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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Calderon Firm On Ending Navy Bombing On ViequesCintron Bows Out, Misla Stays OnAcevedo Vila: Vieques Accord Should Be RenegotiatedNavy Sets Nov 6 Vieques Referendum And Threatens Calderon With No Land TransferPHA Has Complied With Federal RequirementsPDP To Challenge AppointmentsCRB Files Bills On ViequesTransition Measure Goes To LegislatureNAHJ Objects To Charges Against JournalistsRossello Defends AppointmentsBush Aides To Travel To P.R. Over Federal Appointments***** Calderon Firm On Ending Navy Bombing On Vieques By EILEEN McNAMARA December 14, 2000 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Governor-elect Sila Calderon on Wednesday refused to back down from promises to eject the U.S. Navy from its prized Vieques bombing range, and chided the sailors for "threats" to halt a promised land transfer. Her stance threatens a painfully negotiated agreement between the government of outgoing Gov. Pedro Rossello, President Bill Clinton and the U.S. Navy. "My position on Vieques and that of the overwhelming majority of the people of Puerto Rico is well known. I stand firm by that position," said a letter Wednesday from Calderon, who takes office Jan. 2. "This is not a time for threats ... Rather, it is a time that requires enlightened leadership and sensible action." "It's clear from what we're seeing here that she doesn't intend to honor the agreement," Danzig spokesman Capt. Brian Cullin said after receiving the letter. "We cannot go forward with the land transfer and other projects if she doesn't follow the agreement. The party that suffers here is Vieques." ***** Cintron Bows Out, Misla Stays On December 13, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - New Progressive Party (NPP) Rep. Angel Cintron bowed out of the race for House minority leader Wednesday after two party leaders asked him and outgoing House Speaker Edison Misla Aldarondo to step aside. Earlier Wednesday, NPP Second Vice President Ramon Luis Rivera and Mayors Federation President Hector O'Neill held a press conference asking both men to desist of their bids as House minority leaders. Both leaders advocated for the search of a consensus candidate in accordance with the NPP directorate's decision Tuesday night supporting President Carlos Pesquera, who wants to renew the party's leadership in the House. For his part, Misla Aldarondo announced he would not withdraw his bid to become minority leader, despite the requests to that effect. ***** Acevedo Vila: Vieques Accord Should Be Renegotiated December 13, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - Resident Commissioner-elect Anibal Acevedo Vila said the new administration believes it will be able to renegotiate the Vieques accord with the new U.S. President, according to published reports. He said that having a dialogue about the accord does not entail violating the existing agreement with outgoing President Bill Clinton but "refusing to engage in dialogue is rejecting the possibility of finding a permanent peace for Vieques." ***** U.S. Navy Sets Vieques Referendum For Nov. 6. December 13, 2000 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Residents of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques will vote on Nov. 6, 2001 on whether to oust the U.S. Navy from their island, which has been used as a bombing range and base for war games for decades, officials said on Tuesday. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig set the date for the long-promised referendum on the Navy's controversial presence on Vieques in a letter to Gov. Pedro Rossello late Monday. For the first time in its history, the Navy will ask the 9,300 residents whether they want the Navy base there. In his letter to Rossello, Danzig said that at least 90 days before the November referendum , the Navy will submit the language to be used on a second option, which would permit indefinite Navy training with live fire. This second option carries with it a $50 million incentive through economic development projects in the community. An additional $40 million is being spent before the vote. ***** Navy Threatens Calderon With No Land Transfer In Vieques December 12, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Danzig threatened Gov.-elect Sila Calderon with stopping the transfer of Vieques land to the Puerto Rico government if she fails to honor the presidential directives. "The transfer of lands and many of the projects won't continue without the commitment that your administration will totally support the accord and that no legal, regulatory or other actions will be taken that conflict with the naval training that we carry out according to the accord," Danzig said in a letter sent to Calderon. Gov. Pedro Rossello said the Navy secretary speaks on the government's behalf and is authorized by President Bill Clinton. "What [Danzig] is saying is that if the Puerto Rico government doesn't comply with the provisions of the presidential accord, the federal government doesn't have to comply with the commitments made," Rossello said in justifying Danzig's threat. Calderon has criticized the presidential directives and has said she would take action to get the Navy to stop military practices in Vieques as soon as possible. ***** Gonzalez: PHA Has Complied With All Federal Requirements By Proviana Colon Diaz December 12, 2000 SAN JUAN — 12/12/00 - Housing Secretary Carlos Gonzalez on Tuesday said he will meet Wednesday with officials of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to discuss anti-corruption measures the agency requested that they implement at the Public Housing Administration (PHA). Such measures should allow the island to receive $130 million in detained federal funds to be used to improve conditions at public housing projects, he said. The U.S. Congress stopped a HUD allocation in light of reports of corruption at the PHA. PHA head John Blakeman said although they had until Dec. 31 to implement the anti-corruption program requested by HUD, it has already been completed. ***** PDP To Challenge Most Of Rossello's Appointments December 11, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - House Speaker-elect Carlos Vizcarrondo said as soon as the Popular Democratic Party (PDP) takes office they will challenge the majority of the last-minute appointments made by outgoing Gov. Pedro Rossello. Vizcarrondo said PDP lawyers are reviewing the legal recourses they have to challenge the appointments, according to published reports. He said some appointments can't be challenged, such as those of judges, which the Commonwealth Constitution clearly establishes are the purview of the governor. But he said the rest of the more than 100 Rossello appointments can be impugned. ***** Romero Barcelo Files Bills On Vieques Land Transfer December 10, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - Resident Commissioner Carlos Romero Barcelo filed two bills prepared by the Clinton administration to allow the Puerto Rico government to eventually own most of the land transferred by the U.S. Navy on Vieques. The legislation deals with the approximately 8,000 acres that the Navy is set to transfer in the west of the island by the end of the year, and some 12,000 acres the Navy will cede if Vieques residents vote to end Navy exercises there by May 1, 2003, according to published reports. The land transfer issue was given prominence when President Bill Clinton expressed during an interview that the Republican-controlled Congress broke the agreement between the White House and the Puerto Rico government to eventually have title of the land go to Puerto Rico. Congress gave ownership of most of the land to the U.S. Interior Department. ***** Rossello Sends Transition Committee Measure To Legislature December 9, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - Outgoing Gov. Pedro Rossello on Friday sent a measure to the Legislature to force members of the incoming administration's transition team to submit financial reports with the Government Ethics Office (GEO). The measure also bans members of the transition teams from contracting with the government for four years. Critics of members of Gov.-elect Sila Calderon's team have said it's not right for people who will eventually benefit privately from the administration to have access to privileged information. ***** NAHJ Objects To Decision By U.S. District Court In Puerto Rico To Uphold Charges Against 10 Journalists December 8, 2000 WASHINGTON - The National Association of Hispanic Journalists joined the Asociacion de Periodistas de Puerto Rico in expressing its disagreement with a recent decision of the U.S. District Court of Puerto Rico . On Nov. 30, the court denied a request by 10 journalists to dismiss trespassing charges against them for entering a naval base on the island of Vieques last June while covering a protest against the U.S. Navy. "We believe that the court could have exercised more discretion in this case," said NAHJ President Cecilia Alvear. "An open society demands that journalists be given access to the scene of important events and this decision will have a chilling effect on the coverage of a vital issue." The NAHJ urges the federal government to reconsider its decision to criminally prosecute the journalists. Last August, the NAHJ sent a letter to the governor of Puerto Rico protesting the arrests. ***** Rossello Defends Last-Minute Appointments December 8, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - Outgoing Gov. Pedro Rossello on Friday defended the more than 100 appointments he had made to government posts despite the New Progressive Party (NPP) having lost the Nov. 7 elections. "I have learned one thing in these eight years: that the governor is in office until his term ends," said Rossello when asked why in 1992 he had criticized outgoing Gov. Rafael Hernandez Colon for his last-minute appointments despite the Popular Democratic Party's (PDP) defeat. Rossello said those who criticize him should do research to determine the constitutionality of his appointments. ***** Bush Aides To Travel To P.R. To Mull Over Federal Appointments December 8, 2000 SAN JUAN (AP) - Aides to Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush will arrive in Puerto Rico on Monday to meet with local leaders and draft a strategy to select about 50 federal government officials on the island, according to published reports. Bush aide Michael Govan said he and Steve Kupka will be here through Thursday and will meet with Republican Party President Luis A. Ferre, National Committeeman Edison Misla Aldarondo and Bush campaign organizer Cesar Cabrera, among others.
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