the doors. Director of Human Rights Commission, Professor José Artiles, was called to mediate. In his view, the new Director was given the express task of separating the staff membership from the local union.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2436
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2446
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4698&start=1
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/fotos-militarizan-edenorte-puerto-plata.html
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/huracan-marranzini-arrazo-con-sindicato.html
US citizen Richard Jackson O'Connell, 40, was arrested at Puerto Plata airport on Wednesday. He had in his possession 1.3 kilos of cocaine in 90 bags taped to his jeans and to incontinence pads he was wearing. His plan had been to board a JetBlue flight bound for New York.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4684&start=1
'A team of 39 medical specialists from the Air Force Reserve arrived here May 24 as part of MEDRETE 2010 Dominican Republic. During their two weeks of training on the island, the Air Force reservists will provide free medical care to the local population at four locations in the Puerto Plata region. They arrived in country on a C-5 Galaxy flown by reservists from Air Force Reserve Command's 433rd Airlift Wing, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas. A military band and Dominican officials greeted them on their first stop at Puerto Plata Air Force Base before they began seeing patients. Physicians from the Dominican Republic are working with the Americans.' More here:
http://www.afrc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123206946
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2387
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4669&start=1
Notices are appearing in the local press that the Ministry of Tourism is seeking tenders for the building of 416 homes in order to rehouse the occupants of La Piedra. Sosua. The Council Chamber of Sosua's Ayuntamiento apparently does not know who placed these notices, since it was not them!
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9352
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9360
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7384/Default.aspx
The Committee For the Re-opening of Ingenio Montellano cites past debt as being the stumbling block against attracting foreign investment in Montellano. Several foreign firms have, over the years, expressed an interest but the DR government still has not written off the past debt owed to Banco Central as a result of the Baninter collapse (Banco Central sequestered the associated properties including Ingenio Montellano). As a result of the impasse, Spanish investors moved their focus to Ingenio Porvenir in San Pedro de Macoris.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2441
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/trabas-del-banco-central-aleja.html
The PuntaCana Ecological Foundation will host its first ecological festival on June 5th in the Commercial Galleries at Puntacana Village. Tree planting, organic workshops and organic cookery form part of this event.
A report published by FLACSO, the LatinAmerican Faculty of Social Sciences, reports an increase in violence in areas like the National District, Santo Domingo and Villa Bisonó, Navarrete. At the same time poverty levels have risen by 21%.
A recent study by Net Index, places the DR in 136th spot for Internet speed, nestled snugly between Cambodia and Venezuela. 152 countries in total are listed, thus placing the DR in the bottom segment. The complete country list is available at the second link.
'A beauty queen known as the Dominican Cinderella for her rise from humble roots is trading pageants for politics and will serve as deputy mayor of the region where she was born. Ada Aimee de la Cruz, who was the 2009 Miss Universe runner up, was voted to office on the ticket of Mayor Francisco Fernandez of the opposition Revolutionary Dominican Party in May 16 elections. She will represent Santo Domingo Norte, the country's fourth largest municipality with 445,000 residents. "I'm here to shatter the myth that beauty queens are airheads," the 23-year-old told The Associated Press in a recent interview.' Read on:
'Smugglers have been spiriting Haitian quake orphans out of the country to become sex slaves in the Dominican Republic, authorities say. A Mountie just back from Haiti says authorities have uncovered so-called "safe houses," where predators hide children before whisking them over the border. The perpetrators pose as aid workers or even work for legitimate charities, specifically to gain access to children, RCMP Sgt. Lana Prosper told The Canadian Press. Investigators suspect some of those preying on desperate children in Haiti also peddled child-sex videos found online from Sri Lanka, Thailand and other countries after the 2004 tsunami. It's just a matter of time before videos of young Haitian quake victims surface, said Prosper, just home from a month in Haiti with a team from the Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children.' More here:
'At Idaho businesswoman Laura Silsby's televised airport homecoming May 18 - after more than 100 days in a Haitian jail - she was enveloped by family, friends and media. She was also served legal papers. Silsby's ex-husband, Terry Silsby, is seeking sole custody of their two children. In court Tuesday, his attorney defended the decision to serve her at the airport. "There was no malice on behalf of my client," attorney Matthew Bohn told Judge David E. Day............Day took the attorneys into the judge's chambers to see if they could reach a compromise. They emerged with an agreement for a temporary schedule in which each parent would have the children every other week.' Read on:
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/05/28/1283961/woman-released-from-haiti-wins.html
'With emergency services out of action and hospitals destroyed, large numbers of civilians looked for care and shelter across the border in the Dominican Republic, where staff in hospitals and clinics have saved many lives and prevented many people from suffering permanent disability. But in some cases where the patient needs a long time to recover, relatives have been torn between remaining as a caregiver and returning to look for other relatives with the risk that they might not be allowed back into the country. In a bid to resolve this dilemma, UNHCR earlier this year asked the government of the Dominican Republic to grant one-year multiple entry visas on humanitarian grounds to such people. The government has responded by issuing visas to six people in recent weeks, including 29-year-old Kenel Erasme'. The story continues here:
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/UNHCR/47a684ba9143273b993a78e5cea1e7c0.htm
'Lifestyle Holidays Vacation Club with corporate offices in Puerto Plata on the North Coast of the Dominican Republic, announces its third property launch as part of a strategic alliance with Spain-based Globalia Corporation, opening sales at Grand Oasis Punta Cana. The new joint product will be called Dream Suites by Lifestyle at Grand Oasis Resort Punta Cana, and will feature 46 studios and standard rooms. The Dream Suites by Lifestyle Punta Cana property is located next to Cabeza de Toro Beach and includes six restaurants, six bars, adult and children’s swimming pools, fitness center and spa, casino, daily activities, nightly shows and nearby golf at the 18-hole Catalonia Caribe Golf Club.' The press release continues here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Lifestyle-Holidays-Vacation-bw-3142492399.html?x=0&.v=1
'Toro Rosso's Jaime Alguersuari travelled to the Caribbean over the weekend for a Red Bull Formula One demonstration. Alguersuari wowed 200,000 spectators at the event held in the Dominican Republic's capital, Santo Domingo, on Saturday, before taking to the beach in the RB5 on Sunday. "It has been amazing to be in the Dominican Republic," the Spaniard told Red Bull's official website. "I am very happy that I shared this moment with the best audience ever. I enjoyed every minute on the track." ' Read on:
'Eight students from the Dominican Republic are getting a taste of small-town life along the 49th parallel this month. The visit is part of an environmental and cultural exchange that sent eight Oroville High School students to the equatorial country in March. “Jarabacoa is a small city, but it is large compared to here,” said Mickeyla De Jesús, 14. The students speak Spanish and some English. The six girls and two boys — along with two Dominican teachers — are attending Oroville High School and working on ecology projects through the end of this month. They arrived May 11. The students are from one public school and one private Catholic school in Jarabacoa, a city of about 77,000 people in central Dominican Republic. Oroville’s population is about 1,700.' The story continues:
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/may/25/dominican-republic-students-get-northern-exposure/
'One Hendersonville family is selling everything they own and moving to another country, all for the sake of missions. Tony and Melissa Luther have already sold their Edgewater home. Now, they hope to sell everything left inside the house in a two-day estate sale that runs through Saturday. The Luther family plans to move to the Dominican Republic next month to work as missionaries..............The Luthers have three children; the oldest is 16-year-old Leslie, and according to her mother, the move was her idea..........Tony Luther will work in operations for New Missions while Melissa will serve as a missionary, hair stylist, teacher, counselor and any other area where there is a need. As with others, the Luther family must raise their own support or money to live on. Melissa said, "We need a several thousand dollars each month just to support our family. It isn't as inexpensive there as you might think." ' It appears that thus far they have raised pledges for half that amount and plan moving on June 15th. Maybe not quite how potential expats are advised to make the move but......to each their own. More here:
'Dominican Republic property is set to benefit from a resurgence of low-budget buyers, due to the market's low prices and subsequent value for money...........However, recently reports have begun to suggest that lower-budget buyers are coming back into the overseas property market in the hopes of getting a better property for that budget than they could have before the crash -- many of them of course having postponed their plans to buy when the crunch came down. So far the reports have concerned European markets, with both Primelocation and Rightmove Overseas reporting substantial increases in searches for places like Cyprus, Bulgaria and Turkey. However, it is logical to assume that these reports will span outwards to low-cost destinations around the world, including Dominican Republic.' 'One of the cheapest places to buy property in the Caribbean the Dominican Republic's property market is thriving following the elimination of recent land ownership laws and the absence of property real estate taxes.' Readers are advised to proceed with caution! It would appear that the authors of the articles cited above and linked below, might not have actually visited the DR recently, let alone live here, nor seen the vast number of properties for sale nor examined the market in which very little is selling.
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
The current election results for the province of Puerto Plata stand at: for the PLD one Senate seat, 3 deputies and 6 Mayors; for the PRD no senators, 3 deputies and 3 Mayors. However various recounts have been requested and challenges to results have been submitted to the JCE including that by Ginette Bournigal who lost her bid for Senator in a somewhat surprising result. Perhaps the most colourful of the challenges happened in La Isabella (El Mamey) where the local police chief, a lifelong PLD supporter, was unhappy at his candidate for JME director losing and allegedly got Edenorte to pull the plug on the power supply so that the results could not be submitted to the JCE. The winning candidate, Ramón Emilio Peralta Dévora, then marched to the television station and made an announcement. Unfortunately those without a backup power supply were unable to view it. Four days later, Ramón Emilio Peralta Dévora and seven of his bodyguards were arrested for being in possession of unlicensed weapons. Something strange is afoot when professional bodyguards have failed to submit the paperwork for a weapons licence..........! Doubtless, a developing story.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4652&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4658&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2353
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9321
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/ginette-bournigal-denuncia.html#more
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2320
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7343/Default.aspx
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4637&start=1
On Wednesday the north coast chapter of FENETRADO, the transport workers union, came out on strike in protest against irregularities in tallying the election votes.
Integracion Juvenil has received tinned goods, cleaning materials and toys for children from the MBI Foundation. This is the charity associated with the Costa Esmeralda project.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2341
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/asi-siasi-se-hace-patria.html#more
On Thursday Indotel installed the first free WiFi antenna which covers the areas of Sosúa Abajo, Maranatha and Bella Vista in Sosua.
Earlier in the week two Edenorte Puerto Plata office staff were fired for alleged fraud - the office manager and the cashier. On Friday they both appeared in Court where the case was remanded for six months. They both have to report monthly to the Fiscal.
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=199943
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/dictan-medidas-de-coercion-contra-dos.html#more
African American tourist, Ettu Abiombola, was arrested at the Aeropuerto Las Américas (AILA) on Wednesday. He had a kilo of cocaine in his shoes and had also swallowed cocaine capsules in the time honored fashion of drug mules.
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/484/ItemID/7354/Default.aspx
http://www.elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/5/20/49003/Yanqui-se-iba-lleno-de-drogas-para-su-pais
'The toll from political violence that marred the Dominican Republic's legislative elections rose Monday to five dead and 13 wounded, local press reports said. President Leonel Fernandez expressed regret for the deaths Sunday but said they were "isolated acts of violence" and that voting was conducted normally. Press reports said the victims were all men shot to death in clashes between Fernandez's Dominican Liberation Party and the opposition Dominican Revolutionary Party.' More here:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100517/wl_afp/dominicanvoteviolence_20100517142339
'A Dominican civic organization announced it will file a criminal complaint for corruption against the mayor of the country’s second-largest city, Santiago. Jose Enrique Sued, a political ally of the ruling PLD party, has been mayor of Santiago for 12 of the past 16 years. The Dominican Alliance against Corruption, or Adocco, said it will ask government prosecutors to charge Sued with misuse of public money. Adocco’s Julio Cesar de la Rosa Tiburcio said they have proof of Sued’s acts of corruption in the northern city, where, he said, “there is a blatant practice of nepotism.” “Financial disorder” also exists, along with the concession of lucrative public works contracts to people close to the mayor. Sued was defeated last Sunday in his bid for a third consecutive term, losing to Gilberto Serulle of the main opposition PRD party.' The story continues in the Latin American Herald Tribune:
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=357257&CategoryId=14092
'Presidente Beer, a leading lifestyle brand in the Dominican Republic that is fast gaining popularity in the U.S., has tapped ViVA Partnership, a full service U.S. Hispanic and multicultural marketing firm, to create a substantial "buzz" within mainstream markets, helping advance the brand to a leadership position for imported Latin beers. Looking to a younger, adventurous market in the U.S. and the Caribbean, the client specified an online/offline grassroots campaign with emphasis on building consumer relationships via "interactive strategies." ' The press release continues here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Presidente-Beer-Taps-ViVA-prnews-588498746.html?x=0&.v=1
'A combination of tougher policies, new biometric technology and groundbreaking interagency cooperation have helped slash the number of migrants from the Dominican Republic interdicted by the Coast Guard in the Mona Passage — from 5,014 in 2004 to 727 in 2009. The procedures have been extended to the Florida Straits, and with additional funding, they could be deployed elsewhere. Coast Guard officials have long been able to thwart many people’s attempts to enter the country illegally, but such interdictions have been a blunt-edged instrument that treated all migrants the same by simply sending them back home. Now in the Mona Passage, shipboard fingerprint scanners linked via satellite to homeland security databases allow officers to identify repeat offenders and others wanted for more serious crimes and respond accordingly. There is no counting the number of lives saved by the program's success in deterring Dominicans and a smaller number of people from Cuba, Haiti and elsewhere from risking a perilous two-day crossing of the 80-mile-wide passage, which often extends to a voyage of 100 or more miles from embarkation sites on the northeast Dominican coast.' Read on:
http://fcw.com/articles/2010/05/24/feat-coast-guard-biometrics.aspx
'The true meaning of "devilish grimaces" in Caribbean artwork was lost in translation to the first European tourists and was in fact friendly and welcoming, scientists said yesterday. Early visitors to the Caribbean 500 years ago believed that the bared-teeth motif used in local arts and crafts was "an abominable expression, deformed and ferocious". But it is now believed that what Europeans mistook to be frighteningly aggressive was actually depicting a smile. Bridget Waller, of the University of Portsmouth's Department of Psychology, and Alice Samson, of Leiden University in the Netherlands, have analysed the artwork of the Taino culture of the Greater Antilles in the pre-Columbian Caribbean. They found that in the 1400s, visitors believed the bared teeth expression carved on to wooden seats and shells used in bracelets and necklaces was anti-Christian. But research of the culture of the Bahamas, Cuba and Hispaniola, published in the latest issue of Current Anthropology, has shown that the Europeans were unaware of the context of local art.' More here:
'Dominican-American novelist Junot Diaz has been elected to serve on the Pulitzer board, which awards the most prestigious prizes in journalism. Diaz, who won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" and teaches creative writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said Friday that it was an "extraordinary honor." "It certainly taps into the thing I love to do best, which is to read," said Diaz, who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and immigrated to New Jersey as a child.' The story continues:
'In June, Jessica and Terri King, Ed Koch and seven others will return again to Yaguate to help finish what they've started. The trip begins with two packed bags; one filled with personal effects, the other with supplies for the villagers, including food, eyeglasses and coloring books for the children.' Read on:
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyid=104978
'Rotarians from Woonsocket and Providence are flying to the Dominican Republic Wednesday to help install water purification filters for 600 families in the village of Esperanza. “Here in Rhode Island, we take it for granted that when we turn on the faucet we will have clean water,” said Tony Mendez, a Rotarian and general manger of the Hispanic radio station Poder 110, who will be leading the six-member group. “Unfortunately, in the Dominican Republic, it is not that way. Usually, the water is not safe to drink.” ' The story continues here:
http://www.projo.com/news/content/rotarians_and_Domincam_Republic_05-19-10_0MII_v11.3818c1c.html
'Over the past seven-plus years, attendees of Stonecrest Community Church, 11 Technology Drive north in Warren, have been flying down to the Dominican Republic to build schools, medical clinics, libraries, houses, churches and assist the needy in any way possible. Last year, 54 people went on the trip, which yielded the completion of a medical clinic and library in the small town of Catalina, about 45 minutes southwest of the capital of Santo Domingo. This year, from July 31 to Aug. 8, as many as 60 churchgoers from Central Jersey again will make the trek to the nation that shares the island of Hispanola with Haiti.' More here:
http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20100520/LIFE02/5200306/1010/NEWS02
'At first glance, the Japanese island city of Fukuoka, said to be the country's oldest city, is an unlikely hotbed for bachata -- traditional, romantic dance music from the Dominican Republic. But last year, after a 22-hour flight, Juan Luis Guerra found himself performing for an all-Japanese audience who danced and sang along, their voices breaking with emotion to the beat of a genre whose tales of heartbreak and lost love have earned it the moniker musica de amargue (bitterness music). Guerra, a veteran performer who has sold more than 20 million albums, was so moved by the experience that he wrote a song about it. "Bachata en Fukuoka," the first single from his upcoming album "Sondeguerra," is lilting and whimsical, not so much an homage to the city as a cross-cultural love story with music as the unifying element.' Read on:
'The Caribbean/Mexico hotel development pipeline comprises 133 hotels totaling 17,018 rooms, according to the April 2010 STR/TWR/Dodge Construction Pipeline Report released this week. Mexico reported the most rooms in the total active pipeline (10,852 rooms) and in the In Construction phase (5,336) among the countries of the region. The Dominican Republic (1,874 rooms) and Puerto Rico (1,445 rooms) also reported a significant number of rooms in the total active pipeline'. More here:
http://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/154000320/4046704.search?query=dominican+republic
'Socheat Nha, a 3-year-old Cambodian girl who was brought to the Dominican Republic for life-extending open heart surgery, is making a remarkable recovery. Last month, her father, Phin Ken, and supporters held their breath as doctors performed a risky and dangerous four-hour operation to mend a hole in her heart, called a ventricular septal defect. On Wednesday, she had her first post-operative assessment by Dr. Paul Grossfeld, a pediatric cardiologist at University of California Medical Center in San Diego. "She's had a very great surgical result and things look favorable for a long-term prognosis," the doctor said. "Basically, she's doing really, really well. It's like a new lease on life for her." ' The happy story continues:
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
Last night the Mohawk Inn in Campbellville, Ontario played host to the Sun Village shareholders meeting. According to the hotel's website 'The historic Mohawk Country Inn & Conference Centre has a casual country atmosphere'. It was anything BUT casual last night. A report in the Hamilton Spectator clarifies that 'The media was barred from a shareholders meeting involving two companies run by Frederick Elliott and his son Derek, but shareholders told the media afterward of the financial pitch.............Morris Wright of Hamilton, who invested $130,000, was incredulous at the cash request. "Can you believe he's in there trying to raise more money to try and go back and salvage the properties?"he said. "One guy told them he wouldn't give them five cents." About 200 shareholders, from all across southern Ontario and as far away as Ohio and Florida, attended the meeting..............Shareholders described it as a nasty and hostile meeting and Elliott confirmed it was "difficult." Occasional shouting could be heard through the door.' Last weekend Judge Alan Gold had ordered unfettered access for the Miami Court's appointed monitor: 'A Miami judge presiding over a lawsuit that includes allegations of a $170-million Ponzi scheme has ordered a Flamborough businessman to provide the court with "unfettered access" to two shareholders' meetings scheduled to be held next week.................Earlier this week, Judge Alan Gold ordered the Elliotts to provide a court-appointed monitor with "unfettered access" via either teleconference or video conference to the shareholders meetings for EMI Sun Village Inc. and EMI Cofresi Developments Inc.' There is no word in the latest Spectator report as to whether the Miami Court was indeed able to video-record the fractious meeting.
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/769901
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/765610
http://www.orangeville.com/news/local/article/812274--hillsburgh-father-and-son-face-toronto-lawsuit
http://www.flamboroughreview.com/news/article/293893
http://www.insidethegate.com/2010/05/woodys-roadkill-cafe-may-1-2010/
Police have arrested Fabián Juan, 19, for the murder of Jakob Lusti, Swiss resident of Callejon de la Loma, as reported in last week's news. The arrested man has confessed to the crime. Police are still looking for a second alleged perpetrator.
Last Saturday Canadian tourist Mónica Crisanty Dobocan, 27, was thrown to the ground by an assailant who stole her purse as she stood chatting with another tourist. Police arrested Reinaldo Sánchez Murray, 23, very rapidly after the event.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4569&start=1
Last Saturday Coast Guard crew from USS Cushing helped with painting the elementary school at Colonia Nueva, Cabarete. Students and Dream Project volunteers also pitched in.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4589&start=1
'Viva Wyndham Tangerine Resort, located in Cabarete, Dominican Republic, is sponsoring the Kiteboarding World Cup 2010 by offering participating athletes special rates. The all-inclusive resort is also offering kiteboarding enthusiasts attending the June event in Cabarete a special rate. The Cabarete event marks the third of 11 stops on the Professional Kiteboard Riders Association's (PKRA) 2010 World Tour. The all-inclusive rates for participating athletes and Kiteboarding World Cup spectators at the Viva Wyndham Tangerine are from June 16 – 20. The rate for athletes is $40 per person, per night, double occupancy; the rate for event attendees is $55 per person, per night.' More of the press release here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Viva-Wyndham-Tangerine-Resort-prnews-1171012559.html?x=0&.v=1
Carmen Ibelka Sarante Rodríguez, spokeswoman for Dominican sex workers, says the market is being undercut by the arrival of Haitian prostitutes. Dominicanas charge from RD$150-300 up to RD$500 whereas Haitianas are charging RD$30, the article says. The paper offers no statement as to how much research went into verifying the accuracy of the article...
'The initial concept of bringing what was once stereotyped as a controversial treatment to this hemisphere was based upon more than a year of research and the actual treatment and successful results of PLBI's President, Armando Casciati. After Mr. Casciati's treatment, he acquired the majority control of PLBI.pk, in an effort to accelerate the process of bringing stem cell technology to the Western Hemisphere. Mr. Casciati stated, "Entrepreneurs typically look merely for profit opportunities. I am proud to have found such an incredible life opportunity which will help serve the public with some of the latest technological advances in medical history. I believe our alliance with RNL Bio Company will prove to be a life changing opportunity for our clients, as it has been for me." The press release continues here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/PLBIRegenoBody-Announces-pz-1494619.html?x=0&.v=1
'Since Regenocyte began offering treatments in the Dominican Republic in February 2008its doctors have performed 75 of what it calls myocardial cellular regeneration procedures at a cost of $64,500 a pop — not a penny of which is covered by insurance. The process kicks off in Naples Florida with a blood draw; the blood is then immediately whisked by courier to the lab of Regenocyte's affiliateTheraVitae, in Tel Aviv, Israel for centrifuging and culturing. After a 5-day incubation period which increases the stem cells' numbers a thousandfold a TheraVitae representative boards a flight with the stem cells in a temperature-controlled tissue container and arrives in Santo Domingo on the morning of the procedure. Shuttling cells back and forth across six time zones and performing the procedure outside the United States allows the company to operate without interference from U.S. Authorities.' The story continues here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36849354/ns/health-heart_health/
'As Friday midnight approaches, an increasing number of people have been going to the "cédula" (ID and voting card) issuing centers and boards to get copies of their "cédulas", for voting in Sunday's elections as well as making the most of the facilities put in place for the date. At the National District Board they report serving about 60 or 70 people per day in normal circumstances. However, lately they have been working with more than 400. A similar situation is taking place at the Office of the Second District and the Santo Domingo East Board. The number of military officers at the District Board was also noted; although they do not vote they were making the most of the availability of plastic to get their documents issued. According to reports from the Central Electoral Board, the duplicate cédulas have increased from 6,300 to 8,350 a day.' The story continues in the English language version of Diario Libre. Long lines were also observed at Puerto Plta's cedula office on Friday:
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=245085
PRD leaders are not the only ones to complain about their telephones being tapped. It would appear that journalists such as Nuria Piera and Alicia Ortega are suspicious that certain of their investigations were somewhat pre-empted, leading to a supposition that someone knew about these in advance.
'A U.S. Missionary should spend six months in prison for her failed attempt to remove 33 children from Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake, a prosecutor said Thursday on the first day of the missionary's trial. Prosecutor Sonel Jean-Francois told the court that Laura Silsby of Idaho knew she was breaking the law by trying to take the children without proper documents to an orphanage she was starting in the neighboring Dominican Republic............Jean Sainvil, an Atlanta-based pastor born in Haiti who allegedly helped find the children for the missionaries, has also been charged with arranging illegal travel. He is not in Haiti and is being tried in absentia.' Read on:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100514/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/cb_haiti_detained_americans_7
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126809199&ft=1&f=1003
http://www2.nbc13.com/vtm/news/local/article/haiti_prosecutors_urge_prison_for_us_missionary/153248/
'Mark H. Yellen, a former Buffalo resident and Nichols School graduate who was an entrepreneur, consultant and real estate and software developer, died Monday evening in the crash of a single-engine plane in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Yellen, 40, was headed home to Memphis, Tenn., from the Dominican Republic, where he managed and developed real estate, when his 2005 Cirrus SR22 aircraft crashed while landing at Tuscaloosa Regional Airport at about 7:30 p.m., according to the Tuscaloosa News..........Yellen, who was voted "First to Make a Million" at Nichols, worked as a business consultant and developed real estate in Third World countries. His business in the Dominican Republic was a micro-loan and underwriting program for low-income families, according to his Web site...........Yellen, according to his online biography, also built Precision Real Estate, a development and investment company based in the Dominican Republic that, among other business ventures, operates the Mirabon at Playa Las Canas resort of high-end beachfront villas.' More here:
http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/05/11/1047243/businessman-nichols-graduate-dies.html
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100512/news/100519863&tc=yahoo?p=1&tc=pg
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/buffalonews/obituary.aspx?n=mark-yellen&pid=142690135
'Caribbean Casino and Gaming Corp discussed the demographics and economics of the Dominican Republic in relation to the International Credit Crisis and its ability to grow while other countries continue to work through this recessionary period. CEO Steven Swank stated "The Dominican Republic continues to maintain a lower cost of living per capita with a middle class population that can afford to spend. The government and people are continually improving as the per capita income continues to rise." Read on, cautiously:
'CanWest publishing is closing its downtown Winnipeg Call Centre. Spokesperson Phyllise Gelfand tells CJOB, it's all part of the company's restructuring: the work is going to the Dominican Republic. The centre handles customer and subscriber services for the CanWest chain of newspapers. 195 employees are affected.'
' The busiest airport in the Dominican Republic will receive several upgrades, including a new $30 million runway. A new terminal at the Punta Cana airport also will be built to handle what the government anticipates will be a 7 percent increase this year in the number of tourists flocking to the popular region. The airport processes 58 percent of tourists that visit the Caribbean island, or roughly 100,000 travelers. It receives 325 weekly flights during the high season, which runs from October to February for Canadian visitors and April to
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Busiest-airport-in-DomRep-to-apf-842250271.html?x=0&.v=1
'Massachusetts police say a convicted child rapist who has been on the Massachusetts Most Wanted list since 2004 has been captured in the Dominican Republic. Authorities say Henry Valerio was convicted in Worcester Superior Court in 1989 of rape of a child, assault to rape, and indecent assault on a child under the age of 14. Police say he fled while out on bail awaiting sentencing. Police and prosecutors say they recently developed information that Valerio was in the Dominican Republic. They alerted the U.S. Marshals Service, who apprehended Valerio. He is currently being held by marshals and will be extradited to Massachusetts for sentencing at a future date.'
'Chief Laverdure’s recounting of Mr. Valerio’s law enforcement career was corroborated by Steven Lipka, a member of the Clinton Board of Health, who visited the Dominican Republic with his family three years ago. Mr. Lipka said the first person he encountered upon leaving his resort was Mr. Valerio, who had a police identification card, a badge and a gun in a holster hanging from a dirt bike. Mr. Lipka had not heard of Mr. Valerio’s escape or his history in Clinton, but said he introduced himself by name. “He started talking to us, and asked us where we were from, and I said Massachusetts. He asked whereabouts, and when I said Clinton, he said he had lived there. He spoke very good English, and he certainly looked official,” Mr. Lipka said. He also mentioned Chief Laverdure and retired Judge Thomas F. Fallon, former presiding judge at Clinton District Court. However, after offering to give Mr. Lipka and his friends a safe police escort back to their hotel, Mr. Valerio demanded $20 for gas, which Mr. Lipka gave him. It was not until he returned home, Mr. Lipka said, that he learned of Mr. Valerio from Chief Laverdure.' More here:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20100514/NEWS/5140518/1101/rss01&source=rss
'Interval International, a prominent worldwide provider of vacation services and an operating segment of Interval Leisure Group today announced the addition of Cayena Golf Club in the Dominican Republic to its exchange network. Currently under construction, the vacation ownership resort will be located in Bavaro, Punta Cana, a popular tourism destination on the island’s east coast. “With multiple golf courses within an hour’s drive, the Punta Cana area of the Dominican Republic is becoming a Mecca for golfers in the Caribbean,” said Marcos Agostini, vice president, Latin America, resort sales and service, Interval International. “This makes Cayena Golf Club a perfect retreat for members who are both avid golfers and want to enjoy the island’s other great activities.” ' The press release coninues here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Interval-International-bw-1198031852.html?x=0&.v=1
'The thought was unbidden and insistent. Italians lolled around us in all directions, glazed nut brown by the sun. In spite of the collective lassitude, beach chairs turned synchronously toward the white orb as it arced slowly across the sky, a complicated sundial of metal, plastic webbing and warmed human flesh. Many women were topless, nearly everyone in disconcertingly skimpy bottoms. The thought again: Where do they keep their room keys? This would not be a surprising scene along Italy's Amalfi Coast. The fact was, though, we had just arrived on the southeast coast of the Dominican Republic for a five-night, all-inclusive vacation at the Viva Wyndham Dominicus Beach Resort in La Romana Beach. It was the winner of our "best last-minute deal we could find" competition.' Read more of the story here:
'The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting piece about the competition black hair salons are experiencing from Dominican salons. Armed with a blow dryer and brush, deft wrist action and shrewd promotional tactics, immigrants from the Dominican Republic are snipping away market share from African-American stylists whose mastery of black women’s hair ensured for generations that their customers wouldn’t, or couldn’t, leave them. Promises of seemingly healthier hair, swifter service and far lower prices are wooing away a growing number of black women.' The story continues:
http://bossip.com/247015/hair-wars-black-salons-are-feeling-the-heat-of-the-dominican-blowout/
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here: http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/ Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read! And yes! We've made it to You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68 New outlet for US customers! Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop: http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127 http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
'The Broyles found their expertise in demand during their eight days in the Dominican Republic. “The first day we had a clinic, we had 70 people,” said Melissa. “The next day, we decided to walk around the village and people would just approach us, and they were ill. It wasn’t that they just wanted attention.” The doctors were based in Villa Ascension, a community of about 150 cinderblock houses established by Crossroads for Haitian refugees well before the earthquake..........The physicians worked part of the time in a clinic attached to the building where they were staying. They would also travel by bus to remote villages usually about a half-hour from Villa Ascension. They brought plastic bins full of antibiotics, saline and gauze and would set up clinics in churches and schools.' Read more of the story here:
http://delcotimes.com/articles/2010/05/03/news/doc4bde3239c620a436722591.txt
On Tuesday, a Swiss resident of Cabarete, Jakob Lusti, 64, was found strangled to death, bound and gagged in his residence in Calle Principal, Callejón de la Loma. Neighbours are said to have found the body of Mr. Lusti who had lived in the area for a several years. A number of people have been detained by police.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2170
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4544&start=1
http://www.linkhitlist.com/cgi/LHL_D.exe?SLHL&ListNo=20100123456
US citizen Williams Bonaparte, 67, has been arrested along with three Dominican women for recruiting and filming children engaged in pornography. This happened in the Urbanizacion Joel sector of Puerto Plata. The arrested man was known as Bona El Americano...!
http://www.newkerala.com/news/fullnews-104040.html
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2185
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4555&start=1
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/484/ItemID/7186/Default.aspx
http://www.almomento.net/news/127/ARTICLE/59135/2010-05-06.html
http://enbromayenserio.blogspot.com/2010/05/en-puerto-plata-atrapan-hombre-se.html
In two separate incidents a British and an Italian tourist both drowned on Tuesday. Richard Porter, a British tourist aged 72, had a heart attack whilst swimming in the sea near his hotel, Hacienda Resort in Cofresi. Federico Ricchio, an Italian tourist aged 25, was found floating in the pool where he was staying at Royal Residence, Cabarete, by his mother; he had apparently gone for a swim after lunch.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2170
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4544&start=1
The postponed inauguration of Parque Luperon took place on Monday.The work of the project was valued at RD$10,700,000,000 and carried out in a four month period by engineer Canoabo Almonte. Puerto Plata Habla might want to check how many noughts they have!
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4532&start=1
Police prevented the theft of Wimmer Johann's jeep in a shootout. The 73 year old expat lives in Loma Mirona, Sosúa and the attempted theft occurred at 3.30 in the afternoon when he returned home. The thieves took off via the wooded area near the house.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4563&start=1
'The Attorney General of Spain estimates that Arturo del Tiempo Marques, who was not known to have any business ventures in this country, "exported" at least two containers a month of "marble" to Spain. It is presumed that in these shipments the owner of the Atiemar Tower disguised shipments of cocaine and other controlled substances. The Spanish authorities are convinced that the container in which 935 kilograms of cocaine were seized on 5 November in the Multi-Modal Port of Caucedo belonged to Del Tiempo. The man accused of sending the 1200 kgs of cocaine that were seized on 2 March in Spain is currently in prison in a jail in Barcelona, where he was sent by a judge together with his presumed accomplice Arturo Nuñez Sebria.' The story continues in the English language version o Diario Libre:
Following an arrest order received from Interpol in Rome, Dominican Interpol agents arrested Italian Genise Antonio Rosario wanted in connection with drug trafficking. This happened in Santo Domingo on Monday. Police confiscated RD$100 million worth of assets.
'Gallup surveys suggest illicit drug trafficking is common in communities throughout much of Latin America, including in some of the most well-developed countries such as Chile and Costa Rica. At least half of residents in Brazil, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, Panama, Venezuela, and Uruguay say illicit drug trafficking or drug sales are taking place in their neighborhoods.' The DR percentage is 46%. The latest survey can be accessed at the link.
Angelica Airehart, a German tourist, was prevented from leaving the DR for Munich on Tuesday because Migracion said she had a false passport. Should have checked with German Embassy since THEY issued it!! Earlier in her holiday Ms. Airehart was robbed & her passport stolen so she needed to get an emergency passport from the Embassy. On Tuesday although she was prevented from leaving, her suitcase wasn't so she was without clothes. Bit of a security risk, a case travelling without its owner???
Hanz Aziz Rupp, 29 year old student son of expat Ernst Robert Rupp, 59, committed suicide by hanging in the small municipality of Oviedo, home to some five thousand inhabitants. Mr Rupp junior was said to suffer from depression.
'Venezuela state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela or PDVSA, on Wednesday agreed to buy a 49% stake in the Dominican Republic's Refidomsa refinery, which can process 34,000 barrels of oil a day. Oil-rich Venezuela is already a major supplier of crude oil to the Dominican Republic, and the purchase of a stake in the Dominican's state-owned refinery will allow it to expand its role as a supplier of fuel in the Caribbean. Venezuelan officials have said the 49% stake is worth more than $130 million, but have indicated that Venezuela would pay it by shaving off some of the debt that the Dominican Republic has with Venezuela. The agreement was signed during a visit to the Dominican Republic by President Hugo Chavez, with PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez, who is also Chavez' oil minister, by his side.' Read on:
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100505-716706.html?mod=WSJ_Deals_LEFTLatestHeadlines
When Hugo Chavez visited the DR last week to sign the Refidomsa deal he might not have had time to visit the refinery but he made sure he had time to visit his friend, José González Espinosa president of the Partido de los Trabajadores Dominicanos (PTD). Hugo borrowed President Leonel Fernandez's car and drove himself, unannounced, to PTD headquarters where he had a coffee in a plastic cup and greeted the beggars outside the PTD offices. José González Espinosa introduced his neighbour, Miriam de Gautreaux who runs a cake shop next to the PTD office. She in turn gave Hugo samples of her cakes while he greeted all the staff and clients and she also gave him a signed copy of her husband's book (her husband is noted journalist Bonaparte Gautreaux Piñeiro). In response Hugo invited Doña Miriam to Venezuela to give courses in cake making to the workers' co-operatives. One imagines that such a visit is likely to have had a more profound effect on Avenida Bolivar where the PTD is situated, than any refinery visit!
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7148/Default.aspx
' A teenage boy found living under a bridge in the Dominican Republic was recently reunited with his mother, who thought he died in the devastating earthquake in Haiti three months ago. Kristian Pruitt, marketing and communications director for Kids Alive International, said the boy was one of three boys between the ages of 14 and 16 who were found and brought to the Kids Alive campus in the Dominican Republic. Kids Alive provided food, medical care and clothing for all three until the government reunited one of the boys with his mother, who thought him dead in the rubble.............."They will keep trickling in (to Kids Alive facilities in the Dominican Republic) because there's not a lot for them in Haiti. So, they can come to the Dominican Republic to get help. There might be a steady stream of children that are lost and wandering around that we will be able to help for a long time." Kids Alive is expanding its campus in Haiti with help from funds raised in Valparaiso'. More here:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/7a00446f-8360-5d43-a70a-49e75b025261.html
http://www.kidsalive.org/around-the-world/latin-america/dominican-republic/
'A Supersport cameraman, Fanie Venter, was arrested in Angola after allegedly being found in possession of a passport with irregularities, the SABC reported on Wednesday. His wife, Anita, told the SABC that authorities believed the person who allegedly falsified Venter's passport was wanted in the Dominican Republic on drug-related matters. She said Angolan authorities have threatened to deport her husband to the Dominican Republic.' The story continues:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20100505200132788C417453
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article435299.ece/Supersport-cameraman-arrested-in-Angola
'The National Police have stated openly their worry concerning the large number of alleged criminals that possess two "cédulas", the ubiquitous personal identification and voter registration card carried by all legal residents and citizens over the age of 16. The Police added that this has been demonstrated with the arrest of persons who commit crimes and with persons who have fallen in shootouts with the police. According to the institution, recently Eugenio Hernandez Paulino fell to police bullets as he tried to rob a branch of the Banco Popular in Boca Chica and then shot it out with police. However, it turns out that he also had a "cedula" in the name of Vidal de Jesus Matias Cruz. In a similar manner it was reported that in the assault on the Scotia Bank in Santiago, the Police found out that the principle suspect in the case, the bank guard on duty, Jose Antonio Ulloa Mendoza, had used another identification card, and now the police are investigating that person as well. Meanwhile, the Police spokesperson, General Nelson Rosario, cited the case of Ezequiel Manuel Santana Alcantara, who also is shown in the police archives with the name of Ezequel Manuel Santos (alias Santanita)'. More here:
'The Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) brought suit on Sunday against the Dominican Republic before the Inter American Court of Human Rights in the case of the disappearance of the university professor Narciso Gonzalez (Narcisazo), which occurred in May 1994. The decision comes 15 years after the presentation of a complaint at the IACHR on 1 July 1994, over the detention and later disappearance of Narcisazo, which was admitted in March 1998. The suit against the Dominican State was reported to Narcisazo's relatives and the lawyers of the Truth Commission, by means of a communiqué dated 2 May 2010 and signed by Santiago A. Canton, the IACHR executive director. The letter indicates that "the IACHR has filed a suit in the Case Num. 11.324, Narciso Gonzalez Medina, against the Dominican Republic, in the honorable Inter American Court of Human Rights in compliance with articles 51.1 of the Convention and 45 of the Regulations of the Inter American Commission".' Read on:
'The Dominican Republic's struggling tourism sector is getting a boost from aid workers passing through on their way to neighboring Haiti. Haydee Kuret is president of a Dominican hotel association. She says hotels in Santo Domingo have been full since an earthquake devastated Haiti's capital on Jan. 12. The association said Monday that hotel occupancy in the city is up 18 percent compared with the first three months of last year. The country also hosted more flights following the quake to accommodate travelers trying to work around bottlenecks at Haiti's main airport.' The story continues:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Haitibound-aid-workers-boost-apf-2178608302.html?x=0&.v=1
'The World Jazz Circuit--Latin America 2010 is an extraordinary event that offers a series of five jazz concerts of the highest level, which for the first time will take place in Latin America and will have world- class musicians playing at different venues in the region. In the case of the Dominican Republic the events will be presented by Jazz en Dominicana and sponsored by the Dominican Fiesta Hotel & Casino. This event has been recognized by the Ministry of Tourism as having a very high Cultural Artistic significance for the country............Why does every concert for the circuit start in the Dominican Republic? This is due to the fact that Santo Domingo has been chosen as the Cultural Capital of the Americas for 2010 by the International Bureau of Cultural Capitals, and in recognition of this well-deserved appointment, “the World Jazz Circuit--Latin America" will be initiating each concert tour of the circuit in Santo Domingo. So plenty of excellent music for Jazz lovers in Latin America as the World Jazz Circuit-Latin America 2010 initiates its first ever series of concerts in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on May 26th.' Read on:
'In the dead of night, federal agents intercepted a boat loaded with illegal immigrants after a high-seas chase that ended 10 miles east of Palm Beach. Four of the 13 people hoping to sneak onto Florida soil last week previously had been deported from the U.S., according to a sworn statement filed Monday in U.S. District Court. The passengers, who came from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, told immigration agents they paid between $2,700 and $8,000 to smugglers named "Yellow" or "Rambo." ' The story continues:
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/13-illegal-immigrants-caught-in-boat-off-coast-668999.html
'Two alleged leaders of a notoriously violent Jamaican-based gang were arrested in a series of sweeps that police carried out in the city’s northwest end, CTV Toronto has learned. About 1,000 officers from a number of services executed 105 search warrants in the pre-dawn Monday raids. They detained more than 70 alleged gang members. Working with the Canada Border Services Agency, they also identified and seized 72 kilograms of cocaine in the Dominican Republic that was allegedly destined for Toronto............. Oliver “Twinky” Willis, another Toronto man, was arrested in the Dominican Republic in connection with the cocaine bust. Seven years ago, Willis had first-degree murder charges dropped against him in a Toronto court, after a witness refused to testify.' More here:
http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/809700--toronto-cops-are-tops
'Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered a 2,000-year-old granite statue of a Ptolemaic-era king near what is believed to be the tomb of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. A statement from Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities says the headless statue was discovered at the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of the coastal city of Alexandria. The ancient Egyptian temple is believed to be the burial site of Cleopatra and her lover, Mark Antony. The head of the Council of Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, says the statue could belong to King Ptolemy IV. Hawass says it represents the traditional shape of an ancient Egyptian king wearing a collar and kilt. The archeology team, led by Hawass and Dominican archeologist Kathleen Martinez, has spent the last five years trying to locate Cleopatra and Mark Antony's final resting place. The Egyptian queen and her lover supposedly committed suicide after their defeat at the battle of Actium.' The story continues:
'JetBlue will begin daily nonstop flights year-round between Punta Cana International Airport and New York's John F. Kennedy (JFK) today and weekly nonstop flights on Saturdays from Boston's Logan International beginning this Saturday, May 8, 2010. A second, seasonal flight from Boston will also be added on Wednesdays beginning July 7, 2010.' Schedules can be found at the link:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/JetBlue-Begins-Service-to-prnews-2232503886.html?x=0&.v=1
'A one-day summit of leaders of the European Union (EU) and CARIFORUM states (Caribbean Community plus Dominican Republic) is scheduled for Madrid, Spain, on May 17...............President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic, who holds the first rotating presidency of the EPA Joint Council, had committed himself to travel to Caribbean signatory countries to assess the state of implementation arrangements for the EPA. He, however, found it inconvenient and has suggested that there instead be allotted time on the margins of the scheduled Madrid Summit or what was planned to be the inaugural meeting of the EPA Joint Council.' Read on:
http://www.nationnews.com/comments/guestcolumnists/rickey-singh-may7-copy-for-web
Officials from the Social Justice Departments of Portugal and Brazil have been in the DR to advise on the use of electronic bracelets for criminals convicted of minor crimes who can thus be monitored without being incarcerated.
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7180/Default.aspx
'Marshall's post office has housed medical equipment in its fallout shelter since the 1950s and 1960s, and on Tuesday, May 4, it was removed and sent to a hospital in the Dominican Republic. South Kansas City Rotary Club member John Duffey oversaw the loading of the equipment by about 10 Missouri Valley College Rodeo Team members, who carried boxes big and small, heavy and light, up a long flight of stairs and into a waiting semi trailer. Equipment included surgical instruments, portable operating tables, pillows, blankets, surgical gowns, bedpans, towels, sterilizing equipment and "pretty much whatever it would take to set up an emergency hospital," said Duffey. Although hospitals in the United States would be unlikely to use this sort of equipment, he continued, "What we would consider obsolete here is sort of state-of-the-art down there." ' The story continues:
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
'A father-and-son team from Flamborough and dozens of companies they set up in Canada, the U.S. and the Caribbean are facing lawsuits over an alleged $170-million US Ponzi scheme related to resort property investments in the Dominican Republic. The allegations against Derek Elliott, of Carlisle, and his father, Frederick, have surfaced in a Miami civil court case launched last year by more than 150 investors from across North America who allege they have lost amounts ranging from $10,000 to $940,000 US. The Elliotts, 38 of their companies and several other individuals are named as defendants in the lawsuit....................In Toronto, a $415,000 lawsuit was filed in February against the Elliotts and three of their companies, alleging they were operating a Ponzi-like scheme in connection with the vacation properties in the Dominican Republic. None of the allegations made in the statement of claim has been proven in court. A court hearing in the Ontario case is scheduled for May 11.' According to team Elliott on their investors' blog 'The sensationalized allegations and false information have all been proven wrong' (see fifth link). This reporter has made an extensive search of Court documents such as the Special Master's Interim Report and Judge Gold's report from the Miami case and wonders where credible documentation supporting the 'proven wrong' allegation might be found? The judge's last word on this seemed to be an onward referral to the SEC and the FBI.
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/760242
http://cd989.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=19725
http://sunvillageresorts.blogspot.com/2010/04/more-misleading-information-being.html
http://www.theftlossdeduction.com/phpbb/frederick-elliott-sun-village-resort-t205.html
For the last week residents of Puerto Plata have heard about the planned inauguration of the refurbished Parque Luperon on Sunday May 2nd with entertainment supplied by Krisspy. However, that is the same day as the PRD planned a caravana led by Miguel Vargas Maldonado, president of the PRD party. Last weekend Hipolito Mejia cancelled his visit to Puerto Plata because it clashed with the visit of President Fernandez, and PRD supporters are asking for the same courtesy to be extended to them this weekend. When this reporter visited Parque Luperon on Friday, she saw signs that the inauguration will indeed go ahead. All the corrugated iron surrounds had been removed and the last minute paint touch ups were in progress. Friday's Puerto Plata Habla and El Faro also announce the day long event starting at 10 am.The reason for trying to avoid collisions between one party's procession with another is that sometimes such things can get out of hand, tempers flare and fatalities or injuries can ensue. Vamos a ver!
Breaking News. After the intercession of the Bishop, Julio César Corniel, the Mayor has agreed to change the inauguration to Monday.
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/05/fotos-posponen-para-el-lunes.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sacandomelao/sets/72157623847906319/show/
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4499&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4488&start=1
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/controversia-en-puerto-plata-por-visita.html
'Authorities in the Dominican Republic say they have charged a British man with running a marijuana farm near several trendy beach towns. The National Drug Control agency alleges Avil Freedman was arrested while watering 185 marijuana plants in a rural patch on the Caribbean nation's popular north coast. Agency spokesman Roberto Lebron said Thursday that he had notified the British Embassy of Freedman's arrest. Embassy officials did not immediately return calls, and it was not clear if Freedman, 30, had a lawyer. His hometown was not released. The Dominican Republic is one of the top 20 countries on the U.S. government's list of major drug producers or transit points.' Although referred to as 'British', Mr. Freedman is from Tortola. If found guilty Mr. Freedman might not be a free man for quite some time.....
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100429/world/cb_dominican_brit_arrested_1
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/apr/29/domrep-charges-british-man-in-marijuana-raid/?partner=RSS
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/89802
http://www.newser.com/article/d9fcv9fg1/domrep-charges-british-man-in-marijuana-raid.html
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2129
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=2109
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=197069
http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/Noticias/Noticias.aspx?Id_Articulo=28798
http://www.noticiassin.com/www/?go=Display&act=display_article&aid=15499&tid=4
http://joselfernandez.blogspot.com/2010/04/descubren-una-plantacion-de-marihuana.html
http://www.denverpost.com/aldia/ci_14984086
http://cuatriboliao.net/noticias/2010/04/29/descubren-una-plantacion-de-marihuana-en-p-plata/
http://www.elcastrense.com/2010/04/dncd-apresa-britanico-con-185-matas.html
According to Leydi Blanco, the father of her 2 year old baby, a British man called Luke Low, 36, kidnapped Emily Low Blanco from the home of her babysitter when Ms. Blanco was at work in Bavaro. The couple had been separated for nearly two years. The baby sitter said he arrived in a jeep with others and hit her when she attempted to stop him taking the child. Luke Low is 5 foot 10 inches tall, Caucasian and his left hand has been amputated. Anyone with information as to his and the child's whereabouts is asked to call Ms. Blanco on 809-523-1105 or 829-798-3898 or to call the Quisqueya, San Pedro de Macoris police on 809-523-0745. A photo of the child at 9 months of age can be seen at the link.
http://lavozdelquisqueyano.blogspot.com/2010/04/madre-busca-hija-rapada-por-su-padre-de.html
On Wednesday, Jorge Puello turned up at the Supreme Court over two hours late for his extradition hearing. He had stopped off on the way from the jail to lodge a habeas corpus plaint at San Cristobal Court against what he deemed to be his illegal detention. The Supreme Court judges waited an hour and then put the case back to a future date, yet to be fixed.
http://elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=196944
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/7043/Default.aspx
'The Dominican Republic sold $750 million of bonds due in 2021 in the country’s first international dollar offering in more than three years. The notes, which have an average maturity of 10 years, yield 7.5 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country will use proceeds to finance infrastructure projects and other sectors of the economy. The Dominican Republic returned to overseas debt markets for the first time since 2006 after Moody’s Investors Service raised the country’s credit rating this month on signs economic growth is picking up. The U.S. economic recovery is boosting tourism and remittances in the Dominican Republic, according to Aryam Vazquez, an emerging-markets economist at Wells Fargo & Co. In New York. “The macro situation in the Dominican Republic has stabilized considerably,” Vazquez said. The country is selling debt abroad because “conditions in the market are more bullish at this point, especially for Latin America,” he said. Moody’s raised the country’s rating one level to B1, four steps below investment grade, on April 22.' More here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aJKWRY9tRCcg&pid=20601087
'Fitch Ratings has assigned a 'B' rating to the Dominican Republic's USD750 million global bond issuance maturing in May 2021 (7.5% coupon). The rating is in line with The Dominican Republic's Long-term Foreign Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) of 'B'....................The Dominican Republic's ratings would benefit from stronger external liquidity and the maintenance of macroeconomic stability. By contrast, a sustained increase in external financing requirements, as well as a sharp decline in non-debt creating capital inflows or a return of capital flight which results in downward pressures on the peso and a continual erosion of international reserves would be credit negative.' Read on:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Fitch-Rates-Dominican-bw-1594863423.html?x=0&.v=1
'The exchange rate tumbled on Thursday by about 20 points in just one day, going from a quote of RD$ 36.85 to RD$36.63 on the exchange market. The tumble came after the governor of the Central Bank, Hector Valdez Albizu, declared that there were no monetary or fiscal reasons to explain the increase in the dollar and that he would announce his decision to authorize the use of the available hard currencies if it were necessary, in order to keep the exchange market stable. Valdez Albizu reported that the Central Bank has an excellent position of reserves to back up and movement that increases the cost of a dollar, and so he recommended that the persons who have dollars should not bet that they will continue to rise.' More in the English language version of Diario Libre:
http://diariolibre.com.do/noticias_det.php?id=243633
'The General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Government of the Dominican Republic Friday signed an agreement on the work that the OAS Electoral Observation Mission will do for the general, congressional and municipal regular elections to be held in the Caribbean country on May 16, 2010. During the ceremony, held at OAS headquarters in Washington, DC, OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza highlighted the long relationship the OAS electoral observation missions have had with Dominican democracy, indicating that this would be the fourteenth election the OAS observes in that country.........The Electoral Observation Mission will be set up May 7 and will be headed by Mr. Adam Blackwell, OAS Secretary for External Relations; he will be accompanied by more than 50 international observers from 20 countries.' Read on:
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/domrep/domrep.php?news_id=22949&start=0&category_id=18
'Some 200,000 Haitians have immigrated to the Dominican Republic since the catastrophic earthquake on January 12, an advisor to the Dominican Ministry of Economy said yesterday. Ramon Flores, a ministerial aide, said the statistics were collected by the United Nations to draw up its policy towards Haiti. Dominican authorities had previously expressed concern about a mass influx of Haitian refugees. There are already more than a million Haitian living illegally in the Dominican Republic.' The story continues:
'The degradation of coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs and mangroves, could cost the tourism industry in the Dominican Republic nearly USD $100 million and threaten the livelihoods of Dominican fishermen who depend on these ecosystems for survival. Coastal Capital: Valuing Coastal Ecosystems in the Dominican Republic, a new report released today by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and Reef Check-Dominican Republic, offers a first-ever detailed view of the economic and recreational value of the Dominican Republic’s coralline beaches, reef and mangrove fisheries, and ecotourism industry. The report follows similar analyses for Tobago, St. Lucia and Belize.“Coral reefs and mangroves provide many valuable benefits or ‘ecosystem services’ to the people and economy of the Dominican Republic,” said Lauretta Burke, senior associate at WRI. “They help build beaches and slow erosion, draw millions of local and international tourists to the coasts, and provide habitat for valuable fisheries. However, these ecosystems are being degraded by pollution and overfishing – threatening both the local and national economy.” ' The full report is at the second link:
http://pdf.wri.org/working_papers/coastal_capital_dominican_republic.pdf
'In an editorial in the May 2010 issue of the prestigious journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Tulane University malaria researchers urge action to eliminate malaria from Hispaniola, the last island in the Caribbean where the disease occurs regularly. On Hispaniola, home to the nations of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, malaria is caused by a single mosquito-borne parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The authors say success in eliminating malaria from Hispaniola would demonstrate that it is possible to defeat malaria in other regions of the world where it remains a dire threat. There is also evidence in Haiti that the parasite is becoming resistant to chloroquine, an inexpensive treatment for the disease. Eliminating malaria now would save these impoverished nations from having to resort to more expensive drug therapies.' The story continues:
'The fired interim judge for Permanent Attention for the province of Santo Domingo, Raul Rosario Hernandez, defended the order for release on a bail bond that he issued for Raul Serumberto Reynoso Mota, better known as Vantroi. "It has been an extemporaneous decision", said Rosario in reference to the removal from his post, taken by the Plenary of the Supreme Court of Justice, where he will go today to petition an investigation of his record. The ex-substitute Justice of the Peace in the town of Yamasa said that if acting according to what is set forth in the Penal Process Code is impudence, "well we have always been and will always be impudent". He assured the reporters that the Justice Department did not supply any elements of proof that would permit him to apply another coercive measure beside the bail bond. "At the moment of issuing the order, what the Justice Department handed me was an empty file and because of that there was nothing I could do". He argued that nobody explained to him that Reynoso Mota had been deported from Mexico and that he was tied to 51 crimes, among which were 36 murders.' Emboldening and disbelief ours! Perhaps the 'impudence' the ex-judge implied is missing the letter 'r'. It is surely the height of imprudence for a judge not to fully prepare himself before a hearing?
'Real School teachers Martin Mackey and Page Nichols and students Nick Fanning and Steven Garrett returned April 3 from an eye-opening week of new experiences in the Dominican Republic. "It's was worse than I thought it'd be," said Garrett, a junior. "It definitely opens your eyes and makes you appreciate different things like electricity, running water, and everyday things we take for granted." "I think it was a catalyst for positive change for our students, just seeing people with so little. Yet, they were content," Mackey said. "It was a pretty profound experience."...........This year and last, students have been working at the Good Samaritan Hospital in the city of La Romana, Dominican Republic.' More here:
'At 11 a.m. Socheat Nha, the Cambodian toddler brought from her country for life-extending heart surgery, walked out of Children's Hospital in Santiago, Dominican Republic, into the Caribbean sunshine. Just five days after a tricky 4-hour open heart procedure to patch a hole in her heart and repair an artery, the 3-year-old was pronounced fit to leave the hospital. She will spend the rest of the week recuperating and, pending the outcome of an exam on Friday, is expected to fly back to Long Beach on Saturday. Peter Chhun, the head of a small Long Beach nonprofit that helped broker the operation, was overjoyed at the successful outcome of an improbable journey.' The story continues here:
'A group of 37 students, doctors, nurses and chaperones have just returned from Burke Catholic’s latest mission to the Dominican Republic, where they carried in more than 1,800 pounds of medical and school supplies for Island Impact Ministries. According to organizer and John S. Burke High School guidance counselor Audrey Clarke, this was the school’s third trip to the DR and its most successful (having raised more than $15,000 in donations). “Island Impact in the DR was founded by my college room mate, Kelli Nelson, and her husband, Rob, over 8 years ago,” Clarke recounted. “They met while serving the people of Haiti during the 1990s. Kelli is a nurse and Rob a minister. When they had their own family, the decided to begin a medical outreach ministry in Sosua, DR.' Read on:
http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2010/04/28/warwick_advertiser/news/18.txt
'The ecological difference between Haiti and the Dominican Republic is starkly visible from 32,000 feet. The Dominican Republic, on the eastern half of the island the two Caribbean countries share, is beautifully green. It’s neighbor to the west, Haiti, is brown, thanks to clear cut forests and a decimated ecosystem. This was the first thing Dr. Jack Frankeny and his wife, Beverly, noticed.' More here:
'A local non-profit is being threatened with a lawsuit. At issue is an award-winning documentary that it wants to show during its first-ever film festival. The South Austin store, Ten Thousand Villages, is nearly 2,000 miles from the pristine shores of the Dominican Republic. But the threat of a lawsuit makes it feel as if it's next door. "We're essentially being bullied for doing something that is entirely legal just because somebody doesn't want us to talk about it," said Sharon Matheny. Matheny is on the board for the non-profit store. She says as soon as Ten Thousand Villages advertised that the documentary The Price of Sugar, based in the Dominican Republic, was set to be shown at the first Fair Trade Film Festival, they got a letter. The letter was from a law firm representing the family criticized in the documentary. It threatened to sue for defamation if they showed the film. She says they're not the first.' The story continues:
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
President Fernandez visited Puerto Plata on Friday, touring a number of barrios and holding a large troop-rallying meeting in the evening at the Sports Centre. He informed followers that the PLD was assured of 27 Senatorial seats in the upcoming election, one of which would be Senator Vargas of Puerto Plata. Local knowledge suggests that the race between Senator Vargas of the PLD and Ginette Bournigal of the PRD is in fact a lot tighter than the President implied.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4432&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4448&start=1
Werner Kargoll, 68, a long time German resident of Sosua, died in a Puerto Plata Clinic on Wednesday. Days earlier he had been the victim of a robbery where he had sustained a number of knife injuries.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4434&start=1
http://www.elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/397/ItemID/6974/Default.aspx
A 21 year old male employee of Viva Wyndham Tangerine Hotel in Cabarete has been arrested for the alleged sexual violation of a fifteen year old French girl, who is not named in the newspaper report presumably for legal reasons. Her father, a guest at the hotel, is named in the report. The medical examiner confirmed injuries to the girl's genitalia.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4447&start=1
'The president of the Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD), Miguel Vargas Maldonado, revealed yesterday that in spite of the fact that they are fighting an uphill battles with the government party, because of the use of state funds, a poll by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, puts the PLD in a tight race in the Senate with just a slight lead of 3% (49%-46%). He made it clear that in the case of the deputy races, the field work by the pollsters showed that the Dominican Liberation Party is leading with 47% against the PRD's 45%. He said that the poll was carried out by the research and election consultant firm from Washington, D. C. All over the Dominican Republic at the end of last March and that it was not done province by province.' More here:
'Dominican Republic cyclist Leonardo Grullon died on Thursday after he and four other cyclists were hit by a truck while training for the Pan American Championships. An unidentified truck driver apparently fell asleep and plowed into the group near the mountainous community of Jarabacoa, northwest of Santo Domingo, according to the Dominican Cycling Federation. In February, the 24-year-old Grullon won the third stage of the annual international Independence Ride. Four of the five cyclists hit were part of the national team, including Juan Carlos Polanco who was critically injured, federation spokeswoman Ana Lebron said.' Read on:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=capress-cyc_dominican_cyclist_killed-226460933
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/799291--truck-kills-pro-cyclist-grullon-in-dominican-republic
'The Dominican Republic plans to sell dollar bonds in the country’s first international dollar offering in more than three years. The country, which hired Barclays Plc and Citigroup Inc. to arrange the offering, will begin meeting with bond investors April 23, said the person, who declined to be identified because terms aren’t set. Benchmark typically means a sale of at least $500 million. The Dominican Republic is tapping overseas debt markets to take advantage of its lowest borrowing costs since January 2008. The extra yield investors demand to own the country’s dollar bonds instead of U.S. Treasuries narrowed to 3.22 percentage points on April 15 from 4.05 points at the end of last year, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.' More here:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aC2kxCBJhNII&pid=20601087
'The Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange (DATE), held at Moon Palace in Punta Cana from April 19-21, drew hundreds of international tourism buyers, tour operators and media to the Dominican Republic (DR) to conduct business and book future travel from around the world. During the week's events, the DR Minister of Tourism Francisco Javier Garcia noted that non-resident visits to the DR have increased each month since
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Dominican-Republic-Ministry-prnews-3046090929.html?x=0&.v=1
'In the Dominican Republic, a poor nation that shares the island of Hispanola with earthquake-ravaged Haiti, such sports complexes do not exist. Baseball is the sport of choice in the Dominican Republic, but children are forced to play on fields littered with garbage, animal waste and other often-dangerous materials as there is no sanitation service across much of the country. But the children play anyway — joyfully. That combination of need and pure happiness has caught the attention of a group of Central Jersey residents that for years has been traveling to the Dominican Republic on missions trips with their church.' More here:
'The docks of the Casa de Campo Marina in the Dominican Republic were buzzing as competitors completed sail measurement, weigh-ins and registration in advance of the start of the Rolex Farr 40 World Championship, staged from 21 - 24 April. This past weekend, teams had two days of ‘practice’ and a chance to eye the competition in the Pre-Worlds which, after five races, saw Lisa & Martin Hill’s Estate Master (AUS) coming out on top. On hand in Casa de Campo is the defending Rolex Farr 40 World Champion, Barking Mad (USA). Owner/skipper Jim Richardson and tactician Terry Hutchinson are returning with many of their prior Worlds crew'. Read on:
'A Cambodian girl taken from her homeland to receive life extending surgery was resting comfortably after a four-hour surgery performed in the Dominican Republic. Socheat Nha, who turned 3 years old Wednesday, survived a tricky operation to repair a large hole in her heart and also had work done on the pulmonary artery that connects the heart ventricle to the lungs. Although Dr. Rodrigo Soto, who performed the procedure, said the next 48 hours remain critical, he did say Socheat left the operating room in good condition and that in some ways her condition was not as bad as initially feared. Soto, a surgeon from Chile working for the International Children's Heart Foundation, said he closed the hole, called a ventricular septal defect. Socheat, however, might need more work done in 6 to 10 years on her pulmonary artery, he said. If she gets through the recovery period without incident, "she should be able to grow, put on weight and live a normal life." ' The story continues:
'A children’s clothing consignment shop in Bath is teaming with a local missionary group to provide shoes for needy children in a Dominican Republic town. Buy Low Baby, located in the Bathport building on Commercial Street, is offering discounts in exchange for donations of “gently used” children’s shoes from now until May 2. For one pair of shoes, the store is offering 10 percent off an entire purchase made during Bath’s citywide MayFair yard sale event, May 1 and 2. A second pair of shoes earns a 20 percent off coupon, and three or more pairs garners a 30 percent discount. The shoes donated will be taken to the Dominican town of Nieba by members of the Pathway Vineyard Church’s teen missionary group, who are planning a trip there in July. “Somebody from the group had approached me to ask if we had any shoes left over, and I thought we could make this a community event,” said store owner Morgan Jamison. Jamison began promoting the “Shoes for Nieba” project through fliers and the Buy Low Baby Facebook website, and started accepting donations Thursday.' More here:
http://timesrecord.com/articles/2010/04/23/news/doc4bd1d41fa7aa3844721317.txt
'Access Hotels & Resorts announces the opening of its latest premier resort, The Palace at Playa Grande. The exquisite villa, nestled between a pristine white sand beach and virgin rainforest overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, is located on the north coast of Rio San Juan, Dominican Republic. The Palace offers guests serene, exclusive and personalized experiences that are unparalleled in luxury and service...............The Palace boasts 13 guest accommodations that range from majestic Oceanfront Cliffside suites, Royal Oceanfront suites, Garden Suites to Superior/Deluxe guestrooms. There is a full service staff, including butler service, concierge and an executive private chef who all cater individually to guests’ requests.' The press release continues here:
'Juan Luis Guerra has shared stages with some of Latin music's biggest names, from Colombian musician Juanes to Miami-based singer Gloria Estefan. But few things get the platinum-selling Dominican merengue star giddier than the thought of coming to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival this weekend, mingling with jazz and blues artists and playing in front of what's expected to be throngs of Hispanic attendees.' Read on:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2010-04-22-guerra22_ST_N.htm?csp=34
'After pianist Michel Camilo plays the last song and his fans stream out of the Blue Note, he switches to his other keyboard, a laptop computer, to check his investment portfolio. As passionate an investor as he is a pianist, Camilo says that while his portfolio is currently up 15 percent in the recession, he has had better than 20 percent annual returns many years. Last year his portfolio had a 41.9 percent return. He’s bullish about the Miami-based Fairholme Fund, which has had a 64 percent return during the past year.' The story continues:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aPhsbXQbPTXM&pid=20601087
'Salary.com, Inc. a leading provider of on-demand talent management, payroll and compensation solutions, today announced that the IPAS Global High Technology Compensation Survey now reflects salary data for 90 countries. Countries such as Bangladesh, Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Dominican Republic have recently been added by IPAS survey participants, increasing the high tech survey's global reach for compensation data.' More here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Salarycoms-IPAS-Global-High-iw-3598499117.html?x=0&.v=1
The UK's Daily Mail is running another Wedding Destroyed By Bug story but careful examination leaves the date of the event unclear. The only reference is to March 'Disaster struck at the Clubhotel Riu Bachata in the Dominican Republic in early March.' But which year?
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
On Friday evening an art exhibition by Italian artist and Puerto Plata resident Carlos Arcesi opened at the Casa de Cultura. The exhibition runs until April 30th. Different facets of the tourism experience are portrayed through the cow's activities - surfing cow, diving cow, cow in yola. Mr Arcesi has exhibited in the US, Italy and Canada and normally has two cows positioned at the entrance to his display but this was not permitted in Puerto Plata .
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/la-vaca-turista-se-expondra-en-casa-de.html
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/presentan-exposicion-pinturas-vaca.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sacandomelao/sets/72157623876530354/show/
Last week US Coastguards and a group of students from Boston participated in building the community centre in Caraballo, Montellano. Two of the US Coast Guards were in fact of Dominican origin, one from Santo Domingo and the other from El Mamey.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4356&start=1
'Police in the Dominican Republic have released the Quebec man arrested in connection with the death of Louise Gaudreault. The 54-year-old woman from Lac St. Jean, Que., was found stabbed to death on April 1 at the ranch she owned in the Caribbean country. Dominican National Police arrested the man believed to be in his 40s after investigators discovered emails and phone messages from him saying Gaudreault would pay for the death of his friend, who was accidentally electrocuted last winter while working at Gaudreault's horse ranch in the suburbs of Cabarete, a town on the northern coast. Sgt. Leonardo Elabel said authorities thought the man meant Gaudreault would pay for his friend's death in the figurative sense. But the man actually meant she would have to pay for the funeral costs, Elabel told CBC News.' More at the first link. On Friday Le Journal de Montréal reported that Bob Desautels had returned to Canada.
http://www2.canoe.com/infos/societe/archives/2010/04/20100410-074800.html
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/04/13/quebec-dominican-murder.html?ref=rss
Puerto Plata will have a new Junta Municipal Electoral built on the site of the old Banco de Reservas which got damaged by the 2003 earthquake. According to Puerto Plata Habla the land cost RD$7,000,000. The building will also incorporate the Estado Civil offices and is alleged to be completed in August.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4343&start=1
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/6933/Default.aspx
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4Bz9pOyhoo&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxrZHfXQYfw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9102
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1961
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1967
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=194905
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4378&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1944
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1952
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9073
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/6959/Default.aspx
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9070
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/desconocidos-asesinan-casa-cambista-en.html#more
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4360&start=1
Last weekend a retired German living in Gran Parada, Montellano, Hans Stoma, aged 63, was robbed of a quantity of Euros by an assailant who approached him in a colmado and asked to speak with him at his home. Mr Stoma complied, went home and was robbed. He suffered wounds to the head.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4336&start=1
On Wednesday morning unknown assailants broke into apartment 44 at Tradewinds, Sosua and took the security box with US$3000, 800 Canadian dollars and two passports, the property of the Canadian tourist whose room it was, Shary Johnston, aged 62. Ms. Johnston was not in her room at the time.
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1951
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4362&start=1
US citizen Dominic Joseph, 56, had a heart attack and died on landing at Puerto Plata airport last Tuesday. There are conflicting reports as to his age and as to whether death occurred prior to or after landing.
Watch the video 'interchange' between councillors in Santo Domingo!
'Russian diplomats and special services are trying to return to Russia a 12-year-old boy who has been living for several years in the Dominican Republic, presumably after being abandoned by his Russian adoptive parents. "Officers of Russian security agencies, along with Interior Ministry officials, are now charged with returning a 12-year-old Russian to his homeland," a high-ranking source in a Russian security service told RIA Novosti..............Russia's ombudsman for children's rights Pavel Astakhov told RIA Novosti that he was ready to “personally” take the child to his home country. However, he said, Russia’s child protection services had not prepared the documents requested by the Dominican side........Vesti FM radio said the boy, identified as Diego Sollogub, was adopted from a southern Russian city of Kalach-on-Don. Later the adoptive family took the child to the Dominican Republic and returned to Russia, where they were detained by Russian police on suspicion of drug trafficking. After a while, a Dominican family caring for Diego took him to a local orphanage. "In January 2009 they [the adoptive parents] were deprived of parental rights, the adoption was canceled and the boy received the status of a child without parental care. He is currently in an orphanage in the Dominican Republic and our vice consul in Venezuela keeps in touch with him," Astakhov said on Vesti FM. Investigators said the adoptive parents did not transfer the boy to a Dominican family, but sold him for drugs' More here:
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15033465&PageNum=0
'Immigration Agency director Sigfrido Pared today revealed that 300 foreigners have been deported from the Dominican Republic in the last six months, who were hiding out here after committing various crimes in their country. He said the deportations cost Immigration 1.5 million pesos monthly and include citizens from Germany, Spain, France, U.S., Canada, Peru and others. The official said the foreigners have broken the country’s laws, others have overstayed their visa and others are wanted in their respective countries, which alert the Dominican authorities.' Read on:
Last Saturday, 63 year old Gregoria Cabrera was shutting her colmado in Navarrete when 3 men, one of whom was armed, tried to attack her. Tried but failed. She floored the armed assailant with a deft blow to the testicles, retrieved his gun and then managed to wound the other two. On Sunday, one of the assailants was still in the hospital. Of course, to cover her own liability, Gregoria's version of events is different!
http://listin.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=137991
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwYh7HSJc5c&feature=player_embedded
'After centuries of rancor, the 7.0-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people may finally make friends of these neighbors. Before the quake anti-Haitian violence had reached fever pitch: Haitian migrants were routinely lynched, burned and beheaded in the Dominican Republic. But in the wake of this most recent tragedy Dominicans responded promptly and with great charity to their Haitian neighbors. They threw open their borders to Haitians in need of medical care, halted the deportation of thousands of illegal Haitian immigrants and sent millions of dollars worth of urgently needed supplies—along with debris-removing heavy equipment and an army of volunteers to use it.' The story continues in Newsweek:
'Two pilots accused of trafficking Dominican migrants bound for the United States were ordered Friday to remain in jail until their trial in eight months. Kennett Courdero Whymns and Marvin Dennis Cabral,both from the Bahamas were arrested last week and accused of trying to fly five people to the Turks and Caicos Islands with false documentation. The migrants were carrying fake visas and passports and each paid roughly $20,000 for the trip to Providenciales where they were to board a boat to the U.S.prosecutor Yenny Reynoso said. The pilots previously organized at least five similar trips, Reynoso charged.' Read on:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-cb-dominican-us-migrants0916888.story?track=rss
'Paediatric specialists in the Dominican Republic say they will not try to separate conjoined twins for nine months. Twins Teresa Maria and Maria Teresa, who are joined at the stomach, were born by caesarean section just over a week ago. Doctors at the Roberto Reid Cabral hospital in Santo Domingo said that they would evaluate the best way to approach separating the pair in the course of the next nine months. Some local media reports said that Margarita Cedeno, wife of Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez, had said her office would cover the medical costs of the separation. The babies, who are said to be healthy, share a liver.'
'On Saturday a Cambodian toddler and her father embark on a trip for perilous but potentially life-extending surgery in the Dominican Republic. They take with them the hopes and prayers of a community of supporters. Before Socheat Nha and her father Phin Ken took to the skies they were given yet another emotional lift from well-wishers. Sisters Julie,13, Joanna,11, and Jill, 10, Ung decided they wanted to help Socheat after following her story. The three first decided to break into their piggy banks and make an offering. Then since they were on spring break with not much to do the girls created posters, decorated a donation box and decided to go door-to-door to raise funds for Socheat's surgery and travel for open heart surgery.' The story continues:
http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_14899707?source=rss
'John J. Mullen, CEO of Newtown Square-based Apple Vacations, was recently honored by the Dominican Republic's Ministry of Tourism for his outstanding contribution to tourism. Mullen founded Apple Vacations, one of the country's largest tour operators and holds interests in USA3000 Airlines and AMResorts, a provider of hotel sales, marketing and brand management services to resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean. A private ceremony in Mullen's honor was held on March 26 in Cap Cana, Dominican Republic. The event was presided over by Francisco Javier Garcia, Minister of Tourism and attended by many high level dignitaries including Leonel Fernandez, President of the Dominican Republic. Sr. Garcia praised Mr. Mullen for his pioneer efforts in recognizing the enormous potential of the Dominican Republic as an ideal vacation destination for American tourists.' The press release continues here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/CEO-of-Newtown-SquareBased-prnews-4124622863.html?x=0&.v=1
'Suspended West Miami Mayor Cesar Carasa's reelection effort failed Tuesday when he was defeated by current Mayor Eduardo Muhiña. Carasa is awaiting trial on charges stemming from more than $70,000 worth of international phone calls he made between 2006 and 2009 to the Dominican Republic and China.' More here:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/04/14/1578117/suspended-west-miami-mayor-loses.html
'Whether it’s the quality of the light, the effect of the sea or simply the sharpness of the design,there’s something about Corales Golf Club that is just overwhelming. Of course golf is always fascinating when played on land that touches the sea. Here on the eastern shore the game is additionally blessed by tropical warmth and the stark crystalline blue that’s tossed back and forth between the sky and the Caribbean Sea. The same heat in a desert climate would be searing and oppressive because there the dominant tones are flash white, red and ocher. But along this coast the sensory experience leans toward the cooler side of the color wheel. Instead of shimmering in some torpid heat shapes assume a steely coherence and lucidity that is calming, peaceful and stable. It takes a designer’s eye to plan all of this and the considerable virtue of Corales is that the team involved course architects, artists and visionaries. Tom Fazio and his associate Tom Marzolf did the golf course but the setting – the palette of plant materials and its juxtaposition of turf against rocky shoreline – was the deliberate choice of the principals of the 15000-acre Punta Cana Resort. That includes fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, singer Julio Iglesias, pioneering Dominican land planner Frank Rainieri and former labor attorney Theodore Kheel.' Read on:
http://www.golfweek.com/news/2010/apr/05/corales-golf-club-overwhelms-senses/
'A Central Falls man who was deported to the Dominican Republic in 1999 after his conviction on a drug charge has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for illegally re-entering the United States. Federal prosecutors say 42-year-old Elvin Cruz Then also received three years of probation at the end of his prison sentence on Tuesday, and faces deportation again. Authorities say Then was arrested by Rhode Island State Police in Cranston in May 2009, with cocaine in a hidden compartment in his right sneaker. He had been sentenced to nearly four years in prison following a 1996 conviction in North Carolina for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Then also faces state charges in Rhode Island, including drug possession with the intent to distribute and identity fraud.'
'Sunridge International announced today, that with the completion of two very successful meetings in the Dominican Republic last month, it has been given the opportunity to present its patented Pneumatic Trabeculoplasty treatment (PNT) at the upcoming Sociedad Dominicana de Oftalmologia conference that will be held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, June 3-6th.....Glaucoma is the second leading cause of blindness, affecting over 70 million people worldwide. PNT has been proven (through studies completed over the last 10 yrs) to be a safe, effective, non-invasive and a cost effective alternative for treatment for glaucoma and ocular hypertension. The 2-minute treatment has been developed, patented, and distributed by Sunridge International, wholly owned subsidiary, Ophthalmic International'. The press release continues here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Sunridge-Builds-off-its-prnews-1780642680.html?x=0&.v=1
'Jack MacCluskey, a mere 9 years old, became the youngest fisherman to catch all species billfish during the Dominican Republic's Royal Slam competition, local press reported on Sunday. MacCluskey's achievement is the entry requirement for the Slam, which takes place off the coast of resort city Cape Cana. Because of the extensive travel it involves, only 100 people worldwide have achieved the target, which took MacCluskey 10 months. The nine fish species are the spearfish, the swordfish, the black marlin, the striped white marlin both the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean versions of blue marlin and sailfish. He completed his record this weekend by capturing two fish in two nations: a swordfish off the Florida Keys in the United States and a striped white marlin off the coast of Cape Cana in the Dominican Republic. MacCluskey breaks a record set by Wes Davis, who was 10 when he set the record. The president of the Cape Cana council of directors, Ricardo Hazoury, congratulated young Jack for his achievement and said he was an example to be followed in the fishing world.' More here:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/odd/2010-04/12/c_13246873.htm
'Just outside an orange grove near a village in the Dominican Republic, blankets hung between trees to shield a makeshift medical clinic. Surrounded by a villager’s donated kitchen table, cardboard boxes and duct tape, a group of local nursing students helped bring healthcare to natives with scarce medical access. There were sugar cane workers with machete knife wounds. Four year olds with hernias. Some had parasites, lice and skin infections. Some were malnourished. All were devastatingly poor. The University of Michigan-Flint group who traveled to the third-world country in late February had been prepared to see Haiti quake survivors, many who reportedly crossed over the border for medical assistance. But most of the 504 patients the service group helped in just eight days were not injured from the next-door tragedy.' Read on:
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2010/04/university_of_michigan-flint_g.html
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
Friday saw most of the north coast and many parts of the rest of the country without Internet connectivity for most of the day. Codetel told this reporter's partner that it was for 'maintenance' but newspapers are referring to a breakdown which seemingly also affected bank ATM machines, according to Diario Libre and Listin Diario.
http://www.sosuaonline.net/DetailPost.aspx?postId=9021
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/puerto-plata-se-queda-sin-internet.html
Last Sunday a French resident of Nagua, Francois Jean Paul Dubuet, 59, was found hanging from a tree in an apparent suicide. According to his girlfriend, he had no financial problems but he had been under pressure from a family who had accused him of having a relationship with their daughter and who were asking for RD$2 million not to report the matter to the authorities. Police reported that two weeks earlier M. Dubuet had been the subject of an attempted home invasion.
On Tuesday residents of Torre Alta, Puerto Plata complained that they had not received a drop of water from CORAAPLATA, for 8 days.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4294&start=1
The Puerto Plata hotel occupancy rate for Monday April 5th, the day after Easter Sunday was as follows: Grand Oasis Marién 100%, Iberostar Costa Dorada 78%, Lifestyle Tropical Beach Resort & Spa 63%, Hotel Puerto Plata Village 22%, Holiday Village 20%, Viva Wyndham 54%, Celuisma Playa Dorada 26%, Paradise 72%, Gran Ventana 75%, Barcelo 61%, Blue Bay Getaway 69%, Victoria Resort 44%, and Fun Royal Tropical 33%. Occupancy rates for Sosua and Cabarete hotels can be found at the links below:
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/asi-quedaron-los-hoteles-despues-del.html#more
'Despite the murders of two of their fellow countrymen since the beginning of 2010, Quebeckers living in the Dominican Republic still feel safe, calling the two homicides "isolated incidents." On Jan. 1, Jean Gagne, a 41-year-old from Quebec, was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest in a villa in Sousua, near Cabarete. Then last Thursday, Louise Gaudreault, 54, was found dead in her ranch in the Cabarete region after being attacked with a pair of scissors. Even if these crimes were committed only a few kilometres from their homes, the Quebeckers don't feel at risk. They also feel the same about one particular thing, and that's that there really is not much of a difference between wandering the streets of Puerto Plata or Cabarete at night and doing the same in Montreal. "I don't intentionally try to find myself in small areas that are dark and isolated, that's obvious," said Estrie, Quebec native Jean-Paul Page during a phone interview. "But when you are in a foreign country, by instinct, you are more careful." ' The story continues at the links below. On Thursday Montreal papers carried news that a man from Quebec had been arrested; the suspect reportedly held Mme. Gaudreault responsible for the death of a friend, who was electrocuted this winter while doing renovations at the deceased woman's home. By Friday, the fingerprints of this man, who had left threatening messages on Mme. Gaudreault's phone, were being checked.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/04/09/dominican-republic-murder.html?ref=rss
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+arrested+Dominican+Republic+stabbing/2777601/story.html
http://www.canoe.ca/Travel/News/2010/04/06/13481076-qmi.html?cid=rsstravelnews
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/04/05/mtl-dominican-stabbing.html?ref=rss
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=354704&CategoryId=14092
http://fr.canoe.ca/infos/international/archives/2010/04/20100407-050115.html
http://www.torontosun.com/news/canada/2010/04/07/13501166.html
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Quebec+arrested+Dominican+Republic+stabbing/2777601/story.html
Last Tuesday a German resident, variously referred to as Fredhelm Dietrich Martin Schroter, or Fridman Peter Martín or Fredhelm Dietrich, depending upon which newspaper is read, was robbed of his safe containing some US$4000. This happened at Calle 1, apartment Plaza Mora, Callejón de La Loma, Cabarete. Police gave chase and wounded one of the assailants in an ensuing shoot-out in Sosua. It now transpires that the 18 year old assailant is also likely to have been involved in two other assaults in February and March, each of which resulted in a fatality.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4328&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1889
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4305&start=1
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/6900/Default.aspx
'Performance of the Dominican Republic economy has been satisfactory under the Fund-supported program, and the authorities’ generous response to the Haitian earthquake is praiseworthy. A substantial fiscal stimulus, supported by an accommodative monetary policy, has served to mitigate the adverse effects of the global crisis and start a recovery. Progress has been made on structural reforms, including on developing a strategy to reform the electricity sector that aims at eliminating indiscriminate subsidies while significantly improving service to all clients. “The authorities remain committed to the program’s objectives and policies. Strong program implementation will enhance the government’s credibility, and support a successful placement of bonds in international markets, which is an important component of the authorities’ financing strategy. “Under the program, fiscal policy will shift from an expansionary stance to consolidation in the second half of 2010. Full implementation of the government’s investment program and control of current spending will help support a sustained recovery.' More here:
'They sit side by side in a hotel room in the Dominican Republic, he in combat boots and fatigues with a maple leaf on his right shoulder, she in a pretty polka-dot dress. J.P. Menard was five years old when his mother allowed him to be adopted by relatives in New Brunswick, believing a better life awaited him outside of Haiti. He is muscular and handsome now and a member of the Canadian Forces; she is 62 and graying and her eyes betray a lifetime of hardship. After 29 years apart, they were reunited last month in the most extraordinary of circumstances. He was a soldier dispatched to lend a hand in the impoverished country where he was born. His mother is one of hundreds of thousands of victims of the earthquake that flattened the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. As he begins telling their amazing story, Marie-Josée Robillard reaches over and clasps her son's hands, strokes his face and buries her chin in his neck. "Twenty nine years is a long time," Menard, now 34, says quietly. "Right now, it really still hasn't even hit me yet. It is almost like I am dreaming." After three decades of separation, J.P. Menard saw his mother for the first time on March 7. She was napping, exhausted after a harrowing journey out of Haiti, when he slipped into her hotel room in Santo Domingo and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.' Read the rest of this amazing story here:
'A man who acted as a lawyer for U.S. missionaries accused of kidnapping 33 Haitian children after the devastating earthquake will face a hearing this month on a U.S. extradition request, an official said Monday. It had been unclear whether Jorge Puello would be extradited to the U.S., where he is wanted on smuggling charges, or El Salvador, where authorities allege he led a prostitution ring. Gisela Cueto, an assistant general prosecutor for the Dominican Republic, told The Associated Press on Monday that Puello will face extradition to the U.S. at an April 28 hearing even though the El Salvador charges are more serious. She said the Central American nation did not complete a formal extradition request.' More here:
'The commission that is investigating the mysterious flight of an airplane that left last month from the Joaquin Balaguer International Airport at El Higuero, with Port-au-Prince as the primary destination, and which in mid-flight turned towards South America, is also looking into the disappearance of another plane that entered the country in the month of December and has disappeared "as if by magic". The missing plane is a Cessna C-210 (tail number N2066S), which arrived in the country through the Cibao International Airport on 7 December last year coming from Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos. The aircraft made some flights between Santiago and El Higuero on 11 December that were considered "suspicious". On 12 December the plane flew from El Higuero to Santiago and from that date forward it has disappeared and there is no sign of it leaving the Dominican Republic. The case is related to the mysterious flight of last 7 March that left headed for Haiti, but which changed course towards South America, since both planes entered the country piloted by the Colombian Adolfo Rodrigo Vasquez.' Read on in the English language version of Diario Libre:
'On the heels of a sudden outpouring of support, it looks as if a Cambodian girl will have a chance at risky, but potentially life-extending surgery after all. A week after the founder of a local nonprofit worried that his fledgling group would not be able to raise the money needed to complete its mission of providing open-heart surgery for 3-year-old Socheat Nha, the group's fortunes have turned. Now hotel and plane reservations have been made to travel from Long Beach to the Dominican Republic, where the operation will take place around April 18, a payment has been made to the hospital and Peter Chhun is finally able to exhale. It has been a tumultuous path, but with several recent donations and a promise by Congresswoman Laura Richardson's office to assist Hearts Without Boundaries, in the words of Chhun "it's a go." ' The heart-warming story continues here:
'If there is one port where an excursion is highly recommended on this itinerary, it is today. Samana is a tiny village—so small that only one shop is on the port shopping list—yet nearby are wonderful beaches and ecological treasures. Mel chose a Caves & Mangroves Exploration tour, which is just a bit too much sun for me, so my day was spent relaxing on board all morning and a bit of wandering ashore in the afternoon. For beach lovers, the excursion to nearby Cayo Levantado is well worthwhile. The private beach property is beautifully maintained and features arts and crafts shops, water toys for rent, and a delightful folkloric show.' Read on:
http://cruisediva.blogspot.com/2010/04/norwegian-pearl-in-samana-dominican.html
'Google the phrase "Cabarete, Dominican Republic" and you'll find links for "windsurfing," "kiteboarding," and an "Eco-sensitive beach front boutique hotel." Venture beyond Cabarete's resorts and you'll find a real city with real people, most of whom will never have the means to enjoy those luxuries. Dominicans and Haitian-Dominicans live in separate communities in and around the area's sugar plantations, where they find work as cane cutters. Tensions exist between the groups—over housing, labor, and a number of other social problems that accompany economic hardship—and the area can be a object lesson in wealth disparity. "One takeaway was just how relative everyone's situation is," says the photographer Youngna Park, whose visions of off-season sugar cane workers offer a glimpse of everyday plantation life.' The pictures continue:
http://www.good.is/post/picture-show-off-season-sugar-cane-workers/
'Karen finally woke up naked and drugged in a strange room in the Dominican Republic, with three of her kidnappers asleep nearby. As quietly as she could, she found her clothes and ran for her life. The 38-year-old Mississauga waitress had gone on holiday to an all-inclusive Dominican Republic resort, looking for some fun and sun and a chance to get away from her problems. Instead, she says she was kidnapped from a bar in Puerto Plata, drugged, robbed and raped on her last night in the country. “I don’t want anybody to go through what I went through,” says Karen, explaining why she is coming forward. “People need to be told.” She has just come from her appointment at Trillium Health Centre where she sees a sexual assault counsellor at least once a week since returning traumatized last month from her holiday. She is also on antiretroviral medication until bloodwork can confirm whether she contracted HIV or not from her attackers.' More here, whether it is credible as written is for the discerning reader to......discern.:
http://www.torontosun.com/news/columnists/michele_mandel/2010/04/08/13517826.html
May 2009: Ginnie's second book is now available. This is an Ebook commissioned by Boomerscape.com Retire in the Dominican Republic Survival Kit and is available here:
http://www.dominicanretirementguide.com/
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple can be purchased in Puerto Plata from the English language bookshop at The Meeting Place at Calle Juan Bosch #60 (formerly Calle J F Kennedy). http://www.meetingplace-dr.com/
Costambar residents and visitors! Dinner and a movie? No, breakfast and a good book! Visit Rainer and Beatriz's R & B Bakery, Calle Los Mangos, Villas Princesa, Costambar Tel.809-970-3083 where the book is also on sale. In fact you can drop in between 7am and 7pm daily except Tuesdays for home made bread, cakes and pies and ...................a good read!
And yes! We've made it to You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuAa_I5n53E
Meanwhile the book is available online from the publishers, Best Books Online
Http://www.bestbooksonline.co.UK/bookshop/specials.php?id=68
New outlet for US customers!
Quisqueya: Mad Dogs and English Couple is now available from The Dominican Bookshop:
http://www.dominicanbookshop.com/Quisqueya_Mad_Dogs_and_English_Couple_p/978-1904502524.htm
Reviews of the book are available on Amazon as well as British Expat and Dominican Today. Better not to buy from Amazon because of their apparent overcharging
http://dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=25127
http://www.britishexpat.com/Book-Reviews-Quisqueya.1347.0.html
'A well-known Bermuda sportsman was shot and killed during his 35th birthday celebrations in the Dominican Republic. Ricardo 'Ricky' Tucker was visiting the Caribbean island when he fell victim to gun violence late Saturday night (of last weekend). His widow, Mandisa Tucker, received the devastating news at 1.30 a.m. Sunday morning when she was told that her husband of eight years and partner of 15 had been murdered. Speaking to this newspaper yesterday in the family's Dockyard home, the 35-year-old said she will remember her husband's constant smile and vibrant personality. "He was shot at a party for his birthday. I am not sure if it was that night but he died that morning." .............Asked if she knew anything of the details surrounding her husband's death, Mrs. Tucker said: "There is no confirmation on why he was shot. I'm in the process of working on that now. We were told by his cousin who lives down there that somebody had to come down there to have the process set in motion. We have to determine if that is necessary." ' The story continues in the Royal Gazette. All of the Dominican papers state that Ricardo Tucker went to a birthday party with a girl, Marlene Disla, whose ex-boyfriend Erickson Estévez turned up and without a word fired two fatal shots at the deceased before kidnapping Marlene Disla and fleeing. The papers also reported that police were looking for the alleged perpetrator and the girl. Later in the week they had not been found but what allegedly had been found was one and a half pounds of marijuana in Mr. Tucker's suitcase. Some papers reported that the birthday party was in fact for Marlene Disla. It would appear that the alleged perpetrator, Erickson Estévez, is the brother of Fiordaliza Estévez, director of the municipal district of El Estrecho, Luperón, ex PRSC diputada, and current candidate for deputy Mayor of Luperon.
http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7da3f2730030002§ionId=60
http://www.listin.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=136546
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4223&start=1
http://rubiachula.blogspot.com/2010/03/dominicano-celoso-asesina.html
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4228&start=1
http://prensaglobaldigital.blogspot.com/2010/03/dominicano-mata-tiros-turista.html
http://elnuevonorte.com/Inicio/tabid/36/ctl/Details/mid/486/ItemID/6828/Default.aspx
http://www.mitamboril.com/2010/03/sigue-profugo-homicida-de.html
http://ecosdemiciudad.blogspot.com/2010/03/hombre-mata-norteamericano-al-que.html
http://elsurdelaflorida.blogspot.com/2010/03/hombre-celoso-mata-un-turista.html
Luisa Nicole Gaudreault, 54, long term Canadian resident and owner of Rancho Luisa in Veragua, near Cabarete, was killed in her home by currently unknown assailants early on Friday morning. Police have discounted robbery as a motive because the deceased's belongings were found intact. Neighbours decribed the deceased as a much respected resident who worked tirelessly to help the local community. According to El Nacional five people have been detained by police. Profound condolences are extended to the family of the deceased.
http://www.canada.com/news/Quebec+woman+stabbed+death+Dominican+Republic+reports/2762447/story.html
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=193422
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4265&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1829
http://naguareal.blogspot.com/2010/04/desconocidos-asesinan-mujer-canadiense.html
http://elviajero.com.do/nacionales/asesinan-turista-canadiense/10180/html/
http://www.facebook.com/people/Rancho-Luisa-Rancho-Luisa/100000395823217
When the President of Costambar APC advised holidaymakers not to visit Costambar over Easter, he was alluding to the ongoing roardworks on the access road and the lack of space for parking of vehicles outside the entrance gate. Traditionally, school buses with holidaymakers up from Santiago for the weekend or the day, disembark their passengers outside the main gate and remain parked up on the access road. Clearly, as this reporter noticed earlier in the week, that is not physically possible at present due to a ten foot high mound of earth across the road and a ditch the other side! However this has been interpreted by the Association of Beach Vendors as a violation of their rights to earn their living and they are threatening legal action. They are also threatening peaceful protests. Readers should consider themselves advised! And wished a very happy Easter.
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4243&start=1
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4254&start=1
http://www.puertoplatadigital.com/verNoticia.aspx?Id=1815
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/04/prpietarios-costambar-no-quieren.html#more
http://sacandomelao.blogspot.com/2010/03/por-reparacion-calle-acceso-costambar.html
http://www.puertoplatahabla.com/articles.php?art_id=4261&start=1
An exhibition of quilting has taken place at The Meeting Place on Calle Juan Bosch in Puerto Plata for the past two weeks. The artist is expat Birgit Van Rooden.
Daniel Vella, 42, an Italian tourist was robbed at Los Patos beach, Barahona last Sunday. His video and digital camera were taken along with cash to a total value of RD$50,000.
http://elnacional.com.do/nacional/2010/3/29/43993/Atracan-turista-Barahona
Earlier in the week the DNCD confiscated 62 packages of cocaine hidden in two banana freight containers in the port of Manzanillo. One of the four arrested was Ukranian Sparta Reklino.
http://www.elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=192786
http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2010/3/29/319635/Encuentran-mas-droga-en-furgon-de-Manzanillo
The story of Arturo del Tiempo (Atiemar Towers and cocaine) being an honorary police agent was broken by Spanish newspaper Público.es and has now been confirmed by Major General Rafael Guillermo Guzmán Fermín, Chief of the DR National Police.
http://www.publico.es/espana/304011/cocaina/marmol/litros/gaseosa
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=240342
http://www.clavedigital.com/App_Pages/Noticias/Noticias.aspx?id_Articulo=28342
The same event reported differently! According to the Latin American Herald Tribune 'Dominican authorities arrested, questioned and then later released a Spaniard linked to the shipment of 1,200 kilos (2,643 lbs.) of cocaine seized early this month in eastern Spain. Juan Antonio Hidalgo de Moya, the administrator of the Startmarble company, was arrested Tuesday after investigators determined the cargo containing the drugs was shipped from the Dominican Republic by that firm. Dominican prosecutors initially accused Hidalgo de Moya of participating in a network allegedly directed by Spanish businessman Arturo del Tiempo Marquez, to whom the shipment is attributed and who has been under arrest in Barcelona since March 9. However, Dominican authorities released Hidalgo de Moya on Wednesday, and the National District prosecutor’s office said that although the Spaniard was questioned for several hours, he was let go because no “merits” for keeping him in jail were found.'
http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=354607&CategoryId=14092
According to the English language version of Diario Libre 'Another Spaniard that administered a business that was supposedly responsible for sending 1.200 kgs of cocaine to Spain has been arrested. The cocaine was seized on 2 March from Arturo del Tiempo Marquez, and his alleged partner was arrested yesterday by the District Attorney for the National District. Juan Antonio Hidalgo de Moya, administrator of the Startmarble Company, is being held at the jail of the Palace of Justice in Ciudad Nueva. District Attorney Alejandro Moscoso Segarra told reporters that in the next few hours the coercive measures would be drawn up and requested in court. The District Attorney for the National District assured reporters that the company belonging to Hidalgo de Moya sent the container with the double flooring that hid the cocaine disguised as surplus matériels that were left over from the building of the imposing Atiemar Tower. According to the Justice Department, during a search carried out at the company, investigators found documents that provided evidence of the ties between that company and Prado Universal, the alleged owner of the 1,200 kilograms of cocaine seized from del Tiempo Marquez in Spain.'
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias_det.php?id=240155
Juan Antonio Hidalgo de Moya was in fact released according to a report in Diario Libre the following day. The reason given was insufficient evidence to link him to the case. The general assumption is that he is collaborating with police enquiries in such a way as to net bigger fish.
'The USGS issued a preliminary report of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred near the Dominican Republic. The original report was issued at around 5:56 p.m. (on April 2nd). About 30 minutes later, the USGS acknowledged that it was a false alarm. After the January 12 earthquake in Haiti, the USGS began using additional sources in the region for earthquake detection. The magnitude 8.0 Dominican Republic earthquake was incorrect, resulting from the distribution of errant email, according to USGS. The original report said that the magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurred 130 miles northeast of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.' The story continues:
http://www.worldbuzznow.com/dominican-republic-earthquake-today-news-update/4260
'After six days of waiting at Haiti's border, Mario Polanco was losing patience with the red tape holding up his truck full of earthquake relief supplies. Polanco drove the equipment for the International Committee of the Red Cross 11 hours from a port in the Dominican Republic, only to have the Haitian customs agent find one problem after another with his paperwork. As he waited in the shade of his truck's cab in this dusty border town, dozens of others were lined up behind him. "I don't know why they are making it so difficult on people," Polanco said. For more than six weeks following the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haiti left its border with the Dominican Republic open to speed the delivery of aid. As the government now reasserts control, the return of bureaucracy is leading to delays as trucks idle for days. One day this week at the customs office at Malpasse, the Haitian town across from Jimani, a single agent was processing a caravan of trucks, including Polanco's, that stretched for two miles (three kilometers). In the line were rice, beans, canned food, construction materials and ambulances — all desperately needed in Haiti. "We haven't been able to distribute food for two weeks," said Paloma Rivera, an official with Quisqueya in Action, a nonprofit Dominican organization that is feeding some of Haiti's homeless quake victims.' More here:
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/02/red-tape-idles-aid-trucks-haitis-border/
'GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America will launch scheduled flights to a new international destination: Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The flights which have already been approved by the National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and other competent authorities will begin on April 3. The Company has already been flying chartered flights to Punta Cana. "We identified substantial passenger demand for this destination which has a strong tourist appeal. In addition to serving Brazilian holidaymakers and attracting people from Caracas where we will begin selling flights to the Dominican Republic shortly, we will be increasing the daily utilization rate of our aircraft" declared Leonardo Pereira,GOL's Executive Vice President. Details of scheduling can be found here:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/GOL-to-Begin-Regular-Flights-prnews-2370430693.html?x=0&.v=1
'Ferries del Caribe will "temporarily" shut down their passenger service between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic next 15 April when it plans on making their last trip from Santo Domingo. According to what she told Diario Libre, Liana Peña, the executive vice-president of the company, the measure will be until they can resolve the impasse that they have with the administration of the Port of Mayaguez, where the company has its terminal on the neighboring island of Puerto Rico. The news, which has still not been officially released by the company, has created unrest among the people that use the service and among the Dominican that directly or indirectly earn their living with the Ferry..........the vice-president of Ferries del Caribe made it clear that they would continue freight service through their franchise with Marine Express and that they would protect the employees of the freight service.' Read on:
'Riel LaPlant went to the Dominican Republic to teach orphans English but he left learning something far more valuable from a young teen named Fabio. Having spent a few years working for his family on the farm Fabio was a few years older than his fellow students. He had few possessions yet every day he greeted LaPlant with a huge smile. "He had a real willingness to learn" LaPlant said of his new Dominican friend. "He was working hard to make things better for himself. It opened my eyes a little — to be grateful. As Americans we have a lot." Nine Blackfeet Academy students just returned from a weeklong trip to the Dominican Republic where they spent hours teaching children and working to improve the orphanage they lived in.......Though they share a similar history the Dominican orphans had never seen a Native American before and few of the Blackfeet Academy students had been to a foreign country before — those that had went to nearby Canada.' The story continues here:
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/article/20100330/NEWS01/3300311/1002/rss
'During the weekend of March 18th to 22nd the first semiannual medical mission of 2010 to the Hospital Manuel J. Centurion at ILAC Center Licey al Medio medical facility in the Dominican Republic was undertaken under the leadership of Doctors Jorge Echenique MD and José Joaquín Centurión MD both Knights of Malta and members of the Cuban Association residing and practicing in South Florida. They were also under the spiritual guidance of father Fernando Heriaa Conventual Chaplain ad honorem of the Cuban Association. As it has been the case for the past several years 32 participants: doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other volunteers including their 30 heavy duffel bags of medical supplies flew with the collaboration of American Airlines to the Dominican Republic from Miami Florida. Their mission was to give medical assistance to more than 850 patients in this poor area just a few miles outside Santiago de Los Caballeros, the second largest city in the country. The doctors included specialists in cardiology, pediatric medicine,urology,dentistry and internal medicine.' More here:
'A local mission group organized by Western Avenue Baptist Church will leave all the pastel-colored candies and chocolates behind this Easter to work in an orphanage and in medical clinics in the Dominican Republic. Once they arrive on the Caribbean island shared with Haiti, the 16 missionaries will divide their time between working in medical clinics, helping the poor and working at the Casa de Luz orphanage near Santo Domingo. Teenagers and adults from Saint Philip the Apostle Catholic Church and Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church are coming to help out as well.' Read on:
http://www2.statesville.com/content/2010/apr/02/local-mission-group-headed-dominican-republic/
'Former priest John Duarte begged for forgiveness Thursday as he was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sexually abusing adolescent boys at the mission he founded in Haiti. A tearful Duarte told Justice Bruce Thomas that he went to Haiti “for all the right reasons, but in the middle of it all, I got lost.” Duarte asked for forgiveness from his family and friends, the people of Haiti and “especially the victims and all those who feel betrayed.” The Windsor missionary, who was arrested in the Dominican Republic and originally charged with nine counts of sexual exploitation in October for sex crimes committed in the impoverished fishing village of Labadie on Haiti’s north coast and the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince, pleaded guilty to three counts in Superior Court. Duarte, 44, entered his plea as a result of a deal reached between the Crown and defence lawyer Andrew Bradie. Duarte, who has spent five months in custody, will be given credit on a two-for-one basis for each day spent in pretrial custody. He will be released in eight months or less.' The story continues:
'In the Dominican Republic, she is "La Primera Dama," the first lady of that Caribbean country. But last night, Mayor William Lantigua introduced Margarita Cedeno de Fernandez as "Margarita," a humble, simple woman who wanted to learn more about Lawrence, which today is home to many Dominican immigrants, including the mayor himself. Wife of Dominican President Leonel A. Fernandez, the first lady arrived in the city late yesterday afternoon. She first toured the city's new $110 million high school and later spoke to a packed City Council chamber at City Hall. A combination of residents, city councilors and employees and the media filled the room as Fernandez spoke of her strong interest in education, technology, children and helping the poor. Her husband's term expires in 2012 and when asked if someday she might run for president, Fernandez said she'd continue focusing on her duties as first lady and stressed her devotion to her country and its people.' Read on: