Puerto Rico News Digest For August 24, 2015

SIX MURDERS OVER THE WEEKEND

The murder total for 2015 went up to 357 this weekend, as six killings
were reported across the island, which is 88 murders less than at this
time last year. The first murder happened in Hato Rey's Manuel A. Pe-
rez housing project, where Edwin Giovanni Vázquez Feliciano, 26, was
shot to death in front of a store on Friday night. On Saturday, 34-year-
old business owner Nolis Mercedes de la Paula was chased and shot to
death on road  PR-988 in Luquillo by presumed robbers. Juan José Nú-
ñez Cotto, 35, was killed around 2:00 AM on Saturday behind a Gulf
gas station in Santurce. Nearly $600 in cash and a bag with white pow-
der residue where found in his car.

Another murder occured near the flea market in Salinas, where 68-year-
old Wilfredo García Feliciano was apparently shot, and six shell casings
were recovered at the scene. The weekend's fifth murder occured at 12:30
AM on Sunday, as Luis Rafael Cruz Mejías was killed by intruders in his
 house. The most recent murder was registered Sunday afternoon in the
Las Monjas neighborhood of San Juan, but the victim has not yet been
identified.

DANNY FIZZLES OUT, NOW A DEPRESSION

Tropical Storm Danny weakened into a tropical depression overnight, with
maximum sustained winds decreasing to 35 mph. The system ismoving to
the west at 12 mph, and as of 8:00 AM was located at 15.9N 61.5W, about
20 miles south of the island of Guadeloupe. Saba and St. Eustatius are still
under a Tropical Storm Warning, but all other tropical storm watches and
warnings have been discontinued. Danny is expected to pass over 60 miles
south of Ponce, Puerto Rico tomorrow morning, and may dump 2-4 inches
of rain over parts of the island. Danny will likely weaken even further by
then, and break up over the western Caribbean.

VARIOUS SECTORS DEMAND CABOTAGE REPEAL

From Caribbean Business:

Forty organizations representing various Puerto Rico sectors joined the
Junta de Voluntades group Saturday to ask the U.S. government to repeal
the cabotage laws. "We have formed an organization to continue to work
on this claim, which we will present to the federal government and the
entire world," said Mark Anthony Bimbela, president of the Bar Associa-
tion, where the meeting took place. Bimbela acknowledged that the group
comprises people who have different ideologies but who are in agreement
on the issue of cabotage laws. The petition by political, business, academic,
religious, civil and worker unions, as well as industry organizations, forma-
lly requests the federal government to repeal the application  of Section 27
of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, commonly referred to as the Jones
Act, on Puerto Rico.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FALLS TO 11.9%

From Fox News Latino:

Puerto Rico's unemployment rate fell to 11.9 percent in July, down 0.70 

percent from the previous month, the Labor Department said. The unem-

ployment rate has fallen by 1.8 percent since July 2014, the department 

said in a statement. The island's labor force participation rate was at 39.5 

percent last month, down 0.20 percent from June and 0.10 percent relati-

ve to July 2014.

Puerto Rico News Digest For March 18, 2015

PR GETS 1ST INDEPENDENT GOVERNOR CANDIDATE

Lawyer and businesswoman Alexandra Lúgaro, age 33, has declared
her intention to run for Governor of Puerto Rico in 2016 as an inde-
pendent candidate. This makes her the island's first ever gubernatorial
contender who does not belong to or publicly identify with any political
party. Lúgaro is in favor of gay marriage, abortion rights and marijuana
legalization, and has also expressed a desire to tackle issues such as
income inequality. Lúgaro is currently finishing a doctorate in Madrid
and is the founder of a student tutoring company in Puerto Rico.

LAURENS HIGLER'S FRIENDS' TOUCHING LETTER

The travelling companions of deceased Dutch globetrotter Laurens 

Higler, who was killed last week in a hit and run accident,  wrote a 

moving letter to the people of Puerto Rico regarding the recent 

tragic events:

LEGAL ISSUES SEEN WITH IVA RECEIPTS

From The San Juan Daily Star:

The Justice Department said Monday that Puerto Rico could
be held liable if merchants are banned from separating the
value added tax from the final price of items on receipts.
“The restriction against merchants separating the IVA [the
Spanish acronym for the value-added tax] from the final
price could be challenged in the courts because it interferes
with free speech rights,” Assistant Justice Secretary Rafael
Ortiz said. The proposed tax reform measure leaves it to the
Treasury secretary to decide whether the IVA should be dis-
played separately.

14 ARRESTED, 1.1 TONS OF COCAINE SEIZED

From Fox News Latino:

Agents of the United Rapid Action Forces, or FURA, of the
Puerto Rican police, seized 1.1 tons of cocaine and arrested
14 Dominicans, most of whom were waiting for the drug to
arrive from a boat off the northern coast of the Caribbean island,
officials said. Puerto Rican Police Chief Jose Caldero said
the boat had sailed to the estuary of Rio Grande de Loiza river
and that the drug had a street value of some $32 million.

PUERTO RICO UNEMPLOYMENT DOWN TO 12.4%

From Caribbean Business:

Puerto Rico Labor Secretary Vance Thomas announced that the
unemployment rate for January stood at 12.4%, representing the
lowest figure since 2008. "Data from the recent employment survey
show that the unemployment rate adjusted for January fell to 12.4%,
making it the lowest reported since August 2008, when it was 12.2%,"
Thomas said Tuesday. He added that the rate is 1.3% lower when
compared with December 2014 (13.7%) and 2.5% down from
January 2014 (14.9%).

UPR AGUADILLA PROVIDES TAX SERVICE

From News Is My Business:

The University of Puerto Rico in Aguadilla announced Tuesday
it will be offering free help to low and middle-class residents
to fill their federal income tax return, Saturdays from 9 a.m.
to 1 p.m. at the campus library through April 11. The UPR-Agua-
dilla Virtual Center for Assistance to Taxpayers (known in
Spanish as the VITA Center) is part of an alliance  with the
UPR-Mayagüez western region VITA Center.



More headlines on our Twitter feed.

Puerto Rico News Digest For January 28, 2015

MASTURBATING COP HAS BEEN SUSPENDED

From The Daily Mail:

Police in Puerto Rico have suspended a female police officer  after photos
of her performing a sex act in uniform ended up being leaked to fellow
officers. According to a police insider,  the images were taken by a male
colleague at the police station and were posted onto social media. They
said that the young woman, Cynthia Marrero Pomales, 29, was serving in
Carolina. She reportedly uploaded the pictures herself on social media
although it is understood that she had not intended for them to be shared
outside of a small private circle of friends.

PR EXPANDS TAX DEAL TO OWN EMIGRANTS

From Forbes:

Puerto Rico’s Acts 20 & 22, tax incentive laws aimed at luring wealthy
American investors to move there and at reviving the Island’s economy,
are celebrating their third anniversary this month. Now, the Island is
trying to build on this momentum by expanding who can use the tax
breaks; one amendment  is aimed at enticing successful Puerto Ricans
who have left the Island to return.

Puerto Rico Senate Bill 864 increases the potential impact of Act 22
by expanding who qualifies for the tax break. Prior to this legislation,
Act 22 was only applicable to new migrants to Puerto Rico who had
not been residents for the 15 year period before the Act went into
effect in January 2012. That period has now been reduced from 15
to 6 years. That means anyone who left the Island before 2006 can
now apply for the Act 20/22 tax breaks.

COURT URGED TO REVERSE GAY MARRIAGE RULING

From SDGLN.COM:

Lambda Legal on Monday filed a brief urging the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the First Circuit to overturn a lower court ruling
dismissing Conde-Vidal v. Garcia-Padilla, the lawsuit seeking to
end the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico’s discriminatory ban on
marriage for LGBT couples.

“The District Court ruling in October was contrary to Supreme
Court precedent and stands in stark contrast against the avalanche
of court rulings over the past 18 months finding marriage bans
like Puerto Rico’s to be discriminatory and unconstitutional,”
said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, Staff Attorney for Lambda Legal.

LEGISLATURE TO REDUCE TOLL FINES

From The San Juan Daily Star:

The island House and Senate passed diff erent versions of a bill
Monday that will reduce thefi nes imposed on drivers for passing
through highway toll plazas without paying and establish an
amnesty that will allow drivers who owe large sums in fines for
doing so to pay them. Puerto Rico’s Department of Transportation
and Public Works (DTOP) began this year to enforce the law that
imposes $100 fi nes for passing through the toll plazas without
paying. Citizens were given 30 days to pay the amount they owe in
tolls to erase the fi ne. Nonetheless, many citizens have com-
plained that they were not informed in writing as required by law
that they have fines. Others said they did not deserve the fines
because they recharge their AutoExpreso accounts every month.
AutoExpreso is the name of the island highway toll collection
system.

PR LABOR FORCE SHRINKS FURTHER IN DECEMBER

From News Is My Business:

Puerto Rico’s labor force had 25,000 fewer members in December,
when compared to the same month in 2013, which could account for
the lower unemployment rate announced by the Labor Department
Tuesday. According to the agency, the December jobless rate stood
at 13.7 percent, representing the “lowest rate for that month  since
2008,” when the unemployment rate stood at 15.5 percent.

Puerto Rico News Digest For October 27, 2014

POLICE SEARCH FOR MISSING AIBONITO WOMAN

Police are investigating the disappearance of 36 year

old Aibonito resident Jacqueline Meléndez Díaz, who has

been missing for five days, according to El Nuevo Dia.

Díaz is the mother of two boys who did not live with

her, and was about to move to Pennsylvania to start a 

new life with her partner, Israel Martínez Rosario. 

The woman disappeared from her house on Thursday, and

police have stated that there were no signs of  forced

entry into the house. A friend and neighbor said that

Díaz was excited to leave for the continent, and had 

recently received some severance money from a job she

had just left. 

EPIDEMIOLOGIST WEIGHS IN ON VA EBOLA PLAN

Brenda Rivera García, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico's

epidemiologist, assured the public on Sunday that the

island's Veteran's Hospital will not become an ebola

treatment center for U.S. soldiers who become infected 

with the virus, since treatment at U.S. military facilities

in Germany would make more sense. Noticel reported this

past Friday that the VA Hospital was setting up three

isolation areas for ebola patients, which aroused 

suspicions that some of the 3,000 American troops that 

are being sent to West Africa to combat ebola could be 

brought in for treatement there.  

BAHIA URBANA TO CLOSE 2014 WITH EVENTS

From News Is My Business:

"Bahía Urbana, a mixed-use entertainment venue in the San 

Juan Bay area, will close 2014 with more than 100 events 

between box office and free events for the community, and 

an estimated 250,000 attendees, General Manager Linnette 

Isona said..."

35,000 FEWER PEOPLE WORKING IN SEPT.

From Caribbean Business:

"The Puerto Rico Labor Department said Wednesday there 

were 981,000 people employed on the island in September, 

35,000 fewer workers than registered in the same month 

a year ago and 7,000 fewer than in August..."

Puerto Rico News Digest For October 15, 2014

FEDS TO PROVIDE $7 MILLION FOR JOBS

The United States Department of Labor has announced a grant

of  $7 million to the group "Puerto Rico Tecnoeconomic Corridor"

to fund job training for the long-term unemployed, as reported

today by El Nuevo Dia. The funds -- which are meant to serve

people who have been out of work for longer than 26 weeks 

in towns in the west of Puerto Rico -- are part of a larger

grant of $169.7 million which is being split between twenty

states and the island. 

JUSTICE WIDENS COLOMBIA DEATH PROBE

The Puerto Rico Department of Justice has announced that it

is widening its investigation into the death of Nancy Santana 

García, a local woman who died in Colombia during a botched

cosmetic surgical procedure. The Department is encouraging anyone

who has been treated by an unlicensed medical professional or

someone pretending to be a doctor to come forward with information.

Information can be provided through the following phone numbers:

(787) 729- 2577, (787) 729-2523 or (787) 729-2429/2491.

MAN FOUND MURDERED IN CAGUAS

An unidentified man, 20-25 years of age, was found shot to death

on Road PR-796, in the Guasábara section of Caguas, Primera Hora

has reported. Several gunshot wounds were found on the victim, who

was the third person to be murdered in Puerto Rico on Tuesday. The

man's death brings the number of murders on the island for this

year to 525. The figure is 182 less than the number registered this

time last year.

EDP PUMPS $32.2 MILLION  INTO ECONOMY

From News Is My Business:

The Economic Development Bank for Puerto Rico disclosed 

Tuesday that during the first quarter of Fiscal 2015, it has approved 

more than $32.2 million in 68 loans to businesses looking to expand 

or establish themselves on the island.

More than $8 million of that amount was approved last month, 

agency President Joey Cancel-Planas said.

In September, the agency granted $2.6 million new loans and 

$5.9 million in credit lines to 19 applicants, representing  the

creation of 87 direct and 183 indirect jobs, and the retention of 

another 62, the agency noted.

Payroll Jobs See Gains, But So Does Unemployment Rate

From Caribbean Business:

Puerto Rico’s unemployment rate rose while payroll jobs posted an overall 
gain in August, the U.S. Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics 
reported Friday. The jobless rate climbed to 13.5 percent in August, up from 
13.1 percent in July.  It was at 14.2 percent in August 2013.

The BLS report said the number of people on non-farm payrolls increased 
on a year-over-year basis, rising to 924,100 in August from 919,900 during 
the same month in  2013. The jobs number rose from 912,400 in July.

More: http://www.caribbeanbusinesspr.com/news/payrolls-jobless-rate-up-separate-report-says-
29000-fewer-working-100754.html