Puerto Rico News Digest For January 5, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
PR PASSES 24,000 CHIKUNGUNYA CASES
From The San Juan Daily Star:
Nearly all of the additional 25,000 or so chikungunya cases
in the Americas can be attributed to just a handful of countries,
including Puerto Rico, according to new data from the Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO). Puerto Rico continues its steady
increase in chikungunya cases, reporting another 1,661 cases and
putting the island country’s total over 24,000. According to
Outbreak, in South America, Colombia continues its surge in cases,
reporting the most signifi cant amount of any country.
PR AMONG TOP DESTINATIONS FOR 2015
From The Columbus Dispatch:
Online travel company Priceline.com — which bases its “hot” list
on advance hotel reservations — has Puerto Rico at the top of its
list of hot 2015 “international” travel destinations, although
the island is a U.S. territory that can be visited without a
passport.
Travelzoo’s Saglie noted that several U.S. airlines have added
flights to Puerto Rico from the mainland, making fares to the
island some of the lowest in the Caribbean.
“I think airlines will continue to add routes from the eastern
U.S.,” he said. “Even in winter, you’re finding fares from the
Midwest under $200 each way. On the cruise side, you’ll pro-
bably see great deals on cruises out of San Juan.”
SAN SEBASTIAN FESTIVAL TO GO ON
The Committee of the San Sebastian Street Festival filed a
lawsuit Dec. 31, demanding officials leave it in control of the
event that is held in Old San Juan each January. The committee
complains Mayor Carmen Yulin's administration is trying to limit
its involvement in the festival and is replacing traditional
music and dance with more modern and secular presentations.
Yulin says the event will go forward.
Read the whole story
· · ·
Visiting The El Yunque Rainforestby noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
The only honest-to-goodness rainforest under the United States flag
is located in eastern Puerto Rico, mostly in the town of Rio Grande.
To get to it from San Juan, take Highway 26 east, and then exit onto
PR Interstate Road 3, and head east/south (you can also take Toll
Road 66 east, which is a faster way to get to Road 3, with a lot less
traffic lights.) Off of Road 3, turn right onto PR-191 (you will see
road signs directing you there, so it’s hard to miss). Once on PR-191,
follow the signs for El Yunque. You will go through a small neighbor-
hood and then you will notice you are driving increasingly uphill.
Before long, you will see the forest’s welcome sign, and then the
visitor’s center. The total drive from San Juan (if you take only Road
3, rather than Road 66 and Road 3) is about 30 miles, and will take
about an hour.
The forest is officially open from 7:30AM to 6:00 PM daily. It
doesn’t cost anything to get into the rainforest as such, and you can
enjoy the many hiking trails, streams and waterfalls at no cost. The
Visitor’s Center...[CONTINUE READING]
Read the whole story
· ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 9, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
FERRY PASSENGER BUSTED WITH HEROIN
From The San Juan Daily Star:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) field operations officers
have seized 10.1 pounds (4.5 kilos) of heroin concealed inside a
decorative table foundinside a cargo van, driven by a male U.S. citizen
arriving from the Dominican Republic. The estimated street value of the
seized contraband is $250,000, the agency said in a statement earlier
this week. Ezequiel Tineo Alcala, 45, appeared in U.S. District Court
for charges related to the smuggling and distribution of narcotics.
CBP field operations offi cers conducting inspections of vehicles
that arrived on board the ferry M/V Caribbean Fantasy selected Alcala’s
Ford cargo van for a more intrusive inspection. A CBP K9 alerted agents
to a decorative table inside the van. The table was drilled into,
revealing a residue which tested positive for heroin.
ADRIAN PETERSON SEEN GAMBLING IN PR
Adrian Peterson was in San Juan recently when a fan walked up to him
and took a picture of Peterson playing craps. In Vegas, security might
take your phone for taking photos on the casino floor. In San Juan,
no one seems to care.
Anyway, Peterson has plenty of money to gamble with: He made over
$5 million this year before being suspended without pay. The Vikings
running back was suspended in November after playing in only one game
in 2014.
PR MAY ALLOW HIGHER BOND YIELDS
Puerto Rico lawmakers plan to alter a bill so the Government Development
Bank can offer higher interest rates on a $2.9 billion petroleum-tax-
backed bond sale to increase demand for the debt.
Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla is set by mid-January to sign legis-
lation authorizing the sale, Assembly Representative Rafael “Tatito”
Hernandez said today in a phone interview. Immediately afterward, the
legislature will ease limits on the bonds’ coupon and a provision that
links a petroleum-tax increase to broader tax-law changes, Hernandez said.
“The language of the bill has some ties between the tax reform and the
date when the revenue starts and that isn’t supposed to be that way,”
said Hernandez, who chairs the House Treasury Committee. “So we’re going
to change that.”
DOM. REP AND PR TO SIGN SWEEPING PACT
Puerto Rico Secretary of State David Bernier said Thursday that
agreements on trade, on exchange of information and education with
Dominican Republic to be announced next week will bolster both
economies, EFE reports.
"The benefit here is reciprocal. They are our immediate neighbors
and that in itself makes it a natural partner and collaborator. We
have many opportunities if we make a concerted work to strengthen
the economy," the senior Puerto Rican official told EFE.
Puerto Rico governor Alejandro García Padilla together with Dominican
counterpart Danilo Medina will present on Tuesday the conclusion of
a joint effort aimed at increasing trade, education and information
exchange.
BANKRUPTCY FILINGS DOWN 20% IN DECEMBER
Bankruptcy filings were down 20 percent year-over-year in December,
when a total of 839 cases were filed, according to preliminary figures
released Thursday by research firm Boletín de Puerto Rico. When compared
to December 2013, the results showed there were 205 fewer cases filed
last month.
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Power, Politics and Journalism In Puerto Ricoby noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
FEATURE
Counterpunch
by CARMELO RUIZ-MARRERO
The Universidad del Sagrado Corazón (USC) campus in Santurce, Puerto
Rico is a place where the paths of power, politics and journalism converge.
One can learn an awful lot about Puerto Rican reality and about why the
country is the way that it is just by keeping one’s eyes wide open in this
higher learning institution. This private Catholic university has a close
working relationship with the powerful Ferré-Rangel clan that is illustrative
of how power is wielded in Puerto Rico. USC’s communications school,
from where so many of the island’s journalists, advertisers, and public
relations and marketing specialists have graduated, is receiving, starting
in 2014, $1 million a year for the next five years from GFR Media, part
of the family’s corporate empire. Since accepting this grant the school has
been renamed Ferré-Rangel Communication School (1).
GFR Media runs three local daily newspapers, including El Nuevo Día,
Puerto Rico’s most widely read paper, and...[CONTINUE READING]
Read the whole story
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Puerto Rico News Digest For January 13, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
DOMINICAN PRESIDENT LANDS IN PR
The President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, arrived at
Muñiz Air Base in Carolina this morning for an official visit during
which he will sign several cooperation agreements with Puerto Rico
Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla. President Medina is accompanied
by his wife Cándida Montilla and twelve Dominican government
ministers. After reception activities are concluded, the Governor and
President will meet at the Governor's mansion, and Dominican ministers
will meet with their Puerto Rican counterparts at the Convention Center.
At 2:00 PM, Secretary of State David Bernier and Dominican Foreign
Minister Andres Navarro will present both leaders with the accomplish-
ments of the Puerto Rico-Dominican Republic Joint Commission,
which was set up last October. The leaders will then give a speech
regarding the agreements. At 3:30PM, the Jose MiguelAgrelot Coliseum
will host a cultural festival featuring musical performances.
LEGISLATURE CONSIDERS ASSISTED SUICIDE
From The San Juan Daily Star:
A bill that was recently introduced in the island House
would open the door to allow for physician-assisted suicide
for terminally ill patients. The legislation filed by Rep.
Ángel Matos, who was inspired by the case of Brittany Maynard,
a terminally ill cancer patient who died last November at age
29 through a process of assisted suicide permitted by the
laws of the State of Oregon. House Bill 2258 would create the
“Act on Assistance for a dignified death for terminally ill
patients.” “This is a law that will off er an option and is
not something that will be imposed,” Matos said.
NEW AIRLINE TO FLY FROM FL TO PR
From Naples News:
Sun Country Airlines will begin nonstop service between Southwest
Florida International Airport and San Juan Luis Muñoz Marín
International Airport in Puerto Rico with two weekly flights
beginning May 3, Lee County Port Authority officials said Monday.
CAPTAIN AMERICA MOVIE TO FILM IN PR
From Inquisitr:
Comic Book Resources is reporting that Anthony Mackie, who is
reprising his role as the Falcon in Captain America 3: Civil War
from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, told a radio station
in Chicago of the locations the movie will be filming at.
“We start shooting in April, so it’s going to a lot of flying
and fighting for about five months,” said the actor, who will
be suiting up to reprise the role of Sam Wilson/Falcon.
Mackie revealed to the listening audience that the cast and crew
would be traveling to Berlin, Puerto Rico, and Atlanta, Georgia.
Mackie will join Chris Evans as Captain America and Robert
Downey Jr. as Iron Man.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 15, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
PR AND DOM REP LEADERS SIGN ACCORDS
From The San Juan Daily Star:
Gov. Alejandro García Padilla and first lady Wilma Pastrana
welcomed Dominican Republic President Danilo Medina and his
wife Cándia Montilla, who arrived on the island Tuesday
morning to sign a number of agreements between Puerto Rico
and its Caribbean neighbor.
[...]
García Padilla took advantage of the Dominican president’s
one-day visit to announce he will be introducing legislation
that will allow all individuals regardless of immigration
status to vote in elections. “There are U.S. jurisdictions
that have done this and we should have been first,” he said.
University of Puerto Rico President Urayoan Walker revealed
that one of the agreements will allow for the exchange of
students so they can study English, engineering and
agriculture. Some 75 Dominican students who got scholarships
from the Science and Technology Ministry will benefi t from
the agreement.
PR FACES DEBT RISK BESIDES POWER CO
A potential restructuring of Puerto Rico power-utility debt may
fail to shield other commonwealth bonds from a similar outcome.
Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla’s strategy to bolster the
Government Development Bank, which lends to the junk-rated
commonwealth and its localities, hinges on a planned $2.9
billion bond sale backed by increased petroleum-tax revenue.
Lawmakers intend to amend the deal this month to make it more
attractive to investors. Without the borrowing, the GDB’s
cash would drop by almost half by March 31, according to
Moody’s Investors Service, crimping its ability to serve as
a financing backstop.
Puerto Rico and its agencies are staggering under $73 billion
of debt, which would rank the territory third among U.S. states.
PUERTO RICO CRIME DROPS SHARPLY IN 2014
From Yahoo! News:
The island of 3.7 million people had 681 homicides in 2014,
the lowest number in nearly 15 years and a drop of 40 percent
since murders reached a record high of 1,164 three years ago.
Violent crime overall fell 17 percent over the same period.
Credit for the decline goes to a number of factors, from
increased efforts to prevent crime to a broader trend of
declining violence across the United States and the
Caribbean.
GOOGLE TO LAUNCH MODULAR PHONE IN PR
Google Inc. on Wednesday said it would launch a “modular”
smartphone in Puerto Rico, part of an audacious and risky
effort by the Internet giant to upend the way mobile devices
are designed, built and sold.
The Ara smartphone, which has components that can be replaced
and upgraded through a hardware marketplace similar to an app
store, will go on sale on the island in the second half of 2015.
Google is partnering with cellular carriers OpenMobile and
Claro, part of America Movil , the largest wireless-service
provider in Latin America
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
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An Interview With Puerto Rican Author Angel FuentesLike many an artist who has h... by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
An Interview With Puerto Rican Author Angel Fuentes
Like many an artist who has had to pull up stakes in order to better
realize their creative dreams, Puerto Rican author Angel Fuentes left
his native island in 2010 for New York City in order to better pursue
a writing career. Which is not to say he hadn't already done plenty
in Puerto Rico. Fuentes had been writing for years before his move.
Not only did he write numerous stories for the Puerto Rico- based
indie comic book publisher Razor Blade Apple, he was also the
imprint's founder and publisher, as well as the creator of several of
its characters. Besides this, Fuentes wrote for local television,
contributed stories to a local anthology and even wrote and co-
produced the Spanish-language black comedy film Santa Cristal.
His latest (and first) novel, Violet Descends, was published last
November by Panico Press, after its unveiling at an event in midtown
Manhattan. We recently caught up with the author to chat about his
roots and his work.
writing, and when did you start
writing professionally?
Since I was a kid I've always enjoyed
telling stories, either by writing comic
strips or writing school plays. But I
never actually considered myself to be
a writer until college, when I began
self publishing comics and writing
short stories and screenplays. After
more than a decade doing that, I
decided to also try writing novels.
Your first novel, which came out
very recently, is titled Violet
Descends. What is it about?
Violet Descends is the story of an angel that decided to quit her duties.
The consequences of her actions will affect the world as she accidentally
triggers the apocalypse.
Where and how did the character of Violet originate?
Violet was inspired by a girl I met through a friend at a party. Her
immaturity, insecurity and gothic look greatly influenced my angel
character...[CONTINUE READING]
Read the whole story
· · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 20, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
POLITICAL PRISONER GONZALEZ CLAUDIO BACK IN PR
 |
| Photo from: Claridad |
From The San Juan Daily Star:
Political prisoner Norberto González Claudio, who was charged
in the 1983 robbery of over $7 million from a Wells Fargo truck,
the largest heist in U.S. history, arrived in Puerto Rico late
last week to the delight of hundreds of pro-independence supporters
after serving time in a Florida prison. González Claudio , 69, was
sentenced in 2012 by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello
in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years
of supervised release, for his involvement in a 1983 armored truck
robbery in West Hartford, Conn., and for his illegal possession of
a machine gun at the time of his arrest in May 2011.
CHEAP OIL MUDDIES PREPA RECOVERY
From Reuters:
Tumbling oil prices may offer short-term relief to Puerto Rico's
struggling electric power authority PREPA, but could embolden
bondholders and muddy the utility's path to a long-term fix.
Crude's slide may give bondholders more sway in negotiating a
restructuring of the utility because a sharp drop in its fuel
costs gives them less reason to accept reduced debt repayments.
While fixing PREPA is seen as a key step in solving the troubled
island's debt problems, cheaper oil could create the perception
that the power authority may not need a broad, and expensive,
overhaul.
VENEZUELA FOOD COMPANY COMES TO PR
From News Is My Business:
Industrias Alimenticias Alto de San Juan, owned by two Venezuelan
companies, announced Monday plans to manufacture its products in
Puerto Rico.
With an initial investment of $400,000, the company has committed
to the creation of 200 jobs once the project is fully operational.
This is the fourth industrial development project announced by Gov.
Alejandro García-Padilla’s administration during the past two weeks.
The payroll associated with the new jobs reaches about $3 million
annually, Gov. García-Padilla said during the ribbon-cutting at
the plant.
DOM REP POULTRY EXPORTS TO PR SET TO EXPLODE
From Dominican Today:
The Government aims to spur poultry and egg exports to Puerto Rico
to supply of meals to students from that island, Agro Bank adminis-
trator Carlos Segura affirmed Monday.
The official said among the agreements signed by president Danilo
Medina and Puerto Rico governor Alejandro García figure taking
advantage of domestic production, once the country obtains the
required certifications. He said the country’s installed capacity
meets Puerto Rico’s market and can double poultry production,
without expanding current facilities. He said the country currently
produces 15 million chickens and 150 million eggs.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 22, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE CONVICTED BY FEDS
From the FBI:
A current Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge was convicted
yesterday by a federal jury in Puerto Rico of accepting bribes
to acquit a businessman of vehicular homicide charges.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia
Rodríguez-Vélez of the District of Puerto Rico and Special
Agent in Charge Carlos Cases of the FBI’s San Juan Division
made the announcement.
Puerto Rico Superior Court Judge Manuel Acevedo-Hernandez,
62, was convicted late yesterday following a one-week trial of
conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery and receipt of
a bribe by an agent of an organization receiving federal funds.
Sentencing is scheduled for April 20, 2015, before Chief U.S.
District Judge Aida Delgado-Colon of the District of Puerto
Rico.
According to evidence at trial, Acevedo-Hernandez presided over
a case involving Lutgardo Acevedo-Lopez, 39, a certified public
accountant in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. On June 30, 2012, a car
driven by Acevedo-Lopez collided with another car, resulting
in the death of the other car’s driver. Acevedo-Lopez was charged
with criminal vehicular homicide in connection with the incident.
Acevedo-Hernandez, a supervisory superior court judge in the
Aguadilla judicial region of Puerto Rico, acquitted Acevedo-Lopez
of all charges.
DTOP GRANTS CONTRACT TO PDP DONOR
El Nuevo Dia has reported that the company that was recently
granted a contract for facilities to be used by the Department
of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP) in Carolina,
Educon Management, is owned by a group that includes promi-
nent donor to the Popular Democratic Party Agustín Crespo
Rivera. Crespo Rivera's father Johnny has also been a long-
time PDP donor. Governor Padilla's administration has denied
any conflict of interest, and has stated that the contract was
vetted by the courts and will save taxpayers money.
COP MASTURBATION PICS BEING INVESTIGATED
Caldero López has said that he will suspend an unidentified
female police officer that has allegedly appeared in pictures
seemingly masturbating with a police baton while wearing a
Police shirt. The pictures -- in which the woman's face
is digitally altered -- have made the rounds of social
media, and it has been said that the photos were taken
in a Carolina-area Police station.
ENDANGERED PUERTO RICAN PARROTS RELEASED
From The Fresno Bee:
A group of scientists opened a cage at dawn on Wednesday and
reintroduced 15 endangered Puerto Rican parrots into the wild as
part of a conservation program. The birds flew away without
hesitation as they disappeared into a forest near Puerto Rico's
north coast, according to Natural Resources Secretary Carmen
Guerrero.
It was the ninth release at the Rio Abajo Nature Preserve since
2006. Another 204 parrots remain at the preserve, and an estimated
57 to 108 parrots are believed to live in the wild nearby, she
said.
Read the whole story
· · · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 26, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
FIVE MURDERS OVER THE WEEKEND
El Nuevo Dia reports that five murders were reported in Puerto Rico
between Friday night and Sunday morning, increasing the murder rate
so far in 2015 to 37, 10 less than at this time last year. Two of the
victims were killed in a double homicide in Santurce on Sunday
morning, while another man was shot to death in Ponce on Saturday
night. A man was killed in Humacao and another man was shot to
death in Loiza on Friday night.
ATTORNEY SUES FOR RIGHT TO US VOTE
From The San Juan Daily Star:
Attorney Gregorio Igartúa is pressing on with a constitutional
rights lawsuit that seeks to obtain for Puerto Ricans the right
to vote in Congressional elections as he opposed a U.S. Justice
Department motion to dismiss the case, contending that settled
law, international treaties and voting rights require the courts
to deal with his request. Igartúa, who in the past fi led lawsuits
seeking the presidential vote, wants the courts to follow the law
and appoint a three-judge panel to decide the controversy as sti-
pulated in the law, noting that the courts have the obligation to
deal with the request because it involves fundamental rights,
instead of allowing the matter to be decided by the political
process as the U.S. government wants.
ARECIBO OBSERVATORY TO STUDY ASTEROID
From Fox News Latino:
Puerto Rico's Arecibo Observatory, home to one of the world's largest
radio telescopes, will try to obtain information on asteroid 2004 BL86
this week, the Caribbean Astronomical Society said. The asteroid is
expected to pass relatively close to the Earth on Monday.
Asteroid 2004 BL86, which has a diameter of nearly 700 meters (2,295
feet), will be about 1.2 million kilometers (745,647 miles) from the
Earth on Monday, with the best viewing time around noon (1620 GMT)
in Puerto Rico.
OLIVE GARDEN TO OPEN 3RD PR LOCATION
From News Is My Business:
Restaurants Operators Inc., owners of the Olive Garden franchise in
Puerto Rico, announced Wednesday the start of construction of its
third restaurant, representing a $3 million investment in the
northern town of Barceloneta.
The eatery will have more than 8,000 square-feet of space — enough
for 250 guests — and will generate more than 300 direct and indirect
jobs during its development, construction and operational phases.
PR SCORES WINS AT WORLD SERIES OF BOXING
From World Boxing News:
Although the pedigree of Puerto Rican boxing is highly distinguished,
few boxing insiders were tipping the Puerto Rico Hurricanes much
success in their debut World Series of Boxing season, but the new
Franchise remain undefeated after an away win against Argentina
Condors.
Their 3-2 victory in Buenos Aires comes after another win of the same
scoreline against Rafako Hussars Poland, while Argentina Condors are
still yet to taste victory in Group B.
Flyweight (52 kg) Jeyvier Cintrón Ocasio is one of Puerto Rico's most
promising boxing talents, and he won his WSB debut on all three score-
cards against Argentina's Cristian Alan Choque Chambi. The Hurricanes
roared in match number two, where Lightweight (60 kg) Jose Rosario
won an even wider points victory over Brian Ivan Nunez.
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 28, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
MASTURBATING COP HAS BEEN SUSPENDED
From The Daily Mail:
Police in Puerto Rico have suspended a female police officer after photos
of her performing a sex act in uniform ended up being leaked to fellow
officers. According to a police insider, the images were taken by a male
colleague at the police station and were posted onto social media. They
said that the young woman, Cynthia Marrero Pomales, 29, was serving in
Carolina. She reportedly uploaded the pictures herself on social media
although it is understood that she had not intended for them to be shared
outside of a small private circle of friends.
PR EXPANDS TAX DEAL TO OWN EMIGRANTS
From Forbes:
Puerto Rico’s Acts 20 & 22, tax incentive laws aimed at luring wealthy
American investors to move there and at reviving the Island’s economy,
are celebrating their third anniversary this month. Now, the Island is
trying to build on this momentum by expanding who can use the tax
breaks; one amendment is aimed at enticing successful Puerto Ricans
who have left the Island to return.
Puerto Rico Senate Bill 864 increases the potential impact of Act 22
by expanding who qualifies for the tax break. Prior to this legislation,
Act 22 was only applicable to new migrants to Puerto Rico who had
not been residents for the 15 year period before the Act went into
effect in January 2012. That period has now been reduced from 15
to 6 years. That means anyone who left the Island before 2006 can
now apply for the Act 20/22 tax breaks.
COURT URGED TO REVERSE GAY MARRIAGE RULING
From SDGLN.COM:
Lambda Legal on Monday filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit to overturn a lower court ruling
dismissing Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla, the lawsuit seeking to
end the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s discriminatory ban on
marriage for LGBT couples.
“The District Court ruling in October was contrary to Supreme
Court precedent and stands in stark contrast against the avalanche
of court rulings over the past 18 months finding marriage bans
like Puerto Rico’s to be discriminatory and unconstitutional,”
said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal.
LEGISLATURE TO REDUCE TOLL FINES
From The San Juan Daily Star:
The island House and Senate passed diff erent versions of a bill
Monday that will reduce thefi nes imposed on drivers for passing
through highway toll plazas without paying and establish an
amnesty that will allow drivers who owe large sums in fines for
doing so to pay them. Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation
and Public Works (DTOP) began this year to enforce the law that
imposes $100 fi nes for passing through the toll plazas without
paying. Citizens were given 30 days to pay the amount they owe in
tolls to erase the fi ne. Nonetheless, many citizens have com-
plained that they were not informed in writing as required by law
that they have fines. Others said they did not deserve the fines
because they recharge their AutoExpreso accounts every month.
AutoExpreso is the name of the island highway toll collection
system.
PR LABOR FORCE SHRINKS FURTHER IN DECEMBER
From News Is My Business:
Puerto Rico’s labor force had 25,000 fewer members in December,
when compared to the same month in 2013, which could account for
the lower unemployment rate announced by the Labor Department
Tuesday. According to the agency, the December jobless rate stood
at 13.7 percent, representing the “lowest rate for that month since
2008,” when the unemployment rate stood at 15.5 percent.
Read the whole story
· · · · ·
Puerto Rico News Digest For January 30, 2015by noreply@blogger.com (Admin)
GOVT TO GIVE DISADVANTAGED 'REWARD CARDS'
From The San Juan Daily Star:
The Puerto Rico government is planning to hand out cumulative
credit cards, known as “rewards cards,” to certain disadvantaged
sectors as part of the Tax Reform. House Treasury Committee
Chairman Rafael “Tatito” Hernández made the announcement during
a radio interview on Wednesday. Similar to a rewards card given
by some retailers, the government rewards card will allow
consumersto accumulate what they have spent on the tax and then
redeem it in 90 days.
Hernández made his remarks in response to reports that the planned
value-added tax (IVA by its Spanish acronym), which entails the
imposition of a 14 percent to 18 percent tax on goods, will lead
to an increase in prices and inflation. The current government
plans to change to an IVA from the current 7 percent sales and
use tax to obtain more revenues for the government and reduce
tax evasion. The proposed tax reform also entails cuts to indivi-
dual and corporate income taxes.“If a person has to pay $200 or
more in six months from what they used to pay [with the sales and
use tax IVU by its Spanish acronym) because no money is being
retained from their check, but $200 are being subtracted from
their resources, then the person is breaking even,” he said. “They
will be reimbursed in a 60- to 90-day time period with a redeemable
rewards card.”
HOUSE APPROVES $225 MILLION BOND ISSUE
From Reuters:
The Puerto Rico House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday
authorizing a government bond issue or other borrowing of up to $225
million for public works projects across the indebted island.
The Treasury secretary can negotiate government-backed bonds with any
bank or investment firm, but because of its financial troubles Puerto
Rico has been largely reliant on hedge funds for funding. Puerto Rico
is struggling with a total debt load of over $70 billion. It is in the
process of restructuring its power authority PREPA which could
possibly involve a writedown to PREPA's $9 billion in debt.
INDEPENDENCE LEADER ASKS FOR CELAC HELP
From TeleSur:
The leader of the Puerto Rican independence movement has called on the
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States to help regain sov-
ereignty for the island. In spite of strong opposition, Puerto Rico
remains a U.S. territory; a 2012 referendum revealed that 54 percent
of the population preferred statehood.
“The persistence of colonialism in my mother land Puerto Rico constitutes
an affront to the dignity of Our America,” said Ruben Berrios Martinez,
president of the Puerto Rican Independence Party. “Colonialism is a
violation to the most elemental human rights: the inalienable right to
free determination and independence is an absolute rule of international
law.” Berrios Martinez asked CELAC, currently meeting in Costa Rica, to
introduce a plan to make the general assembly take a stance on the case
of Puerto Rico and also to demand that the U.S. government liberate Oscar
Lopez, “the longest serving political prisoner in the world having been
in prison nearly 34 years.”
BASEBALL CARIBBEAN SERIES TO START MONDAY
From Caribbean Journal:
The Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe), the championship of the best
Caribbean Winter League teams from Puerto Rico to Venezuela, is being
hosted at San Juan’s Hiram Bithorn stadium beginning Monday. This year’s
series is in Puerto Rico for the first time in four years, with a major
new guest: Cuba.
“It’s gonna be something beautiful for the island, and every year that
we do the Caribbean World Series, they always have something special,”
former Major League star second baseman Carlos Baerga told Caribbean
Journal. “But I think this one’s going to be even more special.
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Cyber questions for Obama’s AG nomineeby jpicard@thehill.com (Mattie Fein)
Protecting our metadata is both the new frontier and the new L’Enfant terrible of policy and law.Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch should be questioned closely on pioneering civil remedies in response to digital age hacking and theft of...
What Obama can learn from the British about fighting Islamic extremism by jpicard@thehill.com (Abraham H. Miller)
It might be politically correct to say that the waves of fundamentalist terror gripping the Middle East and leaving their mark on the blood-stained offices of the French satirical newspaper, Charlie Hebdo, have nothing to do with Islam, but the...
What is at stake for the Latino community following the State of the Union? by jpicard@thehill.com (Vanessa Cárdenas)
Last Tuesday, President Obama addressed Congress and the nation outlining his priorities for the next two years and in the process laying out an expansive agenda that should create excitement among Latinos. The policies the president presented have...
In fight against drugs, Cuba and U.S. on same teamby Joshua Partlow, Nick Miroff
MEXICO CITY — The river of illegal drugs rushing north through Central America and the Caribbean tends to avoid one conspicuous hook-shaped obstacle.Cuba is surrounded by countries used as cartel way stations. But it has distinguished itself as a tough place to traffic drugs — and as an unlikely behind-the-scenes partner with its decades-long rival, the United States.Read full article >>
SAN YSIDRO, Calif. — Mexican traffickers are sending a flood of cheap heroin and methamphetamine across the U.S. border, the latest drug seizure statistics show, in a new sign that America’s marijuana decriminalization trend is upending the North American narcotics trade.Read full article >>
HAVANA — President Obama’s opening to Cuba has accelerated a surge in Cuban migration to the United States, the latest U.S. statistics show, as many on the island grow worried that America’s long-standing immigration benefits for Cubans are now in jeopardy.Read full article >>
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HAVANA — Fidel Castro broke a long and speculation-inducing public silence over his country’s steps to mend ties with the United States, saying he still distrusts Washington but offering a qualified endorsement of the landmark diplomatic outreach.Read full article >>
In Argentina, distrust over president’s move to abolish intelligence agency by Joshua Partlow, Irene Caselli
BUENOS AIRES — They use fake names, drive cars with false documents, carry unregistered guns.They work for an agency with a broad mandate, like a mix of the FBI and the CIA, with a secret budget and vague objectives that allow them to investigate almost anything. Decades after the most notorious abuses during Argentina’s dirty war, the spy service here has yet to shed its bad reputation.Read full article >>
BUENOS AIRES — There were candles, roses and black banners that read “We are all Nisman,” but the crowd that assembled for the prosecutor’s wake, on the night before he was to be buried, was too angry to be solemn.Read full article >>
HAVANA — Like any revolution, the one that upended this island 56 years ago tried to break with the past by burying symbols of the old political order. None stood larger than the resplendent Cuban capitol building, “El Capitolio,” that towers over the heart of Old Havana and was inspired by the U.S. Capitol in Washington. To Fidel Castro and his rebel followers, the Capitolio’s opulence and grandeur reeked of waste and wannabe Americanism.Read full article >>
The U.S. Coast Guard says it has rescued 16 Cuban migrants after their boat began to sink in the treacherous sea passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.
Associated Press | The Americas | January 23,2015
Puerto Rico has created the U.S. territory's hiking trails for blind people at a nature reserve.
Associated Press | The Americas | January 22,2015
A group of scientists opened a cage at dawn on Wednesday and reintroduced 15 endangered Puerto Rican parrots into the wild as part of a conservation program.
Associated Press | The Americas | January 21,2015
The Obama administration unveiled a new plan Friday to fight drug trafficking in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands amid concerns that the flow of cocaine from the Caribbean to the U.S. has more than doubled in the past three years.
Associated Press | The Americas | January 17,2015
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Washington, DC—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today hand-delivered a letter to officials from the White House and the U.S. Department of Justice that highlights the groundbreaking progress that has been made by the pro-statehood movement in Puerto Rico in recent years, and that sets forth Pierluisi’s strategy to secure Puerto Rico’s admission as a state of the Union.
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San Juan, Puerto Rico—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today welcomed the release, by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), of the first-ever Caribbean Border Counternarcotics Strategy, as required by a provision that Pierluisi and Congressman José Serrano of New York secured in federal legislation that became law in 2014. The Strategy outlines the steps that the federal government is already taking—and recommends additional steps it should take—to reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Washington, DC—Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi today issued the following statement regarding the latest data made public by the U.S. Census Bureau, which confirms that there has been massive population loss in Puerto Rico as a result of migration to the states:
Rising gold prices have made it profitable to extract lowgrade deposits lying beneath protected Amazon and other South American forests, says study of mining impacts
A surge in the price of gold has led to increased deforestation of the Amazon and other South American forests, according to a new study of mining impacts.
With the rewards now higher than the risks, small scale garimpeiros – artisanal miners – are flocking into protected areas to extract the precious metal from low-grade seams under the tropical forest that were previously unprofitable, says the paper published on Wednesday in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
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February 7, 2013 36 Hours in San Juan, Puerto Rico
By CHARLES ISHERWOODIn this pastel-hued capital city, you can sample cocktails and culture, shopping and surf, all in a single weekend.
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November 12, 2009Surfacing New Face of Mercado Santurce in San Juan, P.R.
By VANESSA ABLEThe old marketplace is a world of wooden Creole porches, brightly colored shop fronts and, most importantly to a new generation of young professionals, cheap beer and cocktails.
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Second Amendment follows the US flag
Marianas Variety Before cession of the Philippines, Guam and Puerto Rico to the U.S., Congress routinely included bill of rights in organic acts establishing territorial governments. In the Insular Cases, the Supreme Court developed the doctrine of “unincorporated ... |
WTOP |
Joe Biden on DC: 'You should be a state'
WTOP WASHINGTON — A press conference on improving the nation's infrastructure was peppered with support for D.C. statehood from the nation's second in command. It began with D.C.'s delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton comparing the size of Vice President's ... and more » |
The State of the Union Gets Awkward When You Can't Vote for a President
Huffington Post Listening to these words in the House Chamber were five Delegates to Congress representing over 4 million U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. These islands have among the highest ... |
APIA Calls on President Obama to Honor Campaign Promise ...by American Principles in Action
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In June 2011, President Obama traveled to Puerto Rico and made a campaign promise about Puerto Rico's potential statehood: “When the people of Puerto Rico make a decision, my administration will ...
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