Puerto Rico News Digest For August 2, 2017

"TONKA" GETS TRUCKED OFF TO THE MORGUE...SINGER OZUNA INVOLVED?

POWERFUL DRUG LORD BRUTALLY MURDERED IN SANTURCE

Shortly after midnight this morning, 38-year old Carlos Báez Rosa, who went by the nickname "Tonka" and was one of the most powerful drug lords in the San Juan area, was shot nearly 70 times with various firearms, including AK-47s and AR-15s. The spectacular midnight execution occurred in an alley in the gritty Cantera  sector of Santurce. To add a twist to the story,  police seized a Range Rover SUV at the scene, which belongs to reggeaton singer Juan Carlos Ozuna and contained $6,585 in cash, as well as the singer's wallet. Ozuna dedicated several of his songs to the murdered drug lord, and the latter produced at least one of the singer's recordings. Ozuna became notorious last week due to a viral video in which the reggeaton performer is seen hitting a security guard at one of his stateside performances with a microphone (video is below).

CONTROL BOARD DELIVERS 1ST REPORT TO CONGRESS

From Caribbean Business:

"Puerto Rico’s financial control board said Tuesday that its first annual report to the U.S. President and Congress does not call for the elimination of federal social assistance programs in the commonwealth..."

DOMINO'S TO PUERTO RICO: NO MORE PIZZA!

From News Is My Business:

"HFS Corp. — a franchisee for Domino’s Pizza in Puerto Rico — announced Wednesday the closing of all of its stores on the island, after seeking bankruptcy protection earlier this year, this media outlet confirmed..."

GONZALEZ ASKS FOR MEDICAL AND RESEARCH FUNDS

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón on Monday announced the allocation of $607,568 in federal funds for the treatment of children and mothers with HIV/AIDS and studies on breast cancer..."

MAVS SIGN PUERTO RICAN GIAN CLAVELL

From Fox Sports:

"The Dallas Mavericks have signed free agent guard Gian Clavell, an undrafted rookie who has played  for Puerto Rico’s national team. Clavell was the Mountain West Conference player of the year at Colorado State last season..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For September 26, 2016

THREE MURDERED IN CAROLINA ON SUNDAY

As reported by El Nuevo Dia, three people were murdered Sunday night at around
7:30 PM on Road PR-857, in the Canovanillas sector of Carolina. A 911 call alerted
the police to three people who had been shot. Upon arriving, police found the bodies
of Julio M. López Castro, age 41, and Jonathan J. López Pizarro, age 22. A 23-year-
old man, Jonathan Rodríguez Cabrera, was taken to Centro Médico in Río Piedras
with various gunshot wounds. He died while receiving treatment. These three killi-
ngs were part of seven overall murders registered across the island during this past
weekend. The number of murders for the year in Puerto Rico now stands at 484, 70
more than at this time last year.

TOURISM COULD FACE LOSSES FROM BLACKOUT

From Caribbean Business:

"Despite the lengthy lines thousands of Puerto Ricans did on hotels and restaur-
ants after the island remained partially dark for more than 40 hours, the final bal-
ance of the incident isn’t necessarily positive for Puerto Rico’s tourism industry,
much less for the general economy. While hundreds of hotels saw a significant in-
crease in their occupancy since Wednesday, others have had to cancel reservations
due to the outage or have had to send guests to a different accommodation because
their electric plants didn’t work, exploded, or simply couldn’t tolerate the emergen-
cy usage, revealed economist Jorge Elguera to Caribbean Business. Similar incide-
nts occurred at some restaurants that didn’t have electric generators or hadn’t given
them maintenance..."

PPT CANDIDATE CALLS FOR PLACITA AGREEMENT

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Puerto Rican Working People’s Party (PPT by its Spanish initials) candidate for
the San Juan municipal assembly Jorge Farinacci Fernós on Thursday proposed
reaching a “consensual agreement” that will allow the harmonization of the inter-
ests of the diff erent sectors at the Placita de Santurce. “We have to recognize that
we are all part of the same community, so we have to try a reach a consensual agr-
eement,” Farinacci Fernós said, referring to the public dispute between the reside-
nts and business owners in the area. Farinacci Fernós noted that certain issues need
to be cleared up regarding the aff ected parties and the interests involved, such as the
fact that residents of the area have a right to be able to rest and to the “tranquility they
deserve after a long day at work;” the businesses and their staff s, which are trying to
make a living, and the people who visit the establishments to enjoy one of the only
open public spaces remaining in Puerto Rico..."

UNITED WAY: ECONOMY STRANGLING NON-PROFITS

From News Is My Business:

"In Puerto Rico’s embattled economy, everyone is at risk. Nonprofit organizations
are no exception.To survive, organizations are cutting staff, services and administra-
tive costs, maxing out their credit cards and even borrowing from their board mem-
bers. Those are among the findings of a recent informal survey conducted by United
Way of  Puerto Rico, a coalition of 131 charitable organizations. “There was nothing
surprising [in the survey] since we constantly receive financial reports and do moni-
toring. What does worry us is that there is too much dependence on government fun-
ds,” said United Way President Samuel González..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For July 29, 2016

TWO MURDERS REPORTED THIS MORNING

As reported by El Nuevo Día, two separate murders were registered in Puer-

to Rico this morning, with the first one occuring at around 12:52 AM at the 

Placita de Santurce in San Juan. After callers reported shots heard in the vic-

inity, Police found the body of 44-year old Mario Díaz Pérez, whose body was 

riddled with bullets. The second killing occured at around 8:11 AM this morn-

ing in the Barahona sector of Morovis, on Road PR-633. Police have yet to id-

entify the victim or release any other information. 

TROPICAL WAVE TO BRING WEEKEND RAIN

From Caribbean Business:

"The National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami says a tropical wave, loca-

ted about 1200 miles east of the Lesser Antilles is moving westward at about 

25 mph. The associated shower activity is poorly organized, “and given the 

fast motion of the system any development should be slow to occur..." The 

chance of it forming into a tropical cyclone through the next 48 hours is low 

at 20 percent. Its formation chance through five days is still considered low 

but rises to 30 percent..."

PIP CANDIDATE DEFENDS PUBLIC EDUCATION

From The San Juan Daily Star:

"Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) gubernatorial candidate María de
Lourdes Santiago said Wednesday that as part of her electoral proposal, pu-
blic education must become the great democratizing element  and the most
important investment of a society in which public schools are faced with a
systematic campaign of discrediting and abandonment. “The public Depart-
ment of Education has been the object of a systematic campaign of discredi-
ting to pave the way for privatization,” Santiago said in a press conference
at PIP headquarters in Hato Rey, in which she told of a shortage of materials
and books despite a $3.2 billion budget..."

TREASURY REPORTS 2% REVENUE INCREASE

From News Is My Business:

"The Puerto Rico Treasury Department collected some $9.1 billion in reve-

nue for the General Fund during Fiscal 2016, exceeding Fiscal 2015 numbers 

by $214.4 million or 2.4 percent, agency Secretary Juan Zaragoza-Gómez said. 

The increase was much greater considering that last year, there were revenues 

from legislative measures of nearly $468 million that were not recurrent for FY 

2015-16, he said. When comparing the revenue registered for the year to the re-

vised total estimate of $9.2 billion, the government achieved a 98.7 percent co-

llections rate..."