Puerto Rico News Digest For August 17, 2015

WEEKEND RAINS RAISE RESERVOIR LEVELS

The rains that soaked much of Puerto Rico over this past weekend helped
raise the levels of several of the island's water reservoirs, including emba-
ttled Carraízo, which saw a rise of 31 centimeters. users of the Carraízo
reservoir, which serves much of the San Juan metro area, are still under
a water rationing plan which only gives them running water two days a
week, and which is expected to continue, according to the President of
AAA, Alberto Lázaro. The reservoir that made the biggest gains over the
weekend was Guajataca, which increased by 74 centimeters. However, La
Plata reservoir did not see any level rises during the period of rain. La Plata's
users are currently under a 48-hour water rationing plan, which may soon be
extended.

DOZENS TIE THE KNOT AT MASS GAY WEDDING

From Caribbean Business:

More than 60 same-sex couples are marrying Sunday in Old San Juan,
the first time an event of this nature takes place on the island after the
recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage, fo-
llowed by Gov. Alejandro García Padilla’s executive order to change
local laws accordingly. “It’s a historic day for Puerto Rico, since we
show diversity,” lawyer Ada Conde, a long-time civil rights advocate,
told Inter News Service. Last June, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision
in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage throughout the na-
tion, including Puerto Rico, where Article 68 of the Civil Code defined
marriage as the union “between a man and a woman.”

TREASURY COLLECTS $626.5M IN JULY

From News Is My Business:

The Puerto Rico Treasury Department announced Friday that General Fund
net revenues totaled $626.5 million in July 2015 — the first month of Fiscal
2016 — representing a $2.3 million increase when compared to July 2014.
Collections were $21.1 million above estimates, Treasury Secretary Juan Za-
ragoza said. Sales and Use Tax (SUT) collections totaled $154.3 million in
July 2015, a $40.6 million, or 35.7 percent, year-over-year increase and the
highest amount of revenues for any month since the inception of the SUT.

TURTLE EGG DESTRUCTION INVESTIGATED

From Fox News Latino:

Environmental agencies in Puerto Rico are investigating the destruction of 99
eggs of the endangered leatherback turtle that were found in a nest on a beach
in San Juan, activist Deborah Feliciano told EFE Friday. Feliciano, a member
of the government-sponsored 7 Quillas group that is charged with keeping wa-
tch on the beaches of Condado and Ocean Park, found that the eggs were rotten,
the nest was inundated with water, and there was a distinct smell of excrement
in the air. She said the group reported the situation to Puerto Rico's Natural Re-
sources Department, or DRNA, and to the Board of Environmental Quality.