Puerto Rico News Digest For October 21, 2015

TOURIST DIES AFTER ZIP LINE FALL

From Yahoo! News:

"A 56-year-old cruise ship passenger from New Mexico has died after
falling from a zip line in Puerto Rico, police said Tuesday, prompting
calls for greater oversight of adventure tours in the U.S. territory. Poli-
ce said Marsha Boekeloo fell 20 feet (6 meters) from the line at the
Hacienda Campo Rico..."

COMMERCE SECRETARY CALLS CRITICS 'LOSERS'

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Economic Development and Commerce Secretary Alberto Bacó des-
cribed critics of Laws 20 and 22, which have helped lure wealthy Ame-
rican investors to Puerto Rico on the promise that they won’t pay taxes,
as “born losers.” “They are born that way. They are born losers..."

UNIONS PROTEST PREPA PRIVATIZATION

From Caribbean Business:

"Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's (Prepa) Alliance of Active &
Retired Employees and Irrigation & Electrical Workers Union (Utier
by its Spanish acronym) held a protest Tuesday along Condado's Dos
Hermanos Bridge to denounce government proposals to privatize..."

TOURISM INDUSTRY STILL HEALTHY

From News Is My Business:

"Puerto Rico is $73 billion in the hole, a sustained drought recently
led to severe water shortages — at one point forcing some San Juan
residents to limit their showers to two a week — and potential rival
Cuba is about to open up the floodgates to U.S. visitors..."

PREPA CHIEF CONFIDENT ON BOND DEAL

From Bloomberg:

"Puerto Rico’s main electricity provider is confident it will reach a deal
with insurance companies that guarantee repayment on a portion of its
$8.3 billion of debt, the utility’s chief restructuring officer said..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For December 22, 2014

POLICE MISS WORK IN PROTEST

El Vocero reports that many police officers across Puerto
Rico have not reported to work, with absences per shift
numbering about 500 across the island over this past
Sunday. The sick calls and absenteeism have been arranged
unofficially by police over social media in protest over
working conditions and recent salary adjustments. Police
upper management have allegedly begun requesting doctor's
notes from officers who miss work. The worst affected
precints in San Juan have been in Rio Piedras and Calle
Loiza.

TWO YOUNG WOMEN RUN OVER

Two 24-year-old cousins, Stephanie Hernández Rosa and
Jeandelize Soto Rosa, were participating in a Christmas
"parranda" at 12:45AM on Saturday morning, when they were
hit by a car as they crossed Road 111 in Moca, El Nuevo Dia
is reporting. Both were taken to San Carlos Hospital, where
Hernández Rosa died. Soto Rosa has been transferred to Centro
Medico, where she is reported as stable. The stretch of 111
where the women were hit is described by Police as the
"road of death" due to its high rate of accidents and
fatalities.

LIFE WIRELESS OPENS TWO STORES

From News Is My Business:


Life Wireless, a cellular provider offering free phone service
to eligible customers through the federal Lifeline program, has
opened its first retail locations in Puerto Rico to better serve
its fast-growing customer base.

The customer service centers, located in Bayamón and
Santurce, provide a place for customers to get their phones
serviced,  replace lost handsets, and re-certify their eligibility
in the Lifeline program without having to mail in verification
documents.

“We are excited to serve Puerto Rico more effectively and
efficiently by opening these two storefronts,” said Marta
Rivera, marketing manager at Easy Wireless, Life Wireless’s
exclusive distribution partner in Puerto Rico. “Having a retail
presence makes it so much easier to meet the needs of our
customers.”

PELLE SANTIAGO REQUESTS RETURN TO NPP

From The San Juan Daily Star:


New Progressive Party (NPP) Rep. Pedro Julio ‘Pellé’ Santiago
said he will ask the party to reconsider its  decision to suspend
him permanently from party positions for voting in favor of the
crude oil tax hike.

Santiago said he has received unofficial notice from the NPP
caucus informing him of the expulsion. “I have not been taken
out of the committees nor been given the order to remove my
House bench, but since I got the letter I will ask for the bench
to be separated from the delegation,” he said. Santiago reiterated
that he is not sorry for voting in favor of the crude oil tax hike.

Puerto Rico News Digest for December 9, 2014

STUDENTS INJURED DURING BUS CRASH

A truck crashed into a school bus at 7:25 this morning,
leaving three students gravely injured, as reported by
El Nuevo Dia. The accident occured on the Luis A. Ferré
expressway, going from Santa Isabel to Salinas. The bus
was headed to Saint Patrick School in Guayama. One of
the minors affected was in critical condition, and was
taken to San Lucas Hospital in Guayama, while the other
two injured students were taken by ambulance to Centro
Medico in Rio Piedras. Only one lane of traffic is open
in the area at the moment due to the accident investi-
gation.

MOLINA HEALTHCARE TO RUN PR MEDICAID

From Marketwatch:

Molina Healthcare, Inc. MOH, -0.49% today announced that 

its wholly owned subsidiary, Molina Healthcare of Puerto 

Rico, Inc., has executed a contract with the Puerto Rico 

Health Insurance Administration (ASES by its Spanish 

acronym) to operate the Commonwealth’s Medicaid-funded 

Government Health Plan (GHP) program in the East and 

Southwest regions. Molina Healthcare of Puerto Rico’s 

total expected enrollment in the two regions is approxi-

mately 350,000 members.

“As a health care company that has more than 30 years of 

experience serving Medicaid beneficiaries, we are pleased 

to have been selected as a new Medicaid provider in Puerto 

Rico,” said J. Mario Molina, MD, President and CEO of 

Molina Healthcare. “We look forward to working closely 

with ASES, local providers, and community leaders to 

deliver high-quality health care to Puerto Rico’s 

Medicaid participants.”

OIL TAX CONSTITUTIONALITY QUESTIONED 

From The San Juan Daily Star:

The House will again discuss today the bill on the crude oil 

tax hike, as it decides whether to concur with Senate 

amendments to the legislationor send it to a House-Senate 

conference committee to create a single version of the bill.

The bill, which increases the tax on crude oil from $9.25 

to $15.50, was first approved in the House and later by the 

Senate, which approved it with a series of amendments. 

The bill now goes back to the House for approval.

The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, José 

Nadal Power, said it will be very difficultto amend the 

measure again because the amendments were approved 

in the Senate caucus. “There were some doubts about the 

constitutionality,” he said.