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☆ U.S. halts plan to remove iconic stray cats from a historic area in Puerto Rico’s capital
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-09 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The U.S. government has temporarily halted a plan to remove iconic stray cats that live in a historic district in Puerto Rico’s capital until a lawsuit opposing the project is resolved, a nonprofit announced Monday. The ruling was cheered by those fighting a decision by the U.S. National Park Service to remove an estimated 200 cats that meander a seaside fortress that Spain built in colonial times. It’s part of the San Juan National Historic Site that the U.S. National Park Service operates. The U.S. National Park Service didn’t immediately respond to a message for comment. Aronoff said in a phone interview that removing the current cats is an impossible task since new cats would take their place.

Persons: “, ”, Yonaton Aronoff, El, Aronoff, “ They’re Organizations: JUAN, Puerto Rico —, U.S . National Park Service, San Juan, Historic, U.S, National Park Service, Cat, National Environmental, NBC Locations: Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico — The U.S, Puerto Rico’s, Spain, Maryland, Old San Juan, El Morro, U.S

☆ Puerto Rico cancels classes, activates National Guard as tropical storm warning issued for Caribbean
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Ap-Live-Blog-Byline-Image.Png | The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico activated the National Guard and canceled the start of classes in public schools as forecasters warned that the U.S. territory would be hit by Tropical Storm Ernesto, which formed in the Atlantic Ocean on Monday. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, St. Barts and St. Maarten. Officials in the French Caribbean said the storm was expected to drench Guadeloupe on Monday and pass near St. Barts and St. Martin. The National Hurricane Center said Ernesto is forecast to approach Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening. In the neighboring U.S. Virgin Islands, Gov.

Persons: Tropical Storm Ernesto, Martin, Ernesto, ” Nino Correa, Ernesto Morales, ”, Albert Bryan Jr Organizations: JUAN, Puerto Rico —, National Guard, Tropical, Atlantic, National Hurricane Center, British Virgin Islands, National Weather Service, Gov, Atmospheric Administration, NBC Locations: Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico, U.S, British Virgin Islands, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, St, Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Barts, Maarten, French Caribbean, British Virgin, Puerto, San Juan, Virgin Islands, Bermuda

☆ Atlantic front forming into tropical storm headed toward U.S. Virgin Islands
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Dennis-Romero-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Dennis Romero | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The potential cyclone was gaining strength rapidly enough that the center said it would most likely be a named tropical storm by the end of Monday. If so, the name Ernesto is in line for the next Atlantic storm. So far, the National Hurricane Center has not said the front was headed for hurricane status. It would be the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season so far, as indicated by its temporary name. It says near-record warmth in the tropical Atlantic is providing ample fuel for storm development.

Persons: Hurricane Debby, Ernesto, Martin, Sint Organizations: U.S ., Hurricane, National Hurricane Center, Atlantic, British, Puerto Rico, National Oceanographic, . Colorado State Locations: East, Hurricane, Antigua, U.S . Virgin Islands, Guadeloupe, St, Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Barbuda, Anguilla, Saba, Eustatius, Sint Maarten, Leeward Islands, U.S, Puerto, Caribbean

☆ A New Yorker took her first solo trip to Greece at 38. She loved the slower pace of life so much that she moved there.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Ella Hopkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

She told Business Insider she worked 16 hours a day some days and often worked weekends. Rodriguez told BI they'd been working hard on a new project just before being let go. AdvertisementWith her new business, Rodriguez thought she needed to stay in New York to meet clients in person. She took a solo trip to GreeceRodriguez decided to attend a friend's birthday party in Greece in June 2021. She'd never visited the country before and decided to take a 10-day solo vacation to Greece around the party.

Persons: —, Marissa Rodriguez, Rodriguez, she'd, Chris Burch, Wonder, Sofia Vergara, Renata Black's, Greece Rodriguez, She'd, New York —, couldn't Organizations: Service, New York University, Business, C.Wonder Locations: Puerto Rico, Manhattan, New York, Greece, America, Athens, there's, New York City

☆ Feral cats have taken over Puerto Rico's Old San Juan. But residents are rolling their eyes at a plan to remove them.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-09 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Feral cats have long been a part of the landscape in the historic areas of Old San Juan. But the National Park Service is forging ahead with a plan to remove the cats. The advocacy organization Alley Cat Allies in March sued the park service over the plan. AdvertisementFor generations, feral cats have wandered the historic Old San Juan neighborhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico — attracting their share of local fans. The US National Park Service, however, is not one of them.

Persons: —, Castillo, Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Castillo San Cristóbal Organizations: National Park Service, Allies, Service, San Juan , Puerto Rico, San Juan, Historic, Business Locations: Old San Juan, San Juan, San Juan , Puerto, Castillo San Felipe, Castillo San

☆ Hurricanes of Data: The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Porter Fox | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +35 min

The Tiny Craft Mapping Superstorms at Sea Shortly after dawn on Sept. 30, 2021, Richard Jenkins watched a Category 4 hurricane overrun his life’s work. That August, a sister ship, SD 1031, successfully entered Tropical Storm Henri, but only in its early stages. Hurricane research, modeling and forecasting requires many terabytes of data for every square mile the storm passes through, including vitally important sea-level data from inside a storm. The next day, the depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and officially given the name Sam. And four months later, Tropical Storm Megi killed more than 150, wiped out several villages with landslides and displaced more than a million people.

☆ Amid high levels of contamination, Puerto Rico town's residents plead for action
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

SALINAS, Puerto Rico — Shuttered windows are a permanent fixture in Salinas, an industrial town on Puerto Rico’s southeast coast that is considered one of the U.S. territory’s most contaminated regions. Salinas also has one of the highest incidence rates of cancer in Puerto Rico, with 140 cases reported in 2019, the newest figures available from the island’s Central Registry of Cancer. Those measures have a limited effect, however, and residents continue frustrated that their complaints about contamination have been ignored for years. That has been hailed by many in Puerto Rico, which has one of the highest asthma rates in a U.S. jurisdiction and whose power generation system is 97% based on fossil fuels. Although she has been the target of protests organized by frustrated residents, she said she is pushing for corrective measures.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A new private company will take over power generation units owned by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the public corporation currently in charge of generating energy on the U.S. territory. The power generation equipment in Puerto Rico, plagued by ongoing blackouts and decaying infrastructure, is on average about 45 years old — twice the age of those on the U.S. mainland. The company and the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) are currently undergoing a transition process set to last 100 days. Officials in Puerto Rico have been taking steps toward privatizing power generation for some time. Power customers in Puerto Rico have seen seven electric rate increases last year, even though people in Puerto Rico already pay about twice as much as mainland U.S. customers for unreliable service.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The governing board of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, the public corporation currently in charge of energy generation on the island, approved a contract that brings the U.S. territory one step closer to privatizing power generation. Less than 4% of Puerto Rico’s power generation currently comes from renewable energy. Power generation units in Puerto Rico are on average about 45 years old, twice those of the U.S. mainland. As part of the ongoing privatization process, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority relinquished the island’s power transmission and distribution system to Luma Energy. It’s unclear whether privatizing power generation would have any impact on such efforts.

☆ Puerto Rico officials say they'll pursue abusers of its tax credit system
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico announced Tuesday that it will start cracking down on those who abuse the U.S. territory’s tax credit system, an opaque and long unregulated sector with claims that average about $270 million a year. For years, Puerto Rico’s government has been unable or unwilling to provide specific numbers related to tax credits awarded, for example, to those who build hotels or invest in the local manufacturing or movie industries. The crackdown was announced a week after Puerto Rico’s governor increased from $38 million to $100 million the annual limit of tax credits for film projects developed on the island. Parés said current incentives will expire in upcoming years and then fall under the new system, which launches Wednesday. Under the old system, the island’s Treasury Department, its Department of Economic Development, Department of Housing and its Tourism Company were responsible for overseeing tax credits.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The government of Puerto Rico is a step closer to privatizing power generation on the island despite widespread skepticism among consumers, who crave a reliable source of electricity after decades of random power outages. The contract needs to be approved by the governing board of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority and signed by Gov. Power generation units in Puerto Rico are on average about 45 years old, twice those of the U.S. mainland. The system was previously managed by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority. The privatization process follows ongoing issues around Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority's bankruptcy.

☆ 2 killed in shootout with federal agents near Puerto Rico
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Two suspected drug traffickers were killed early Sunday in a shootout with federal agents off Puerto Rico’s northeast coast, officials said. The chase ended when the suspected drug traffickers shot at the federal agents, who returned fire, Quiñones said. Quiñones said drugs were found aboard the boat and in the water, but no further details were immediately available. The deadly chase comes two months after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent and a suspected drug smuggler died in a shootout off Puerto Rico’s southwest coast. Puerto Rico is a popular transit point for drugs coming out of South America.

☆ Federal control board supervising Puerto Rico’s finances has a new director
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A federal control board that supervises Puerto Rico’s finances announced a new executive director on Thursday after its last one stepped down in April following a historic debt restructuring for the U.S. territory. Robert Mujica, budget director for New York state, is expected to assume his new role in January. In 2017, Puerto Rico filed for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. So far, auditors are still reviewing Puerto Rico’s 2019 budget. Critics also have noted that the ongoing bankruptcy process has cost Puerto Rico around $1 billion in consultants, lawyers and other expenses, and that the board’s director earns $625,000 a year.

☆ Authorities search for migrants missing after boat overturns in Puerto Rico bay
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Authorities on Wednesday searched for at least eight migrants believed to be missing in waters near the historic area of Puerto Rico’s capital. The U.S. Coast Guard said the people were apparently aboard a boat that capsized in San Juan Bay on Tuesday night, according to two survivors from the Dominican Republic who were rescued. The search comes amid a spike in human smuggling voyages departing from Haiti and the Dominican Republic as people flee poverty and violence. From October 2021 through September 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard detained at least 88 such voyages in waters near Puerto Rico and in the Mona Passage, which separates the U.S. territory from the island of Hispaniola, which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During that period, more than 1,700 Dominicans were detained, along with 444 Haitians and four Cubans.

☆ World-renowned Puerto Rico telescope won't be rebuilt after collapse
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The National Science Foundation announced Thursday that it will not rebuild a renowned radio telescope in Puerto Rico, which was one of the world’s largest until it collapsed nearly two years ago. Instead, the agency issued a solicitation for the creation of a $5 million education center at the site that would promote programs and partnerships related to science, technology, engineering and math. The decision was mourned by scientists around the world who used the telescope at the Arecibo Observatory for years to search for asteroids, planets and extraterrestrial life. The education component is very important,” said James Moore, assistant director for education and human resource directorate at NSF. He said by phone that one of the agency’s priorities is to make STEM more accessible and inclusive and that the proposed education center would fill that need.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A ship carrying much-needed diesel fuel has been unable to dock in hard-hit southern Puerto Rico since Sunday while it awaits federal authorization because of the Jones Act, a century-old shipping law. That means that a foreign ship with goods for Puerto Rico would first have to disembark in the mainland U.S. and change crews. Signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson two years after World War I ended, the Jones Act was passed as a protective measure against foreign competition. On Thursday, eight members of Congress called for the federal government to grant a one-year waiver from the Jones Act for storm-ravaged Puerto Rico. As of Monday morning, only 16% of power customers in Ponce had their electricity restored, according to the Puerto Rican government.

Workers with Luma Energy attempt to restore power on a flooded street in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 24. Since the hurricane, fuel and diesel have become essential to daily life in Puerto Rico, mainly to power the generators. People play pool in a bar on Sept. 20, in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. 'Puerto Rico is completely devastated'When asked what she would want to see from the federal response and from President Joe Biden, she said she wanted Biden to come to Puerto Rico and see the extent of the damage. A house that was washed away by Hurricane Fiona at Villa Esperanza in Salinas, Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21.

☆ Puerto Ricans from town in ‘terrible destruction’ after Hurricane Fiona despair over town's initial exclusion from aid
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms | Daniella Silva | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The landslides cut off Rivera’s farm, where he still lacks power and water, until heavy machinery arrived to attempt to clear the destruction. Most of the towns excluded were in the southwestern region, where Hurricane Fiona entered and left incalculable devastation. 'Almost all lost'But residents in San Germán were frustrated at not being able to apply immediately for individual assistance. Gone were hundreds of avocados, the coffee, the eggplants, zucchini and other crops Rivera produces and sells to the community, mostly to nearby restaurants. Jorge Luis Rivera, 36, a farmer in San Germán, Puerto Rico, who lost most of his crops to Hurricane Fiona.

JAYUYA, Puerto Rico — When Hurricane Fiona completely knocked out power and water to the mountain town of Jayuya, in the heart of Puerto Rico, it quickly became a life-or-death matter for Luis De Jesús Ramos, who has throat cancer and a tracheostomy. Luis De Jesús Ramos, 63, and his daughter Ashly Pérez, 26, in their home in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. Members of the company LUMA work restoring energy on Sept. 20, 2022 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The Direct Relief Puerto Rico team came to the neighborhood to bring 10 portable oxygen concentrators and other supplies to partners in the area. Edwin Quiles Martínez, 66, and his wife Graciela Pérez Alvarado, 73, in their home in Ponce, Puerto Rico.

☆ Hurricane Fiona strengthens to a Category 4 as it moves away from Turks and Caicos
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

The storm had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving north at 8 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. The center of the storm is expected to continue to approach Bermuda late Thursday, according to the Hurricane Center. Long lines were reported at several gas stations across Puerto Rico, and some pulled off a main highway to collect water from a stream. The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday as the agency announced it was sending hundreds of additional personnel to boost local response efforts. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, officials reported minimal damage and no deaths despite the storm’s eye passing close to Grand Turk, the small British territory’s capital island, on Tuesday morning.

☆ After devastating Puerto Rico, Hurricane Fiona has strengthened to a Category 3 storm, continuing its ruinous path across the Caribbean
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Hurricane Fiona strengthened to a Category 3 storm on Tuesday after slamming into Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. "Localized additional flash and urban flooding is possible in southern portions of Puerto Rico," the National Weather Service warned, adding that another 1 to 4 inches of rain will fall over much of Puerto Rico into Wednesday morning. A woman and her dog take refuge in a shelter from Hurricane Fiona in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. Nelson Cirino secures the windows of his home as the winds of Hurricane Fiona blow in Loiza, Puerto Rico, Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. AP Photo/Alejandro GranadilloThe blow from Hurricane Fiona was made more devastating because Puerto Rico has yet to fully recover from 2017's Hurricane Maria.

☆ Fed up with high gas prices and slow Amazon deliveries? Blame these 2 century-old laws that need to be repealed.
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-13 | by ( Colin Grabow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

A well-oiled transportation system is vital to keeping the economy humming — especially in a country as large as the United States. Unfortunately, Americans' ability to get resources where they need to go has been crippled by a pair of outdated laws: the Jones Act and the Foreign Dredge Act. As with Jones Act ships, hopper dredges constructed in US shipyards are significantly more expensive than those built abroad. But despite these huge costs, the Jones Act and the Foreign Dredge Act survive largely intact. The Jones Act and the Foreign Dredge Act are just two examples among many, and behind each one lies an entrenched interest group dedicated to its preservation.

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