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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Calderon Creates Investigatory CommissionAcevedo Vila Joins Resources CommitteeDrug Czar Choice LambastedPolitics Gets PersonalINS To Orient Dominicans On New LawPIP’s Bill Restricts Government AdsDiaz Official NPP Candidate***** Calderon Creates Blue Ribbon Commission Through Executive Order By Proviana Colon Diaz February 1, 2001 Gov. Sila Calderon on Wednesday signed an executive order creating the Blue Ribbon Commission, which will review all large transactions made by the former Rossello administration. The governor signed the order at La Fortaleza where she was accompanied by Blue Ribbon Commission Chairman David Noriega. She said having civilians review government transactions is done in "almost every country" during critical situations. Since Calderon believes that the current fiscal situation of the island is "critical" in nature, resulting in part from the past administration's dealings, she said the commission is badly needed. Noriega added, however, that they will evaluate the transactions of the past administration but will not be limited to those because "at any given time" the group can investigate the Calderon administration. ***** Acevedo Vila Selected As Member Of U.S. House Resources Committee January 30, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Resident Commissioner Anibal Acevedo Vila was selected to be a member of the U.S. House Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over Puerto Rico matters. According to published reports, Acevedo Vila planned to meet Wednesday with House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt to explore the possibility of also joining the House Education and Labor Force Committee. ***** PIP Lambastes Choice Of Col. Jorge Collazo As Drug Czar January 30, 2001 SAN JUAN (AP) - Designated Drug Czar Col. Jorge Collazo is "not qualified" to occupy the post because he violated the civil rights of pro-independence advocates, according to Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Sen. Fernando Martin. Martin said Collazo was one of the many active members of the police units in charge of persecuting independence supporters for their political activism. "We will see how involved he, who expects to appear before the island as a police role model, was when we have access to other documents," Martin said. Collazo occupied important positions in the police that allowed him to lead security operations for years, including under the administrations of Govs. Rafael Hernandez Colon and Carlos Romero Barcelo. ***** Politics Gets Personal In Legislature Iván Román January 28, 2001 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- The word used in Spanish for the legislative chambers is hemiciclo or hemicycle, which appears in English dictionaries but is seldom used. In Puerto Rico these days, they are calling the House of Representatives the "hemicircus." The new Legislature, which is supposed to be riding the crest of the people's goodwill and desire for a cleaner and more civilized government with the Popular Democratic Party at the helm, seems to be trying its hardest to crash and burn. The mess began Jan. 18 when the New Progressive Party minority, trying to delay a resolution on Vieques, had former legislators whom they had contracted as aides interrupting their new bosses on the house floor. House Speaker Carlos Vizcarrondo ordered them out. When they protested, PDP Rep. Severo Colberg Toro called them a "dirty mob." NPP Rep. Albita Rivera shot back, calling him a "drunk." It didn't end there. Rivera and two other NPP female legislators presented a bill to prohibit drinking alcohol in the Capitol. Colberg Toro said that if drinking were going to be prohibited, the Legislature should also control the conduct of female legislators "who go out with married men." Horrified civic leaders followed the spectacle in shame. Even the Most. Rev. Roberto Gonzalez Nieves, the archbishop of San Juan, weighed in. "Our people are not like that," Gonzalez Nieves said. "We are a passionate people, but we are a people with profound respect for a person's dignity." ***** INS To Orient Dominicans On New Immigration Law By Proviana Colon Diaz January 28, 2001 Because of false information about a non-existing amnesty, more than 1,460 Dominicans have been detained in Puerto Rico for illegally attempting to enter U.S. soil since October. That compares to only 887 detained in the entire previous fiscal year, INS officials said. The INS and Dominican officials have joined forces to try to stem the wave of people braving the treacherous journey from the neighboring island. ***** PIP Senator Files Bill To Restrict Government Ad Spending By Proviana Colon Diaz January 27, 2001 SAN JUAN - Puerto Rican Independence Party (PIP) Sen. Fernando Martin on Friday filed a bill to extend the electoral year prohibition on government advertising to the entire four-year term to avoid the waste of public funds in promoting the work of the administration in power. "If the prohibition is good for an election year, it should also be good for the other three years. That way we can put an end to the carnival of ad spending," Martin said. ***** Diaz Becomes Official NPP Candidate By Proviana Colon Diaz January 26, 2001 Former New Progressive Party (NPP) Rep. Leonides Diaz on Thursday made official his candidacy for president of the New Progressive Party (NPP), one day prior to the closing of the nominations. Saying that his sole desire is to rebuild the party, which was defeated in the last general election, Diaz appears to be the only official candidate set to be elected in the upcoming Feb 11 Delegates Assembly.
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