Puerto Rico News Digest For October 27, 2014

POLICE SEARCH FOR MISSING AIBONITO WOMAN

Police are investigating the disappearance of 36 year

old Aibonito resident Jacqueline Meléndez Díaz, who has

been missing for five days, according to El Nuevo Dia.

Díaz is the mother of two boys who did not live with

her, and was about to move to Pennsylvania to start a 

new life with her partner, Israel Martínez Rosario. 

The woman disappeared from her house on Thursday, and

police have stated that there were no signs of  forced

entry into the house. A friend and neighbor said that

Díaz was excited to leave for the continent, and had 

recently received some severance money from a job she

had just left. 

EPIDEMIOLOGIST WEIGHS IN ON VA EBOLA PLAN

Brenda Rivera García, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico's

epidemiologist, assured the public on Sunday that the

island's Veteran's Hospital will not become an ebola

treatment center for U.S. soldiers who become infected 

with the virus, since treatment at U.S. military facilities

in Germany would make more sense. Noticel reported this

past Friday that the VA Hospital was setting up three

isolation areas for ebola patients, which aroused 

suspicions that some of the 3,000 American troops that 

are being sent to West Africa to combat ebola could be 

brought in for treatement there.  

BAHIA URBANA TO CLOSE 2014 WITH EVENTS

From News Is My Business:

"Bahía Urbana, a mixed-use entertainment venue in the San 

Juan Bay area, will close 2014 with more than 100 events 

between box office and free events for the community, and 

an estimated 250,000 attendees, General Manager Linnette 

Isona said..."

35,000 FEWER PEOPLE WORKING IN SEPT.

From Caribbean Business:

"The Puerto Rico Labor Department said Wednesday there 

were 981,000 people employed on the island in September, 

35,000 fewer workers than registered in the same month 

a year ago and 7,000 fewer than in August..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For October 23, 2014

POWER CO. EMPLOYEES SUSPENDED 

El Nuevo Dia reports that three employees of the
island's electrical utility, the Autoridad de Energia
Electrica, have been suspended without pay due to
negligence related to the explosion at the Central
San Juan Power Station on July 13 of this year.
AEE worker Sergio Hernández Muñiz was killed in the
explosion, and three others were injured. Besides
the three suspended workers, three others are under
review and may be penalized as well. The employees
have the option to appeal the disciplinary measures,
and face the possibility of permanently losing their
jobs.

COAST GUARD: PORTS SAFE FROM EBOLA

Gabe Somma, a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard,
has stated that protocols are in place to avoid
infectious diseases such as Ebola from entering US and
Puerto Rican ports. Ships at sea are obligated by law
to inform their destination port at least 96 hours before
arrival as to whether any sick people are on board or if
anyone has died on board in the last 15 days. If a ship
with a person suffering from Ebola symptoms were to
come to port, the Coast Guard would have to notify the
Centers For Disease Control, as well as the island's
Department of Health, according to El Vocero. Hefty
fines would be imposed on violators.

STUDENT WHO DIED IN MEXICO STABBED

Noticel reports that authorities in the state of Jalisco,
Mexico have confirmed that Puerto Rican medical student
Christoffer Ney Ayala Báez died due to stab wounds in
the thorax. The 33-year-old student's body was found
in his Guadalajara apartment on October 11. The Jalisco
Prosecutor General's office is carrying out an investigation
to find those responsible for the man's death. Ayala Báez
was buried in Guaynabo this past Monday.

TWO KILLED IN SAN LORENZO

Two people were murdered at around 11:05 PM last night
on Road PR-181 in the Roosevelt neighborhood of San
Lorenzo, according to Metro.PR. One of the victims was
identified as Ernesto Quiñones, age 30, while the other
victim is still unidentified. Both people were inside a
white Nissan Altima, and a .40 caliber Glock handgun
was recovered nearby by Police. An investigation is
ongoing.

GAY COUPLES TO APPEAL MARRIAGE BAN

From ABC News/Associated Press:


A federal court judge has rejected an attempt to end a
ban on same-sex marriages in Puerto Rico, saying political
order itself depends on traditional marriage and deriding
the logic of courts that have overturned such bans. The
five gay couples who filed the suit will appeal, their
attorney said Wednesday.

Puerto Rico News Digest For October 16, 2014

ANA RIUS: WE ARE READY FOR EBOLA

El Vocero reports that Health Secretary Ana Ríus encouraged

citizens of Puerto Rico yesterday to remain calm regarding the

possibility of the Ebola virus reaching the island, and assured

that her agency is prepared to deal with any potential Ebola

infections. Ríus added that the Health Department has already
prepared protocols for treatment of Ebola cases. "Once we're
notified of a suspicion or a patient with symptoms of Ebola virus,
[that person] would then be arriving at the emergency room at
Centro Médico”, added the secretary during an interview with El
Vocero. According to Ríus, Centro Médico has twelve isolation
rooms for adults and four for children. She also discouraged any
travel to affected parts of West Africa.

PUERTO RICO AUTO INDUSTRY UNDER SIEGE

From Caribbean Business:

With new-auto sales showing a dramatic downturn in what has been 

a roller-coaster ride—from a high of 144,400 units in 2005, to a 

record low of just 78,924 in 2009— the industry is under added 

pressure that threatens to push sales down further during the 

next year..."

NY GOV CUOMO TO VISIT PR AND DOM REP

From The Wall Street Journal:

"New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, seeking to shore up Latino 

support for his re-election bid, will make the third overseas trip of 

his tenure on Friday with a visit to the Dominican Republic and 

Puerto Rico..."

MELBA ACOSTA NOMINATED TO HEAD GDB

From Reuters:

Puerto Rico's governor nominated Treasury Secretary Melba 

Acosta Febo as president of the U.S. commonwealth's Government 

Development Bank (GDB) in a shake up of his financial team on 

Wednesday.

Puerto Rico Activates Ebola Protocols

From Prensa Latina:

San Juan, Oct 9 (Prensa Latina) La existence today of four U.S. 

airports with high risks of receiving passengers from Africa infected 

with the Ebola virus and the situation in Texas prompted Puerto 

Rican authorities to activate the protocols against the disease.

Due to the high traffic of passengers from New York, New Jersey, 
Chicago and Washington to Puerto Rico, local health authorities 
fitted out an area for quarantine in the international airport of Isla 
Verde, in Carolina municipality.

The air terminals of the United States receive direct flights from 
the African continent, making them vulnerable, according to aviation
authorities. Health Minister Ana Rius said that Puerto Rico is ready 
for any contingency involving a passenger with the symptoms of 
the Ebola virus in flights between Puerto Rico and the United 
States...[MORE]

Puerto Ricans In Dallas Area Alert But Calm About Ebola

Source: NBC DFW

DALLAS, TX (PRM) -- Puerto Ricans in the Dallas/Fort
Worth area, like many other local residents, are worried and
fearful regarding the recent discovery in Dallas of a man
from Liberia who tested positive for the Ebola virus. Many
of the thousands of Boricuas in DFW are educating themselves
about the disease, and some are taking additional precautions
in case the virus has infected other people. Some are even
hesitating to send their children to local schools after the
revelation that children who had been  in contact with the Ebola-
stricken man had gone to class for two days after the story broke.
Grisel, a Puerto Rican resident of Dallas, is having a hard time
not feeling afraid. "It worries me a lot...as an adult, it worries
you. But when you have kids going to the local schools, you
can easily panic, because you don't know what could happen."

Joanna, another area resident of Boricua origin, has a different
reason to be concerned about the schools. "I'm worried because
my husband works for the Dallas Independent School District",
she commented. "However, we sat down yesterday to get
informed about Ebola and on how to implement precautions."
Despite her seeming calm, she's aware that many, even back
home, do not feel the same way. "People back in Puerto Rico
are already hysterical, and nothing's even happened down there",
she added. This opinion was echoed by area resident Floribel.
"If this was happening in Puerto Rico, we'd see the same reaction
that happens after a hurricane", said Floribel,  after stating that
people in the DFW area are "alert, but not hysterical".

Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan (Facebook)

Puerto Rican and Forney resident Alvin blames much of
the panic on the press. "The biggest problem I've seen is the
way certain parts of the press are manipulating information to
suit their own agendas", referring to people who oppose President
Obama or media that is seeking to simply boost its ratings. Felix,
from Levittown, Puerto Rico, but now a resident of Irving, is trying
to stay level-headed. "We're on the alert, but I don't think there's
any panic. The state has taken the right measures to educate people
about this virus...I'm uncomfortable about how it all started, because
the hospital [Texas Presbyterian, where the infection was diagnosed]
was negligent. We're just on the lookout as time passes", he said,
while dismissing the hysteria seen in some quarters.

The 2010 U.S. Census estimated there to be over 33,000 people
of Puerto Rican origin in the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area.

Puerto Rico News Digest for October 2, 2014

Ebola Freakout Over Nigerian Ship At Gas Terminal 

Employees at the EcoElectrica Natural Gas Terminal in the southern

town of Peñuelas are reportedly very nervous over the recent docking
of a Nigerian ship at the facility, as the vessel was not checked

beforehand for signs of Ebola Virus Disease contagion among the crew.
Ebola has been ravaging West Africa for months, and a case recently
surfaced in the continental United States, upping the anxiety level in the
island  over the disease . Nigeria had recently registered several cases of

the hemorrhagic virus, but there are currently no active cases in that

country. According to El Nuevo Dia, several employees of EcoElectrica

had refused to board the ship due to fear of the virus. The island's Health
Department is belatedly sending personnel to the plant to investigate, but
the ship left the port for another destination two days ago.

Murder Record Broken in Cayey

El Vocero reports that the town of Cayey has now registered 18 murders

so far this year, seven more than had been counted at this time in 2013.

The latest victim was Jean Carlo Rodríguez Rodríguez, age 24, who was

gunned down while eating at a "tripleta" sandwich business.  Rodríguez 

lived in the Brisas de Cayey public housing project. Much of the recent 

violence is attributed to drug trafficking and a reduction in available 

police personnel in the area. 

U.S. Customs Finds $2 Million In Truck Headed For DR

From Yahoo News:

A truck driver attempting to leave Puerto Rico by ferry for the Dominican 

Republic has been detained with more than $2 million in cash. U.S. 

Customs and Border Protection agents detained the man and confiscated 

the cash as he was attempting to board the Caribbean Fantasy in San Juan. 

The agency says 22 bundles of cash were hidden in compartments inside 

the truck and was found Monday.

Sales Tax Collections Hits High For September

From Caribbean Business:

Sales & use tax (IVU) collections for September hit a  record high for the 

month on new revenues from the extension of the levy to cargo coming 

into Puerto Rico’s ports, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday.

Treasury netted $119.5 million from the IVU last month, which reflects 

transactions done in August.

IVU collections for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 (July-September) 

totaled $337.8 million, an increase of $17.3 million, or 5.4 percent, over 

the same three-month period last year.