Puerto Rico News Digest For April 14, 2016

HOUSE COMMITTEE RELEASES PR FINANCE BILL

From Caribbean Business:

"The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources released Tuesday H.R. 

4900, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act 

(PROMESA), which if passed as is will impose a seven-member financial 

oversight board over Puerto Rico that would be appointed by the president

and will have broad encompassing powers over the island. The Financial 

Oversight & Management Board’s members would be selected from a list 

of candidates submitted by the U.S. House speaker, Senate majority leader, 

and minority leaders of the House and Senate. The board, which will have 

offices in Puerto Rico and anywhere else needed, will appoint an executive 

director. The governor of Puerto Rico would be an ex-oficio member with-

out voting powers..."

PR NAMED AS TEST SITE FOR 2020 CENSUS

From News Is My Business:

"The U.S. Census Bureau announced Tuesday it plans to conduct a test
census in selected areas within Puerto Rico beginning February 2017. The
Census Bureau will test new technologies, operations and procedures for the
2020 Census of Puerto Rico, the agency said. The test will take place in three
towns within the San Juan metro area — Carolina, Loíza and Trujillo Alto --
which represent some 123,000 housing units..."

POLICE SEIZE $13M WORTH OF COCAINE

From Fox News Latino:

"Authorities in Puerto Rico say they have seized $13 million worth of cocaine
and arrested four men after a chase off the island's southeast coast. Police said
Wednesday that some of the cocaine was seized from a boat located near the
town of Patillas. Police said two Dominican men aboard the boat threw a por-
tion of the drugs into the ocean and were arrested..."

PR CHURCH STRIPS TEACHERS OF PENSION

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Archdiocese officials in recent weeks informed...several hundred current and
retired teachers that their pensions will be eliminated because payouts excee-
ded contributions. Enrollment at Catholic schools in Puerto Rico has plunged
with so many families leaving the island for the U.S. mainland amid the island’s
economic crunch. It has been a devastating blow to Catholic school teachers who
had counted on those pensions to supplement the Social Security checks they’ll
be getting..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For October 14, 2015

SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS MAKES SEVERAL ARRESTS

From Caribbean Business:

"Since dawn Wednesday, Special Investigations Bureau (NIE by its
Spanish acronym) agents have been processing the arrests of 38 peo-
ple employed  at the Transportation and Public Works Department
and other agencies for fraud in the issuance of driver's licenses and
other administrative violations..."

CRIM & GDB CLOSE TO SETTLING DISPUTE

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"The Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its Spanish
acronym) and the Government Development Bank (GDB) are about
to reach an agreement to alleviate the controversy surrounding the
municipal funds deposited in the government bank, Cayey Mayor
Rolando Ortiz said..."

PUERTO RICO SUMMIT TO BE HELD IN ORLANDO

From Reuters:

"Puerto Rican and U.S. leaders will meet in Florida on Wednesday
to discuss ways to promote Puerto Rico's interests in Washington as
the island weathers a major debt crisis. Civic leaders in the U.S. with
ties to Puerto Rico..."

CONTROL BOARD BILL TO BE FILED THIS WEEK

From Reuters:

"Legislation to create a financial control board for heavily indebted
Puerto Rico will be filed on Thursday or Friday, the U.S. territory's
government affairs secretary Jesus Manuel Ortiz said on Tuesday. The
financial control board..."

WATER RESERVOIR LEVELS FOR TODAY

Carraizo and La Plata, both of which serve the San Juan metro area,
are to the left. Information is from 5:00 AM today. Click image to
enlarge.