Puerto Rico News Digest For June 1, 2015

48 HOUR RATIONING BEING CONTEMPLATED

As reported today by El Nuevo Dia, Alberto Lázaro, the President of AAA,
the island's water company, will be meeting this week with leadership from
the National Weather Service to determine if the water rationing plan currently
in effect for water customers being served by the Carraízo reservoir will be ex-
tended from 24 to 48 hours. Under the current plan, water service is cut off to
affected areas for 24 hours at a time, every other day. Carraízo did not receive
enough water from the recent rains that passed over much of Puerto Rico. The
reservoir's level stood at 36.78 meters this morning. Several other reservoirs
around the island also registered level decreases over the weekend, although it
is not expected that rationing will be instituted more widely for the time being.
No major rain is expected this week.

HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS TODAY

Today, June 1st, marks the official beginning of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The season runs from today until November 30, and according to forecasters,

should be a less active one than normal, with six to eleven named storms ex-

pected to form. The hurricane names for this season will be: Ana, Bill, Clau-

dette, Danny, Erika, Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Joaquin, Kate, Larry, Mindy, 

Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose ,Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

ROOF COLLAPSE IN MIRAMAR CONDO

From Caribbean Business:

Nearly two dozen people have been evacuated from their condominiums in 

Miramar after a 600 gallon to 1,000 gallon water tank collapsed through resi-

dential building La Alhambra's roof. There were no immediate reports of any 

deaths or significant injuries.

NORWEGIAN AIRLINES LAUNCHES PR FLIGHTS

From Caribbean Journal:

Norwegian Airlines is planning to launch a new flight between London's Gat-

wick and the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico, the company announced. The 

flight will also be among the cheapest to the Caribbean from Europe — just 

about £269, or about $411 USD, one-way. The London-Puerto Rico flights 

will launch Nov. 4 on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

PR ECONOMIC GROWTH AT -1.3% IN FY 15

From News Is My Business:

Puerto Rico Planning Board President Luis García-Pelatti told lawmakers 

over the weekend that the island will experience negative economic growth 

of 1.3 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively in Fiscal 2015 and 2016, when 

the scenario is looked at from a pessimistic point of view. However, he also 

offered a positive panorama in which Puerto Rico’s Gross National Product 

would reflect a lesser drop of -0.5 percent in Fiscal 2015, and a 0.8 percent 

growth in Fiscal 2016.

Puerto Rico News Digest For May 28, 2015

FED CUTS THREATEN PR HEALTH SYSTEM

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Because the government fi scal crisis and the hike in the sales  and use
tax have taken over the news, the possible collapse of Puerto Rico’s
healthcare system has gone under the radar, but remains a very real pro-
blem. More than 2 million patients, or 60 percent of Puerto Rico’s po-
pulation, use Medicare, Medicare Advantage or Medicaid to pay for
their health care, but physicians have been receiving smaller reimburse-
ments than their counterparts in the mainland U.S. because of cuts pla-
nned by the federal government. On Tuesday, the island House of Re-
presentatives approved a resolution asking Congress to stop the cuts.

HORNED DORSET PRIMAVERA IN BANKRUPTCY

As reported today by El Nuevo Dia, the reknowned Horned Dorset Pri-
mavera hotel in the western town of Rincón has gone into bankruptcy
after owing its creditors $1.67 million. The filing was done under Chap-
ter 11 of the federal bankruptcy law, which implies that owner Wilhem
Sack has opten to reorganize the hotel's finances. Most of the debt is
owed to Puerto Rico's tax authority and to the power company.

NO MAJOR HURRICANES EXPECTED IN 2015

From Caribbean Business:

No major hurricanes are expected during the 2015 Atlantic hurricane sea-
son, as the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pre-
dicts no Category 3 or higher hurricanes, which are defined as those with
winds of at least 111 miles per hour (mph). In its prediction, NOAA said
a below-average season is likely, with six to 11 named storms (winds of
39 mph or higher) and three to six hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher).
The hurricane season in the Atlantic officially runs from June 1 to Nov.
30. However, in a statement, NOAA said people living in hurricane-prone
areas, such as Puerto Rico and the rest of the Caribbean, should remain
vigilant.

SCHOOL TO TRAIN PR HACKERS

From News Is My Business:

By 2020 there will be 1 million more computing jobs in the United States
than students graduating in those fields, the latest figures from the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics show. Puerto Ricans qualified to take advantage
of this demand stand to gain a lot, said Sofía Stolberg, founder of Piloto
151, Puerto Rico’s first co-working space for entrepreneurs and developers
and the site location for Codetrotters Academy, the first “hacker” school
in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. The program boasts a full spectrum of
courses for techies and non-techies alike, ranging from front-end and back-
end programming to mobile development.