Puerto Rico's Super Sunday

The Atlantic

VANN NEWKIRK


Puerto Rico is not a state. It has no electoral college votes for president,
no senators, and no representatives. After the grind of the 2016 primary
season and the fireworks of post-convention campaigning, November
ballots in Puerto Rico will not feature the names of those running for
America’s highest offices. However, as one of the most important finan-
cial and political crises in Puerto Rico’s recent history unfolds, it is still
primed to make a statement in the presidential race.


Like all other inhabited territories of the United States—Guam, the Uni-
ted States Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, and American Sa-
moa—Puerto Rico is part of the primary process for both the Republican
and Democratic parties...[CONTINUE READING]

Puerto Rico News Digest For December 11, 2015

BHATIA CONDEMNS GOP FISCAL BILL

From Caribbean Business:

"If Congress does not approve Chapter 9 protections for Puerto Rico
before the end of the year, Bhatia said that the commonwealth will
have to default on Jan. 1 and deal with the legal consequences.“The
proposals set forth by Republicans are not acceptable to anyone at
the moment. I think we have to reject them or amend them,” Bhatia
said in a radio interview. “There is a lot of work to be done during
this week and the next to amend that [bill], and obtain acceptable
proposals for Puerto Rico,” he added. The Puerto Rico Assistance
Act provides short-term tax relief to workers and makes $3 billion
in funds available to the commonwealth, but stops short of granting
the commonwealth access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection..."

PR SHOPLIFTING LOSSES AT $490M

From News Is My Business:

"Puerto Rico retailers and the government are losing some $490 million
in annual revenue as a result of shoplifting and organized crime, mem-
bers of the Puerto Rico Marketing, Industry and Food Distribution Cham-
ber said Wednesday. The problem also affects consumers, who pay higher
prices as businesses attempt to compensate for the costs. A portion of tho-
se losses are also attributed to uncollected sales and use tax revenue that
the Puerto Rico Treasury Department is failing to receive..."

PREPA RESTRUCTURING EXTENSION EXPECTED

From San Juan Daily Star:

"As the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) secured another
extension from bondholders to get insurance companies to sign onto an
agreement to restructure the agency’s $8.2 billion of debt and for comm-
onwealth lawmakers to approve the proposal, financial analyst Daniel
Hanson said Wednesday that he is not surprised by the news. The agree-
ment extends termination dates on an earlier accord between PREPA and
investors owning about 35 percent of the agency’s bonds to Dec. 17, the
utility said in a statement. The pact, which was set to expire Thursday,
was extended for a third time since being signed last month..."

FIRST SAME SEX ADOPTION APPROVED

From Latin Correspondent:

"A court in Puerto Rico has allowed adoption by same-sex couples for
the first time in the country’s history. Judge Ladi Buono De Jesús today
answered Ángeles Judith Acosta Rodríguez’s request to adopt her partner
Carmen Milagros Vélez Vega’s biological child Juliana. The minor will
remain in the national registry under both women’s surnames, according
to Vanguardia.  This was the second time that the couple attempted the
claim..."

COMERIO TWITTER TROLL ARRESTED

From Fox News Latino:

"A Puerto Rico man accused of creating 300 Twitter accounts to harass
people online has been arrested in the first case of its kind for the U.S.
territory, authorities said Tuesday. The island's Justice Department said
27-year-old Omar Falcon Torres is suspected of operating under the na-
me "MedeaBot" for two years. He faces charges that include stalking,
misappropriation of identity and intimidating witnesses in part by send-
ing people "violent sexual imagery" and using violent language, authori-
ties said..."

The Top 20 Offensive Things That Donald Trump Will Do Next

Tycoon Donald Trump has been making headlines during his campaign 

for the Republican Presidential nomination for saying several outrageous 

things. Here are some more offensive things Trump might do in the months 

ahead...

1. Steals Rick Perry's fake glasses and buries them in the yard.

2. Repeatedly demands that all Portuguese be deported.

3. Calls Malala Yousafzai a bitch.

4. Gets even worse haircut on purpose.

5. Tells wheelchair-bound people to "get off their asses already".

6. Flies to Zimbabwe, kills Cecil the Lion's cubs.

7. Simultaneously runs for President of Mexico.

8. Admits that he's Chelsea Clinton's godfather.

9. Changes catchphrase from "You're Fired" to "Deez Nutz"

10. Opens yet another...[CONTINUE READING]

Puerto Rico News Digest For April 15, 2015

JEB BUSH TO RAISE FUNDS IN PUERTO RICO

As reported today by El Nuevo Dia, former Florida Governor and potential
Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush will visit Puerto Rico on April
28. Bush will participate in a $1,000-a-plate fundraising luncheon at a Repu-
blican Party delegate's house in Caparra, as well as a public town hall meet-
ing in Bayamón. The former Governor is a Spanish speaker, and is married
to a Hispanic woman, which is expected to help him in the island's Republican
primaries next year. Bush has yet to officially announce his 2016 presidential
candidacy.

PUERTA DE TIERRA HOUSING PROJECT DEMOLISHED

From The San Juan Daily Star:

The demolition of seven buildings that housed 336 residential units in the
former Puerta de Tierra public housing project in San Juan kicked off Monday
morning, Housing Department Secretary Alberto Lastra and Public Housing
Administrator Gabriel López announced in a joint statement. “The final stage
of  the transformation of Puerta de Tierra community begins today,” Lastra
said. “This demolition makes way for the construction of new housing units
that will enable the integration of diff erent social components to create new
spaces according to contemporary demands. With this new concept, residents
will be empowered in their own urban environment.”

COURT DELAYS PR GAY MARRIAGE CASE

From The Washington Blade:

A federal appeals court has delayed oral arguments in a lawsuit challen-
ging Puerto Rico’s same-sex marriage ban. A one paragraph  ruling the
1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston released  on Tuesday states
“it is premature to set an oral argument date  at this time” because of the
four marriage cases that are currently before the U.S. Supreme Court.

COAST GUARD SEARCHES FOR CRUISE PASSENGER

From Yahoo! News:

The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a missing cruise ship passenger
from Ireland suspected of going overboard near Puerto Rico. Spokesman
Ricardo Castrodad said Tuesday that 67-year-old Dominic William O'
Carroll is believed to have gone missing just south of the Puerto Rican
island of Vieques.

PREPA: EXTEND FORBEARANCE AGREEMENTS

From Caribbean Business:

The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (Prepa) announced Tuesday that
it has offered to extend the existing forbearance agreements by another
15 days pending ongoing discussions. Late Monday, after canceling a dili-
gence meeting scheduled among Prepa and the bondholders’ advisers, a group
of bondholders proposed a 30-day extension of the forbearance agreements.
Among other things, this extension would have required Prepa to set aside
$122.5 million from its debt service reserve fund and also pay a $1 million
amendment fee to the forbearing bondholders. In addition, Prepa would have
been required to work on a plan to pay the bondholders’ obligations, and
to appoint a third-party monitor to review and process the bondholders’
information requests and publish confidential information that would allow
the forbearing bondholders to buy and sell Prepa bonds.