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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Navy Budgets $76m For Vieques Clean-Up… New Task Force Will Fight To Keep Ft Buchanan Open… Rum Tax, Child Tax Credit Retained… Rodríguez Denies Steroid Use… Data On PR Soldiers In Iraq Sought…RR Under U.S. Jurisdiction…UT Delayed… Governor Submits Cost-Cutting Bills… Vieques Added To Superfund Priority List… Turabo Medical Buys San Pablo Hospitals
Navy Budgets $76 Million For Vieques Clean-Up February 9, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The U.S. Navy has set aside $76 million for the clean-up of Vieques in fiscal years 2006 to 2009, according to the budget proposed by the federal government. The Pentagon’s Navy press office said the budget has set aside $20 million each year for the clean-up of the former military land in 2006, 2007 and 2008, and another $16 million for fiscal year 2009. "$76 million has been budgeted," Christine Ventresca, a Navy spokeswoman, told a newspaper. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday that the old military areas on Vieques were included on the Superfund National Priority List of zones that must be decontaminated. New Task Force Will Fight To Keep Fort Buchanan Open February 9, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – A report from former soldiers commissioned by the administration of Sila M. Calderon says interest keeping Fort Buchanan in Guaynabo open is weakened because the site lacks a "strategic military mission," and because of the moratorium imposed by Congress on new construction at the base. The report, commissioned from the Spectrum Group by Calderon’s administration, says Buchanan is "not receiving significant support from the government of the ‘Estado Libre Asociado’ or from the local communities." The government has "limited time to influence the process and the decisions," according to the report. Recommendations to the U.S. Defense Secretary about closing or realigning military bases must be submitted on or before May 16. Based on the Spectrum report, the new administration of Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila has decided to create a task force – headed by the assistant general of the National Guard, Francisco Marquez, and the Secretary of Economic Development Jorge Silva, to go to Washington D.C. to fight for Buchanan to remain open. Federal Budget For PR Keeps Rum Tax, Child Tax Credit February 8, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The federal budget for fiscal year 2006 maintains for two years the increase in the rum tax returned to Puerto Rico, increases funds for education, and preserves the child tax credit. Nevertheless, the budget put forth by U.S. President George W. Bush, presented on Monday, could also eliminate or reduce important allocations for social programs, and health and housing costs, the press reported Tuesday. The increases include funds for the Nutritional Assistance Program from $1.49 million in 2005 to $1.52 million in 2006; Title I funds from $468 million to $536 million; special education from $99.3 million to $105.6 million and funds for school food programs, from $116.9 million to $122.7 million. The direct allocations for housing were reduced from $520 million in 2005 to $390 million in 2006. Ivan Rodríguez Denies Steroid Use February 8, 2005 SAN JUAN - Detroit Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez has denied accusations by Jose Canseco that he used steroids while playing for the Texas Rangers. Canseco says in his upcoming book he introduced Rodriguez, Rafael Palmeiro and Juan Gonzalez to steroids after being traded to Texas in 1992, it was reported Sunday. "I'm in shock," Rodriguez told a local newspaper. "He is saying things that aren't true, and it hurts me a lot that he would say things like that because I've always had a lot of respect for him, and I've even helped him many times when things weren't going well for him." Gonzalez and Palmeiro also have denied using steroids while they were members of the Texas Rangers team. Canseco's book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big," is scheduled for release on Feb. 14. Government Wants Accurate Information On PR Soldiers In Iraq February 8, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – With reports of scarce information regarding the Puerto Rican losses in the war in Iraq, the Puerto Rico government requested that the U.S. Defense Department disclose details about Boricuas that have died, been injured or left combat for medical reasons. The government sent a letter to secretary of legislative issues for the Defense Department, Dan Stanley, complaining about the lack of reliable data on the actual count of fallen Puerto Ricans. "It is important for our citizens to receive complete and truthful information about the participation of our soldiers in this war," the letter says, signed by Maria Eugenia Soto, federal affairs assistant to Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila. The data now says that 23 Puerto Rican soldiers have died in incidents related to the Iraq conflict. In Afghanistan, three Puerto Rican soldiers have died. Roosevelt Roads Is Under U.S. Jurisdiction, Court Rules February 8, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The docks of the old Roosevelt Roads naval base only fall under U.S. jurisdiction and not under Puerto Rican jurisdiction, the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston decided. The federal court revoked a decision by Judge Raymond Acosta, who had decided that the state laws were valid on Roosevelt Roads land. The base was closed last year. According to press reports, the Boston court’s decision said Roosevelt Roads "was a naval base, recently deactivated, but still is federal property," and described it as "one of the largest naval installations in the world." The decision, written by Judge Michael Boudin, is based on a 1942 letter sent by then-Navy Secretary James Forrestal, to then-governor Rexford Tugwell, in which he recognizes the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States over the land. Urban Train Runs Into More Delays February 8, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The Transportation and Public Works Department has again postponed the start of regular operations for the Urban Train, and now says it will open sometime between April and September. The designated Transportation Secretary, Gabriel Alcaraz, said the new delay comes because the Metropolitan Bus Authority has still not restructured the 21 routes that must change to coordinate operations with the train, nor have they coordinated with the public porters that augment the system. "You can’t open the system and charge people when the coordination is not complete. Charging a fee creates high expectations for service, and we are still not ready," Alcaraz told a newspaper. At the end of the Calderon administration, the train was opened and scheduled to start regular operations on Feb. 21. Alcaraz, who was manager of the Urban Train during that term, said that regular function must now not being until between April and September. Alcaraz said the Puerto Rican government has an agreement with the federal government to open regular service on the train on or before Sept. 30. Otherwise, the Transportation Department could face warnings. The system currently operates free on weekends. Governor Sends Cost-Cutting Bills To Legislature February 7, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila on Monday sent two bills to the Legislature to eliminate pork-barrel funds and establish a control on municipal spending. The governor also signed three executive orders to reduce cellular-phone spending by 25 percent, ‘empleados de confianza’ by 10 percent and costs for vehicles assigned to agencies and corporations by 40 percent. "We will drop the official car for 650 workers in the executive branch," Acevedo Vila said after meeting at La Fortaleza with PDP legislators. He said the vehicles would be transferred to agencies that give services directly to citizens. Vieques Is Officially Added To Superfund Priority List February 7, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The island of Vieques was formally included Monday on the National Priority List of places with the most dangerous waste, and with the most urgent need for clean-up work. Kathleen C. Callahan, interim regional administrator for the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said inclusion on the list is an important step in the process that began in June 2003 with a request from then-governor Sila M. Calderon. "The inclusion is a critical step in the clean-up of this magnificent island, as important for the residents of Vieques as for visitors there … the EPA will work with the Puerto Rico government and the Navy to assure that the clean-up is done properly and with the full public investment," Callahan said in a statement. Vieques community leader Robert Rabin was reserved about the announcement. "Inclusion on the Superfund list, as everything that happens toward cleaning up the Vieques environment, is great. Nevertheless, we know that the inclusion does not guarantee the clean-up of Vieques, it only implies that the EPA will supervise the process," he told the Associated Press. Rabin warned that the U.S. Navy spent "thousands of millions of dollars" in its contamination of Vieques, and said a similar amount will be necessary for the clean-up. Turabo Medical Center Buys San Pablo Hospitals February 7, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The Turabo Medical Center, owner of the Interamerican Advanced Medicine Hospital (HIMA, by its Spanish acronym) in Caguas and Humacao, announced a deal Monday for the purchase of the assets of San Pablo Hospital in Bayamon and San Pablo East in Fajardo. Joaquin Rodriguez, president of the HIMA board of directors, said the agreement was signed Friday with representatives of the UHS Corp. of Puerto Rico. He declined to disclose the value of the deal. "By integrating these two institutions we want to create a hospital system that generates economies of scale to generate an institution on the vanguard, capable of maintaining the maintaining the most advanced equipment, processes and technology for the health of Puerto Rico," he said in a statement. The new institution will be known as Grupo HIMA-San Pablo. According to Rodriguez, the transaction combines the assets of HIMA with those of both San Pablo hospitals, creating an institution with combined assets of $250 million; 4,000 employees; 1,200 doctors.
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