Puerto Rico News Digest For September 23, 2014

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Don Omar Ex-Girlfriend Reported Missing

El Nuevo Dia has reported that Rebeca Lopez, the 26 year old woman 

who last week accused reggaeton singer Don Omar of domestic violence,

has been reported missing by her family this morning. According to the

relative who filed the report, Lopez left the house at around 6:30 AM

yesterday and has not been seen since. She was driving a red 2007 Ford

Expedition, and was wearing black pants with white stripes and a white

shirt. Earlier yesterday, Lopez had expressed a desire to drop the domestic

violence case against Don Omar and move on.

UPDATE: El Vocero has reported that Rebeca Lopez has called her

mother this morning and stated that she has flown to an undisclosed

location in the mainland United States.

Melba Acosta To Head Development Bank

Current director of Puerto Rico's Internal Revenue Department
("Departamento de Hacienda") Melba Acosta, is expected to be
named the new head of the Banco Gubernamental de Fomento
(Goverment Development Bank) in the coming weeks. According
to El Vocero, the main reason for the appointment process not
having started sooner was Acosta's involvement in the Doral
Bank court case, as it was her who annulled the agreement
between Doral and Hacienda to give the bank a controversial

$229 million tax refund. The move is part of an expected cabinet
reshuffle by governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla.

Marihuana Legislation Stuck In The Chamber

Two separate pieces of legislation, one to legalize medicinal marihuana

and another to reduce penalties for possession of small amounts, are

languishing in the Chamber of Representatives for lack of sufficient

votes to pass. The measures, introduced by Popular Democratic Party

representatives José Báez and Carlos Vargas, have been struggling to

get enough support to pass among PDP members. 

Feds Investigate Island's Education Department

A risk management division of the U.S. federal government's Depart-

ment of Education is investigating the island's Department of Education

in order to audit contracts for programs which receive federal funds,

Noticel reports. The investigation comes on the heels of a disastrous

beginning of the school year, which saw several schools unable to

operate normally due to a lack of teachers and staff.