Wednesday, April 4, The San Juan Daily Star

Transcription

1 2 Wednesday, April 4, 2018

2 GOOD MORNING, the only paper with 3 April 4, 2018 h News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edition, along with a Weekend Edition to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Environmentalists: Salinas Failing to Protect Aquifer Local Mainland Business International Viewpoint Noticias en Español Entertainment INDEX Health Legal Notices Sports Games Horoscope Cartoons By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com The request made by Salinas Mayor Karilyn Bonilla Colón to the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) to nullify the protection of the southern aquifer and give way to new construction endangers the drinking water of residents of the southern coastal town, said Víctor Alvarado Guzmán, spokesperson for the Environmental Dialogue Committee of Salinas. Alvarado Guzmán said Tuesday that the mayor s request is foolish, since it has no evidence that the aquifer has optimum levels to withstand new extractions. In the analysis carried out by the DNER in 2016, in which we participated, a process was established to stop the serious deterioration suffered by underground water supplies and promote the recovery of the aquifer, Alvarado Guzmán said. For 20 years we warned that the over-construction of urbanizations would affect the aquifer, and for that reason the drought that affected us markedly between 2015 and 2016 propelled a historic rationing of water in our town. We can not expose residents again to running out of water in their homes. The spokesperson said the old strategy of building commercial centers and urbanizations to supposedly boost the economy did not work and was the one that endangered the water supply of the communities. What the mayor is proposing now is the same unsustainable development that former Mayor Carlos Rodríguez Mateo did, and that put the aquifer in extreme danger, Alvarado Guzmán said. How is it that the mayor talks about building more houses, when there are hundreds of abandoned houses and others for sale in all the communities of Salinas? He urged the mayor to ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the island Environmental Quality Board to monitor the areas in Salinas where more than 600,000 tons of cement have been deposited and buried. It was recently revealed that the aquifer in the area of the AES coal plant is contaminated with toxic chemicals and radioactive particles from coal ash. However, we have not heard any comments from Karilyn Bonilla, Alvarado Guzmán said regarding the suspected likelihood that water supplies are also contaminated with radioactive waste. That itself is dangerous and we do not see any movement on the part of the municipality to demand that the agencies monitor and remedy the environmental disaster that they allowed, the threat to the environment, economy and health of the families, and the contamination of the aquifer and the sea.

3 4 Wednesday, April 4, % of Veterans in Survey Don t Own Their Own Home By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com The Puerto Rico House of Representatives announced Tuesday that it received the final report on Resolution 137, from Rep. Luis Pérez Ortiz, which included a study on the availability and development of housing for retired veterans of advanced age or with disabilities. According to a survey conducted by the Office of the Veteran s Advocate, 21 percent of surveyed veterans do not own their own home. Within that group of veterans can be found those who rent the home in which they live or are homeless. Meanwhile, the second partial report for House Resolution 343 was received, from Rep. José Luis Rivera Guerra, to evaluate the conditions of the infrastructure of highway PR-111, which extends from Aguadilla to Utuado, and the possibilities of an extension of lanes. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee submitted a favorable report on the proposed work. House to Probe Telecom Service Delivery in Mountain Towns By The STAR Staff The Puerto Rico House of Representatives on Tuesday approved Resolution 750, filed by Rep. Urayoán Hernández Alvarado, which will investigate the operational status, quality of services and consumer complaints about the service provided by telecommunications companies in mountain towns. The measure maintains that over six months after the passage of Hurricane Maria, isolated communities still lack telecommunications systems, which affects the economy, public safety, health, and the banking, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, tourism and transportation industries in the region. The lower chamber also approved House Resolution 791, filed by Rep. José González Mercado, to investigate the status of damaged traffic lights in Puerto Rico, as well as the plan to repair or replace them. Rep. Urayoán Hernández Alvarado Bill Would Provide Inmates with Valid ID, Other Help Upon Release New Progressive Party (NPP) Rep. José Memo González Mercado filed a piece of legislation on Tuesday to facilitate the reintegration of inmates back into the community by FOR RENT BEAUTIFUL RENTAL HOMES FOR DISASTER RECOVERY WORKERS SE Side of Island 3 & 4 Bdrm Homes Homes Sleep 5-7 People $260-$300/Night Beautiful Beach/Mountain Views casawurster@gmail.com Photos at casawurster.com providing identification to those who are about to be released. The legislation seeks to establish the rights of former inmates and gives them the opportunity to request and acquire a valid form of identification to Rep. José Memo González Mercado help them move forward once they are freed. Unfortunately, currently, the effects of the punishment imposed on people who have been convicted in our institutions do not end once they are released, because they are subjected to stigmatization by society and face another series of obstacles that doesn t allow them to have an adequate reintegration, González Mercado said in a written statement. He said the lack of personal identification is an impediment to applying for employment, education and other government services such as housing, food stamps and health insurance. The legislation, supported by Correction and Rehabilitation Secretary Erik Rolón Suárez, describes reintegrating convicts into society in a process that is fair and nondiscriminatory. With this legislation it is ordered to include the identification called Real ID, and my commitment to the inmates also involves their being issued their birth certificate along with other procedures that I know are necessary so they can restart their lives in our society after completing adequate rehabilitation in prison, González Mercado said. I worry about the inmate population because I know that many times they are marginalized. We all deserve a second chance and the right to move forward. This legislation does justice to thousands of confined people who for some reason are sentenced and who, when released, wish to move forward.

4 Wednesday, April 4, New Companies to Earn Tax, Salary Incentives Under Enterprise Platform Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares on Tuesday announced the certification and training of 75 new companies to start receiving tax and salary incentives with the projected creation of more than 200 new jobs. Commerce and Exportation Department Executive Director Ricardo Llerandi Cruz said the new jobs were certified through the Microenterprise Community, Urban Center Employment Direct and Young Entrepreneurs Incentive (Act 135) programs, and the Incentives Law for Generation and Job Retention (Act 120). Among the incentives that these new companies will receive are: economic incentives for operating expenses and inventory purchases, salary reimbursement, tax exemption on municipal taxes and on personal property, expedited permitting and certification processing, and exemption from generated income tax. We remain committed to innovation, technology and training, all key ingredients to the development and strengthening of our small and midsize local businesses, Rosselló said. The governor s announcement coincided with the training event Startup Academy. The workshop Canvas Business, offered by Katerina Sánchez of the Guayacán Group, was developed to teach participating entrepreneurs how to determine the strengths and areas of opportunity for their business model, and includes a certification regime that allows them to develop new strategies and elevate their ideas to another level. In addition, Millie Cortés of UPS offered attendees a workshop titled The Online Shopper Experience. Most companies were created by young entrepreneurs, certificated under the Young Entrepreneurs Incentive Program (Act 135) with a total of 55 new companies. The time to embark on is here to stay, Llerandi Cruz said. The experiences and circumstances that we have lived through as a people have motivated more Puerto Ricans to see entrepreneurship as a real choice of livelihood and personal growth. To help in this process, they can count on the Commerce and Exportation Department to turn that business PR Receives $10.3 Million in Federal Funds for AIDS Programs, 330 Centers Jenniffer González Colón Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón announced on Tuesday that the federal Health Resources and Services Administration assigned some $10.3 million to address the needs of people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and for the 330 Centers in the towns of Barceloneta and Arroyo. The Puerto Rico Health Department will receive $5.5 million in federal funding for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program. This program helps states and U.S. territories prevent, reduce or eliminate waiting lists by providing funding. In addition, the San Juan Municipal Family and Services Department will receive $2.7 million to provide direct financial assistance to metropolitan areas that are eligible and that have been severely impacted by the HIV epidemic for developing, organizing and operating health care and support programs for individuals and families with HIV. The Barceloneta Primary Health Services Inc. (Atlantic Medical Center) will receive $1.6 million under the Health Center Cluster program that funds the so-called 330 Centers. Meanwhile, the Palmieri Health Center in Arroyo will also receive funds under the Health Center Cluster, amounting to $52,443. Ricardo Llerandi Cruz dream into a reality. The programs and services offered to these new entrepreneurs are part of the Puerto Rico Embark, an enterprise platform that seeks to promote more opportunities for the development of more local businesses so they can create jobs and be competitive both locally and abroad. Initiatives and strategies within Puerto Rico Embark are contained in Rosselló s Plan for Puerto Rico and are aimed at reviving the island s stagnant economy. In 2017 we launched Puerto Rico Embark, an enterprise platform that seeks to promote more opportunities for the development of small and midsize enterprises to be competitive locally and thus promote, incentivize and facilitate the exportation of their products and services, Llerandi Cruz added. To accomplish this we developed and implemented various initiatives and incentives, already making an impact on more than 750 Puerto Rican companies with a commitment of creating more than 2,800 jobs. WANT TO BUY A HOME WITHOUT SPENDING TOO MUCH? I have a long list of great properties from investors and banks looking to sell at afordable prices!!! Want to SELL or RENT you house or commercial property? WE WORK WITH ANY KIND OF CREDIT AND FINANCIAL INCENTIVES (SOME RESTRICTIONS MAY APPLY). FREE CONSULTS. rruizrealestate1@gmail.com

5 6 Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Governor Slams Congressman Over Dictatorial Letter Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares earlier this week fiercely defended his administration s right to help steer the insolvent, storm-ravaged island out of bankruptcy after a U.S. congressman said the process should be led by the island s creditors and a federally appointed oversight board. In a scorching, 6,000-word letter delivered on Monday to U.S. Representative Rob Bishop, and seen by Reuters, Rosselló accused the Republican lawmaker of turning back the clock many decades to a time when the federal government simply imposed its will on the U.S. territory. Bishop, who chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources, was at the forefront of a 2016 federal law known as PROMESA, which moved Puerto Rico s finances under the management of a federally appointed board. In a letter last week, Bishop censured the board for lack of progress on a massive planned debt restructuring in Puerto Rico, directing the board to seek more input from the island s financial creditors on a plan to stabilize the island. Rosselló said on Monday that flew in the face of PROMESA, which calls for the board and the governor to work together. He said the sides had made consensual progress on elements of Puerto Rico s restructuring. I cannot and will not permit you to elevate concerns of bondholders on the mainland above concern for the well-being of my constituents, Rosselló said in the 13-page rebuke. Your letter is truly disturbing in its reckless disregard for collaboration and cooperation in favor of an anti-democratic process akin to a dictatorial regime. Puerto Rico is navigating both the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. government history, with $120 billion in bond and pension debt, and its worst natural disaster in 90 years with September s Hurricane Maria. The storm killed dozens, devastated the island s infrastructure, and has left thousands without power more than six months later. Rosselló s letter, scattered with legal arguments supporting a theory that the board s powers are limited, foreshadows the potential for litigation if his government and the oversight board cannot come to terms on a path forward for the island. The two sides have been collaborating on an economic forecast, called a fiscal turnaround plan, whose projections will determine, crucially, how much money the island has left over to repay its bondholders. But they are apart on key issues, namely demands by the board to impose pension cuts and labor reforms. The governor has said those demands constitute specific policy decisions that exceed the board s power. The board has the authority to certify a plan unilaterally if it cannot reach terms with the governor, and Bishop s letter was seen as a nod to that increasingly likely scenario. In it, Bishop essentially instructed the board to use its powers to enforce austerity measures and start collaborating with creditors rather than with just the government. By The STAR Staff One of the 10 most wanted criminals in the state of Massachusetts has been arrested in Arecibo, police reported Tuesday. Román Torres Torres, 58, of Springfield, Mass., was arrested Monday in the northern coastal city s Miraflores neighborhood on a federal warrant for sexual assault. Wanda Vázquez Cabrera, the police press officer in Arecibo, said the arrest was carried out by agents of the Special Arrest Division. A unilateral plan would likely perpetuate already costly litigation over Puerto Rico s financial future, because Rosselló could resist implementing the board s plan, and the board could then sue to enforce it, a scenario that has some precedent. Rosselló insisted his government was owed a seat at the table. Congress did not create a control board with plenary policymaking power, the governor said. Congress expressly rejected such a model. One of Massachusetts Most Wanted Arrested in Arecibo