Puerto Rico News Digest For July 12, 2017

FAKE COPS ROB VILLALBA RESIDENTS

In two separate incidents at around 3:00 AM on Tuesday, three people were robbed in their homes by four criminals, two of  which were dressed as police officers. The individuals first came to a man's house in the town of Villalba, and after entering the house, informed the victim that they had a search warrant. They them threatened him with a gun and tied him up with an electrical cord before robbing him. The criminals then made their way to the house next door, were they threatened a couple. After a search, the men found $3,000 inside a vehicle, which they took along with a phone before fleeing the scene.

MAN FOUND SHOT TO DEATH IN CAROLINA

The body of 27-year-old Darwin Méndez Mize was found around noon yesterday on the side of Road 860 in the Martín González sector of Carolina. The man, who was shot in the head five times, was a resident of the Loma Alta neighborhood of the same city and had a criminal record. Police are investigating and no suspects have been identified as of yet.

PR TO OKAY POT FOR THE NON-TERMINALLY ILL

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"A law to allow terminally ill patients to use marijuana is now in effect in Puerto Rico, but Gov. Ricardo Rosselló Nevares promises it will soon be amended to include less serious conditions. The governor signed a law Sunday to regulate the use of medicinal cannabis..."

PR AMENDS PR TAX INCENTIVE LAWS

From Caribbean Business:

"Puerto Rico’s governor has signed several amendments to laws meant to lure more investors and attract new companies amid a deep economic crisis. One of the amendments signed by Gov. Ricardo Rossello requires $5,000 a  year in donations to nonprofits to qualify for a break..."

MENNONITE HEALTH BUYS SAN LUCAS HOSPITAL

From News Is My Business:

"Following a period of much analysis and evaluation, the Mennonite Health System reached an agreement with the Episcopal San Lucas Health System to purchase the assets and operation of the Episcopal San Lucas Hospital in  Guayama..."

GOVERNOR CREATES LGBT AFFAIRS COUNCIL

From Pasquines:

"While Governor Ricardo Rosselló’s party is usually considered socially conservative, he took a big step forward  last week in the interest of LGBT people in Puerto Rico. On July 5 Governor Rosselló signed an executive order on Facebook live Broadcast which created an LGBT Affairs Advisory Council..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For June 5, 2015

FOOD TRUCK OWNER SHOOTS ROBBERS, KILLS ONE

As reported this morning by El Nuevo Dia, a would-be robber was shot
to death overnight by the owner of a food truck selling tripleta sand-
wiches and bakes potatoes in front of the Naguabo Municipal Cemetery.
According to police, two armed individuals arrived at the place at a-
round 12:50AM in a vehicle and announced the robbery immediately
after getting out of the car. The owner, a licensed firearms carrier, repe-
lled the attack by shooting at the assailants. One man was wounded and
attempted to run towards a drug store, but collapsed to the ground. He
was later declared dead at Ryder Hospital in Humacao. Police later arr-
ested two individuals linked to the robbery at a Gulf gas station in Las
Piedras, where the police also seized the vehicle that the food truck ow-
er had described. The suspects, who have yet to be identified by police,
are also linked to a recent robbery in Gurabo.

GOVERNOR BACKS PRIVATE POWER PRODUCTION

From ABC News:

Puerto Rico's governor said Wednesday that he supports privatizing electri-
city production in the U.S. territory as officials seek to restructure the is-
land's troubled public power company. Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla told
reporters that he is fine with the idea of privatization as long as there will be
no layoffs at the publicly owned Electric Energy Authority and if it will help
lower electricity bills. "These are measures that have never been ruled out,"
he said. "The authority's transformation has to be a profound one."

CUBAN MIGRANTS NABBED ON MONA

From Fox News Latino:

Eleven undocumented Cuban citizens were detained this week by U.S. autho-
rities when they landed on the tiny Puerto Rican islet of Mona located in the
strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, authorities said in a
statement released Thursday. Customs and Border protection reported the de-
tention of the group consisting of eight men and three women.

IVU-FREE SCHOOL SHOPPING JULY 17-18

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Treasury Secretary Juan Zaragoza announced Wednesday the days during
July, as well as January 2016, when consumers will be able to make sales and
use tax-free purchases of school uniforms and materials.“The first of the two
periods, will begin at 12:01 a.m. July 17 and will conclude at midnight July 18
and the second will begin on January 8 at 12:01 a.m. until midnight January 9,
2016,” Zaragoza said. “Although both consumers and businesses are familiar
with how this works, we always call on everyone to verify the information and
the detailed list of IVU exempt articles.” To obtain more information, consu-
mers are urged to visit the Treasury Department’s website www.hacienda.pr.
gov and then click on the publications link under the Internal Revenue area and
tax policy area, where they will find circular letter 15-07 of June 1, 2015.

EX-BANKER TO ASSIST US TREASURY ON PR

From Bloomberg:

Former Lazard Ltd. investment banker Stephen Campbell is joining the U.S.
Treasury to work on domestic finance issues including Puerto Rico’s fiscal
crisis, a department spokesman said. Campbell began June 1 as a counselor
in the Treasury’s domestic finance office, working with Antonio Weiss, also
a former Lazard banker. Weiss serves as an adviser to Secretary Jacob J. Lew
after failing to win Senate confirmation to be undersecretary for domestic
finance. Weiss and other Treasury officials have traveled to Puerto Rico re-
cently as the commonwealth faces a potential cash crunch and struggles with
$72 billion in debt.

CARRAIZO RESERVOIR LEVELS FOR JUNE 5

From Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados:

Carraizo is on the far left, in yellow. AAA may be instituting 48-hour rationing
soon.

Puerto Rico News Digest For April 13, 2015

DRIVERS FLOCK TO TAKE AMNESTY

From The San Juan Daily Star:

Hundreds of citizens showed up starting early Thursday morning at
Drivers Service Centers (CESCO by its Spanish acronym) across the
island to take advantage of the amnesty off ered by the Department
of Transportation and Public Works (DTOP) to pay off the AutoExpreso
fines at a much lower rate. The amnesty period began Thursday and
will extend through Oct. 5, Puerto Rico Highways and Transportation
Authority (HTA) spokesman Marimar Martínez said. Those drivers who
have received $100 fi nes for each time they passed through an Auto
Expreso toll station without any balance in their account will only
have to pay $15 per infraction plus the cost of the tolls.

PR, INVESTORS ENLIST EX-IMF OFFICIALS

From The Wall Street Journal:

The Puerto Rico government and the hedge funds that own its bonds are
turning to former International Monetary Fund officials to help resolve
a growing debt crisis that may require a restructuring more akin to
Greece than a troubled city like Detroit.

The move comes as Puerto Rico is in talks with the funds and other inves-
tors to borrow up to about $3 billion in new bonds to replenish its nearly
empty coffers. The commonwealth has more than $70 billion in debt, inclu-
ding that of its agencies such as the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority,
or Prepa, which is in restructuring talks with creditors ahead of a Wednes-
day deadline to extend some payments.

COPS CHARGED WITH KIDNAPPING, ROBBERY

From Fox News Latino:

Three police officers were charged with aggravated kidnapping, robbery and
unlawfully entering the home of a Dominican construction worker and they
are in custody on bail of $750,000 each, the Puerto Rican police reported
Sunday. Authorities in a communique said that Joaquin Torres Cortina, Raul
Rivero Ruiz and Gabriel Rivera Pagan are under arrest. The trio were repor-
ted by two colleagues - a newly graduated officer and his mentor - for their
alleged activities on April 7 and they are scheduled to appear before Judge
Alfrida Tomey on April 23.

PR DEMS SPEAK OUT ON HILLARY CANDIDACY

From Caribbean Business:

A joint statement by Puerto Rico Democratic Party President Roberto Prats
Palerm, Democratic National Committeeman Kenneth McClintock Hernández,
and attorneys José Alfredo Hernández Mayoral and Francisco Domenech:

"The Puerto Rican Democratic leadership welcomes with open arms the announ-
cement made today by who will surely be the next U.S. president, Hillary Clin-
ton. In the history of the U.S. there has probably never been a presidential can-
didate with the preparation and experience that today, even more than  in 2008,
Hillary Clinton has."

MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT FLY DETECTED IN PR

From Fresh Plaza:

Puerto Rico is readying control and eradication protocols after the first-
ever detection on the island of the Mediterranean fruit fly, one of the
world’s most destructive agricultural pests. Hector Cordero, president of
the Puerto Rico Farmers Association, told Efe that the initiative is a
response to the appearance in the southwestern municipality of Cabo Rojo
of two Mediterranean flies, long present in the nearby Dominican Republic.
The Puerto Rico government is receiving advice from the U.S. Department
of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service on control and era-
dication measures.