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Friday, May 15, 2015

Puerto Rico News Digest For May 15, 2015


TRIPLE MURDER IN AGUAS BUENAS
















As reported today by  El Nuevo Dia, two men and a woman, ranging
in age from 25 to 30, were murdered late last night on Road PR-792
in the Las Villas sector of Aguas Buenas. The crime occurred at
around 12:40 AM and was reported to the Police through an anony-
mous phone call. It is believed the deceased were taken to a dark and
solitary area specifically to be shot to death. The bodies were found
lying on the pavement. A loaded .40 caliber pistol was found at the
scene. The victims were not carrying identification and have not been
named.


GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATORS AGREE ON TAX


From Bloomberg:

Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and lawmakers reached
an agreement on a proposal to raise the island’s sales tax, a move that
may help it sell debt and ease a cash crunch. The plan would boost the
levy to 11.5 percent from 7 percent for nine months, in a transition to
implementing a value-added tax, the governor and members of his Po-
pular Democratic Party told reporters late Thursday in San Juan. The
increase is expected to bring in $1.2 billion of revenue. Lawmakers
also agreed to recommend $500 million in spending cuts as part of a
$9.8 billion budget for fiscal 2016.


STUDENTS PROTEST UPR CUTS IN SAN JUAN


From UPI:

A massive demonstration protesting budget cuts to Puerto  Rico's
state university filled a Capitol plaza in San Juan. Thousands of peo-
ple enrolled or employed at Puerto Rico University (UPR) met at the
Capitol building and marched to the home of the U.S. commonwealth's
chief executive Wednesday. The government has threatened a 20 per-
cent budget cut to the university. Julio Muriente, leader of the pro-inde-
pendence Hostosian National Independence Movement, attended the
demonstration, saying, "We want people to know the importance of the
university for the country, the value of the UPR, and this event is proof
of what the institution is."


SLOTS OPERATORS OPPOSE VIDEO LOTTERY


From The San Juan Daily Star:

Puerto Rican Commercial Recreation Businesses Inc. (EMPRECOM by
its Spanish acronym) members have categorically rejected Gov. Alejandro
García Padilla’s plan to pass new regulations for the operation of  enter-
tainment machines without holding public hearings, which they say opens
the door for the “video lottery” business. “We have been charging that La
Fortaleza was working on a new Operational Regulation for the Additio-
nal Lottery, which is nothing more than ‘bringing the video lottery in
through the kitchen,’” EMPRECOM President Pablo Rivera said in a
written statement. “The governor has given instructions so that this action,
which allows for the elimination of all  entertainment machines that are
currently in operation on the island, and thus makes way for the ‘video
lottery,’ is not talked about.”


$59M IN PROPERTIES AT AUCTION 


From News Is My Business:

Los Angeles-based Premiere Estates Auction Company announced
Thursday a multi-property auction that includes sprawling beachfront
sites in Aguadilla and Cabo Rojo, with a combined listing price of $59
million. The portfolio includes a 507-acre master planned destination
resort property overlooking Boqueron Bay in Cabo Rojo with a listing
price of $50 million, that has been pre-approved for a 600-room resort
hotel, 18-hole golf course, a 200-slip marina, retail village, 1,150 residen-
tial villas and 222 home sites.



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