Puerto Rico News Digest For March 16, 2015

ATHLETES INJURED DURING SHOOTOUT

Photo: Puerto Rico Police Dept.

From Yahoo News:

Two competitors in a Puerto Rico Ironman triathlon were injured by
gunfire exchanged between occupants  of two cars as they sped past
the bicycling part of the Sunday event in an  upscale area of the U.S.
island's capital. Puerto Rico police identified the  wounded compe-
titors as Wisconsin woman Liz Boivin, 26, and island  resident
Miguel Arroyo Ramos, 49.  Boivin was hit in the left calf while
three bullets struck Arroyo in the  left side while they raced on bi-
cycles through the San Juan district of  Miramar. The triathlon in-
volves biking, running and swimming.

OIL TAX HIKE WENT INTO EFFECT SUNDAY

The increase in the crude oil tax to $15.50 per barrel, colloquially 

known as "La Crudita", went into effect yesterday across Puerto Rico. 

Immediate rises in the price of gasoline were expected and have 

already been seen. But, as of Sunday afternoon, many gas stations 

across the island were still selling fuel at the "old price". However, 

across the board gas price hikes are inevitable and will likely start 

to be seen more consistently over the next few days.

GUAYANILLA MAYOR DENIES SEX ALLEGATIONS

From The San Juan Daily Star:

The suspended mayor of Guayanilla, Edgardo Arlequin Vélez,  on 

Thursday expressed hope he will be vindicated in the end  after the 

Special Independent Prosecutor (SIP) Panel suspended him last week 

from the mayoral seat for allegedly sexually harassing a municipal 

female employee. “All these  actions against me were based solely 

on statements by another party,” Arlequin Vélez said in a written 

statement. “I flatly deny the facts alleged against me. My family is 

accompanying me right now firmly and with serenity and  gratitude, 

and the people overwhelmingly have expressed solidarity with me. 

At the end of the process, I will prevail and continue to serve my 

people as usual.

TREASURY COLLECTIONS UP FOR FEBRUARY

From News Is My Business: 

The Puerto Rico Treasury Department collected $709.3 million in 

February for the General Fund, a figure that was up $39.4 million, 

or 5.9 percent when compared to the same month last year, and $6.5 

million, or 0.9 percent, below estimates. One of the main revenue 

drivers was $319 million collected in income taxes, which exceeded 

February 2014 collections by $35 million. All components of this 

category reflected increases when compared to February 2014.

WOMEN'S NAVY TENNIS TEAM TO PLAY IN PR

From Navy Sports:

The Navy women's tennis team (11-6) will open a three-match spring 

break trip in Puerto Rico on Monday against Augustana College (S.D.)

at 12:30 PM (ET). The Mids and the Vikings will meet in Palmas del 

Mar on the southeastern coast of  Puerto Rico. The Mids have won 

three straight matches and are coming off a 4-3 win over Delaware 

on Thursday. Navy has also recently defeated Towson, 5-2, and Marist, 

5-2.

For the latest headlines throughout the day, follow @ThePRMonitor
on Twitter.

Puerto Rico News Digest For March 11, 2015

PLANE RECOVERED FROM CONDADO LAGOON

As reported by Noticel, a Piper PA-23 aircraft that crashed into
Condado Lagoon in San Juan on Monday afternoon has been re-
covered.   Pilot Rafael Pesquera, age 49, and co-pilot Ramón
Garida, also 49, were not seriously injured. Authorities dragged
the fallen aircraft to the shore of the lagoon yesterday, and it will
be taken to Isla Grande airport once fuel and the wings are remo-
ved. The exact cause of the accident is unknown, but apparently
the plane's engines stopped functioning not long after takeoff
from Isla Grande.

SOME INMATES TO LOSE VOTING RIGHTS

As reported today by El Vocero, the Chamber of Representatives
passed a bill last night that would strip prison inmates convicted
of major offenses of the right to vote in Puerto Rican elections.
Representative Carlos Vargas was behind the measure, and was
ableto get the votes to pass it as part of a deal in which he would
vote for the proposed oil tax increase, or "crudita". It is unknown
whether Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla will sign the bill.

LOWERING IVA ON SOME ITEMS CONSIDERED

From The San Juan Daily Star:

After meeting for several hours with House leaders, Gov. Alejandro
García Padilla is now accepting the idea of amending Tax Reform to
possibly introduce reduced rates of the value-added tax to certain
products and services and obtain needed votes in the House to pass
the bill. House Speaker Jaime Perelló and Majority Leader Charlie
Hernández met with the governor hours before he was slated to go
to the airwaves in support of his tax reform.

PR JOINS DIET SUPPLEMENT PROBE 

From The Chicago Tribune:

Dietary supplements are facing more scrutiny from U.S. regulators
as two states and Puerto Rico joined New York in a probe of the
$33 billion industry after testing showed some products didn't
appear to contain key ingredients advertised. Attorneys general in
Connecticut and Indiana and the Puerto Rico Department of Consumer
Affairs will investigate industry business practices and whether
claims of authenticity and purity are valid, Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman said Tuesday in a statement.

CLARO EXTENDS BROADBAND IN YAUCO

From News Is My Business:

Telecommunications company Claro announced Monday it has extended
broadband services to eight sectors in the town of Yauco, where a
combined 965 families will have access to the benefits associated
with high-speed Internet. The sectors of Algarrobo, Caimito,
Collores, Rancheras, Cotuy, Diego Hernández, Aguas Blancas, Naranjo
and Carrizales in Yauco join the initiative being bankrolled by the
Federal Communications Commission to boost rich broadband across
regions.

Puerto Rico News Digest For January 20, 2015

POLITICAL PRISONER GONZALEZ CLAUDIO BACK IN PR

Photo from: Claridad

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Political prisoner Norberto González Claudio, who was charged
in the 1983 robbery of over $7 million from a Wells Fargo truck,
the largest heist in U.S. history, arrived in Puerto Rico late
last week to the delight of hundreds of pro-independence supporters
after serving time in a Florida prison. González Claudio , 69, was
sentenced in 2012 by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello
in Hartford to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by three years
of supervised release, for his involvement in a 1983 armored truck
robbery in West Hartford, Conn., and for his illegal possession of
a machine gun at the time of his arrest in May 2011.

CHEAP OIL MUDDIES PREPA RECOVERY

From Reuters:

Tumbling oil prices may offer short-term relief to Puerto Rico's
struggling electric power authority PREPA, but could embolden
bondholders and muddy the utility's path to a long-term fix.
Crude's slide may give bondholders more sway in negotiating a
restructuring of the utility because a sharp drop in its fuel
costs gives them less reason to accept reduced debt repayments.
While fixing PREPA is seen as a key step in solving the troubled
island's debt problems, cheaper oil could create the perception
that the power authority may not need a broad, and expensive,
overhaul.

VENEZUELA FOOD COMPANY COMES TO PR

From News Is My Business:

Industrias Alimenticias Alto de San Juan, owned by two Venezuelan
companies, announced Monday plans to manufacture its products in
Puerto Rico.

With an initial investment of $400,000, the company has committed
to the creation of 200 jobs once the project is fully operational.
This is the fourth industrial development project announced by Gov.
Alejandro García-Padilla’s administration during the past two weeks.
The payroll associated with the new jobs reaches about $3 million
annually, Gov. García-Padilla said during the ribbon-cutting at
the plant.

DOM REP POULTRY EXPORTS TO PR SET TO EXPLODE

From Dominican Today:

The Government aims to spur poultry and egg exports to Puerto Rico
to supply of meals to students from that island, Agro Bank adminis-
trator Carlos Segura affirmed Monday.

The official said among the agreements signed by president Danilo
Medina and Puerto Rico governor Alejandro García figure taking
advantage of domestic production, once the country obtains the
required certifications. He said the country’s installed capacity
meets Puerto Rico’s market and can double poultry production,
without expanding current facilities. He said the country currently
produces 15 million chickens and 150 million eggs.

Puerto Rico News Digest for December 15, 2014

GUAYNABO KILLER FIT FOR TRIAL

José Luis Bosch Mulero (right) and Christopher Sánchez Asencio (left)

El Nuevo Dia has reported today that José Luis Bosch
Mulero, one of the two men charged in the grisly Guaynabo
family massacre, has been declared competent to stand
trial by state psychiatrist Yamilka Rolón García. Mulero
has been diagnosed in the past with attention hyperactivity
disorder, mild retardation and borderline intelligence.
However, the government has found him to be coherent and
logical. Both Mulero and Christopher Sánchez Asencio face
counts of murder, weapons violations, attempted murder,
kidnapping, aggravated assault, destruction of evidence,
theft and conspiracy, all related to the November 18
multiple murder.

PR 13% MORE EXPENSIVE THAN MOST OF US

From News Is My Business:

The cost of living in Puerto Rico for a professional family
is about 13 percent more expensive than it is in more than
300 urban and rural areas in the U.S. mainland, according to
the findings of the Cost of Living Index.

Puerto Rico recently began participating in the methodology
introduced in 1968 by Virginia-based Council for Community
and Economic Research, known as the C2ER, and adopted by
the Puerto Rico Statistics Institute as a way to provide data
about the island’s economy and society for the first time.

In terms of living expenses, Puerto Rico’s statistical area
placed 41 out of 325 urban and rural areas with the highest
cost standards, behind large cities such as New York, San
Francisco, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Diego, Los
Angeles, Seattle, Hartford,  Portland, Philadelphia, and
Chicago.

NPP REP OUSTED FOR VOTING FOR OIL TAX

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Arguing that he betrayed party trust and policy, the New
Progressive Party (NPP) House delegation ousted Rep. Pedro
Julio “Pellé” Santiago permanently from the caucus and asked
House Speaker Jaime Perelló to remove his fl oor bench, for
voting in favor of the crude oil tax hike.After repeatedly
telling the minority party he was going to vote according
to the caucus decision, Santiago at the last minute Monday
voted in favor of the crude oil tax, which did not at that
time have the needed votes for passage.

“Our colleague ‘Pellé’ Santiago is not part of the NPP
delegation in the House of Representatives,” House Minority
Leader Jenniffer González said at a news conference. The NPP
met for two hours Thursday to determine what disciplinary
actions to take against Santiago.

BUSINESS PLAN FOR PREPA TO BE PRESENTED

From Reuters:

A business plan for PREPA, the troubled Puerto Rican electric
authority, is to be presented to creditors on Monday, board
president Harry Rodriguez said in a statement.

The business plan of Chief Restructuring Officer Lisa Donahue
is a working document that will present different scenarios for
PREPA, but does not propose firing employees, the statement said.

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.