Puerto Rico News Digest For July 15, 2017

WHO'S THE REAL ANIMAL?

Crazed dog-killer murders pooch in middle of road

File photo

Toa Alta resident David Mercedes, age 20, sits in jail after chasing a neighbor's pitbull which had entered his property out onto the street and brutally killing the dog. The pooch succumbed to injuries caused by a heavy wooden object which the disturbed perpetrator used to beat it over the head several times. Responding Toa Alta police were shocked at the scene when they arrived to investigate. The violent dog-hater remains at the Bayamón jail after having failed to pay a $10,000 bond.

AIBONITO, NOT SO BONITO...MAN SHOT TO DEATH 

Joseph Rosario Rivera, age 29, fell victim to a drive-by shooting near the entrance to the Las Flores neighborhood of Aibonito, on Road PR-722, on Thursday night. At about 10:35 that night, mulitple individuals with firearms shot at Rivera from inside the car, striking him several times. A good samaritan drove the victim to a local hospital, where he died. The bloody incident has been tallied as the 352nd murder in Puerto Rico for 2017, seven less than at this time last year.

PIP LAWMAKERS: STOP DUMPING TOXIC COAL ASH!

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Legislators Juan Dalmau Ramírez and Denis Márquez Lebrón of the Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) announced  Thursday the introduction of steps in the island Senate and House to stop the dumping of toxic coal ash and remedy the ineffectiveness of Law 40 of 2017..."

SENATE PRESIDENT TO FOCUS ON MUNICIPALITIES

From Caribbean Business:

"Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz has defined the course of the upcoming legislative session by pointing out that his priority, as of August, will be to address the fiscal and structural challenges of Puerto Rico’s  78 municipalities..."

RICH PEOPLE RUSH IN TO PICK PUERTO RICO'S BONES

From Bloomberg:

"Distressed-mortgage investors are descending on troubled Puerto Rico. There are big names among them: Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Perella Weinberg Partners and TPG Capital. What’s luring them is the opportunity to scoop up home loans and foreclosed properties for pennies on the dollar..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For May 15, 2015

TRIPLE MURDER IN AGUAS BUENAS

As reported today by  El Nuevo Dia, two men and a woman, ranging
in age from 25 to 30, were murdered late last night on Road PR-792
in the Las Villas sector of Aguas Buenas. The crime occurred at
around 12:40 AM and was reported to the Police through an anony-
mous phone call. It is believed the deceased were taken to a dark and
solitary area specifically to be shot to death. The bodies were found
lying on the pavement. A loaded .40 caliber pistol was found at the
scene. The victims were not carrying identification and have not been
named.

GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATORS AGREE ON TAX

From Bloomberg:

Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and lawmakers reached
an agreement on a proposal to raise the island’s sales tax, a move that
may help it sell debt and ease a cash crunch. The plan would boost the
levy to 11.5 percent from 7 percent for nine months, in a transition to
implementing a value-added tax, the governor and members of his Po-
pular Democratic Party told reporters late Thursday in San Juan. The
increase is expected to bring in $1.2 billion of revenue. Lawmakers
also agreed to recommend $500 million in spending cuts as part of a
$9.8 billion budget for fiscal 2016.

STUDENTS PROTEST UPR CUTS IN SAN JUAN

From UPI:

A massive demonstration protesting budget cuts to Puerto  Rico's
state university filled a Capitol plaza in San Juan. Thousands of peo-
ple enrolled or employed at Puerto Rico University (UPR) met at the
Capitol building and marched to the home of the U.S. commonwealth's
chief executive Wednesday. The government has threatened a 20 per-
cent budget cut to the university. Julio Muriente, leader of the pro-inde-
pendence Hostosian National Independence Movement, attended the
demonstration, saying, "We want people to know the importance of the
university for the country, the value of the UPR, and this event is proof
of what the institution is."

SLOTS OPERATORS OPPOSE VIDEO LOTTERY

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Puerto Rican Commercial Recreation Businesses Inc. (EMPRECOM by
its Spanish acronym) members have categorically rejected Gov. Alejandro
García Padilla’s plan to pass new regulations for the operation of  enter-
tainment machines without holding public hearings, which they say opens
the door for the “video lottery” business. “We have been charging that La
Fortaleza was working on a new Operational Regulation for the Additio-
nal Lottery, which is nothing more than ‘bringing the video lottery in
through the kitchen,’” EMPRECOM President Pablo Rivera said in a
written statement. “The governor has given instructions so that this action,
which allows for the elimination of all  entertainment machines that are
currently in operation on the island, and thus makes way for the ‘video
lottery,’ is not talked about.”

$59M IN PROPERTIES AT AUCTION 

From News Is My Business:

Los Angeles-based Premiere Estates Auction Company announced
Thursday a multi-property auction that includes sprawling beachfront
sites in Aguadilla and Cabo Rojo, with a combined listing price of $59
million. The portfolio includes a 507-acre master planned destination
resort property overlooking Boqueron Bay in Cabo Rojo with a listing
price of $50 million, that has been pre-approved for a 600-room resort
hotel, 18-hole golf course, a 200-slip marina, retail village, 1,150 residen-
tial villas and 222 home sites.