Puerto Rico News Digest For December 10, 2018

ARREST WARRANT SOUGHT FOR PEDOPHILE TEACHER

The federal probations office has asked the Department of Justice to issue an arrest warrant for former teacher Yaira Cotto Flores, who earlier this year was found guilty of having sexual relations with a 14-year-old student in 2016. She began communicating online with the student in 2015, and early the following year took him to a motel, where they had intercourse.

Cotto Flores was due to turn herself in to the federal Bureau of Prisons today so that she could start serving her 10-year prison sentence in Alabama, which would be followed by 8 years of probation. The teacher has failed to turn herself in on more than one occasion, and according to her husband, she has been seeking mental health treatment.

ROSSELLO NOT SAYING HOW HE'S PAYING FOR BONUS

From El Nuevo Dia:

"Governor Ricardo Rosselló Nevares said that the Christmas bonus to public employees will not threaten the government payroll spend during the last months of the fiscal year. However, the  governor offered little or no information regarding the "savings" that his administration reached to offset this $ 85.3 million disbursement..."

NO PROBABLE CAUSE AGAINST WANDA VAZQUEZ

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"In an unprecedented process, First Instance Court Judge Yazdel Ramos late Friday dismissed all three charges presented by the Independent Special Prosecutor Panel (PFEI, its Spanish acronym) against Secretary of Justice Wanda Vázquez, indicating the evidence presented did not show probable cause for arrest..."

PR HOUSE TO REQUEST JONES ACT EXEMPTION

From Caribbean Business:

"Puerto Rico Rep. José Aponte Hernández will ask the new U.S. Congress to study a request made this weekend by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL), that Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Alaska be permanently exempted from the cabotage law known as the Jones Act..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For March 23, 2015

WEEK STARTS OFF WITH THREE MURDERS

As reported this morning by El Nuevo Dia, three murders were reported
overnight. A man who is as of yet unidentified was found lying dead on
401st Street in Country Club, Carolina. He had apparently been shot to
death, and 20 shell casings were found nearby. Peter Santos Quiñones,
age 26, was gunned down in front of a business in Guayanilla at 5:15
this morning, while an unidentified man was found dead in the Adelaido
Collazo sector of Rio Grande at 6:40 AM. The latter victim was also
seemingly shot to death.

ILLINOIS SURFER DIES IN RINCON

From Pantagraph.com:

A Bloomington man has been identified as the 35-year-old tourist
who drowned while surfing in Puerto Rico. Police say Bryan Wright,
35, of Bloomington, formerly of  Heyworth, died Wednesday while
on vacation last week with  friends in Rincon, Puerto Rico. He lost
his life while surfing, but officials did not release specifics about the
accident, except to acknowledge the surfer fell off his  board in rough
seas.

MUNITION FOUND ON CULEBRA BEACH

From Yahoo! News:

Authorities say residents of an outlying Puerto Rican island have found
an unexploded munition on a beach once used as a bombing practice area
by the U.S. Navy. Island police say they were alerted Sunday to a 2-foot-
long munition found on a rocky stretch of popular Zoni Beach in Culebra.

PIERLUISI CONVENES JONES ACT FORUM

From  Caribbean Business:

Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi announced that, given the
increased concerns being expressed by his constituents about the
Jones Act in light of Horizon Lines’ withdrawal from the Puerto
Rico market, he will convene a forum in Puerto Rico to discuss
the situation. For that reason, Pierluisi sent a letter to the Customs
and Border  Protection (CBP) commissioner and the Maritime
Administration (Marad) administrator, inviting senior officials
from each agency to attend. The resident commissioner will also
invite representatives from each of the Jones Act carriers that pro-
vide service to Puerto Rico. Officials from the local government,
business leaders, manufacturers, farmers, economistsand others
have  been invited as well.