20,000 TAX REFUNDS PUT OFF UNTIL 2016
From The San Juan Daily Star:
Treasury Secretary Juan Zaragoza acknowledged Wednesday that up to
20,000 island taxpayers may not receive their tax refunds by the end of
the calendar year due to the agency’s lack of liquidity and the need to
comply with “other commitments,” including paying public workers. In
a radio interview, the Treasury chief said it is highly unlikely that the a-
gency will be able to complete the deposit and dispatch of refunds befo-
re November. “I don’t think they will be all out by November. They mi-
ght be all sent out by December, but we could be crossing the line and
extending this past the calendar year,” Zaragoza said...[MORE]
1-1/2 POUND BABY BORN ON CRUISE SHIP
From Caribbean Business:
A Utah woman who unexpectedly gave birth on a cruise ship months before
her due date says she wrapped towels around the 1 1/2-pound boy with the
help of medical staff in a desperate effort to keep him alive until the ship
reached port. Emily Morgan, of Ogden, said Thursday that doctors didn't
expect her son Haiden to live, but thanks to strong lungs, a makeshift incu-
bator and an early arrival in Puerto Rico, the baby made it. He's now recei-
ving care at a neonatal intensive care unit in Miami...[MORE]
SHERATON OLD SAN JUAN CHANGES HANDS
From News Is My Business:
The 240-room Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel & Casino will be changing own-
ers as part of an agreement that transfers the property to an affiliate of Tish-
man Hotel Corp., hotel officials announced Thursday. The financial terms of
the agreement were not disclosed. The details of a planned renovation of the
property will be disclosed in coming months. However, as part of the transac-
tion, the new owners — which intend to continue the asset’s affiliation with
the Sheraton flag — will restructure the property, closing the casino to make
way for retail space. Some 95 employees will be affected by the overhaul...
PR WORKING GROUP SEEKS SINGLE DEAL
From Reuters:
A Puerto Rico working group, composed of local and senior officials, anno-
unced on Thursday that it would seek a consensual negotiation that would
ultimately result in a single, comprehensive exchange transaction. The gr-
oup met with Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla and members of the Puer-
to Rico legislature to discuss its ongoing efforts to support fiscal stability
and economic growth in Puerto Rico. It said it wanted to avoid a piecemeal
strategy that could result in uncoordinated and inconsistent agreements with
creditors...[MORE]
WOULD-BE HUSBAND KILLER EXTRADITED TO PR
From Star Tribune:
A Puerto Rican woman accused of hiring a hit man to kill her wealthy Cana-
dian husband was extradited to the U.S. territory Thursday after a lengthy in-
ternational manhunt. Aurea Vazquez Rijos arrived with her month-old baby
and was escorted by FBI agents just hours before she appeared in court. She
flew in from Spain, where a court ordered her extradition nearly two years
ago on the condition she doesn't receive the death penalty or life imprison-
ment without parole if convicted...[MORE]
