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Para ver esta página en español, oprima aquí. Unicameral Referendum Jeopardized… Fortuño Asks For UT Extension… 650 Gov’t Workers Will Lose Cars… Drug Courts Lack Support… Federal Housing Funds Cut ‘Deadly’… Permit OK’d For PLA… Corrections Can’t Interfere With Inmates’ Rights… J Lo, Marc To Perform Together… Rum Tax Reduction’s Effect Unintended… Ginsburg Visits… Torres Moves To Hoy… Tourist Arrivals Jump
Disagreements Rise Over Referendum On Unicameral Vote February 7, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – Senate President Kenneth McClintock of the New Progressive Party warned that he will not approve the allocation of additional funds for the State Elections Commission to hold a unicameral referendum, approved last term by the Popular Democratic majority. McClintock’s stance could foreshadow a standoff with PDP Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila, who could refuse to sign a law that repeals the statute already approved to consult the island about whether it wishes to continue with a bi-cameral Legislature or amend the Constitution to have a one-body Legislature. "For the referendum to be held, there has to be an allocation of additional funds and the Legislature is not going to approve this allocation … We are in a conflict," McClintock said, according to reports. PDP Sen. Eudaldo Báez Galib, one of the proponents of a unicameral government, said he was confident that the referendum will be held July 10, as planned. "The only way to stop it is to approve a law repealing its existence. If the governor vetoes it, and here they intend to go through the governor’s veto, they need the votes of the minority and at this they are not going to succeed," said Baez Galib. Fortuño Formally Asks For Urban Train Extension February 7, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – The initial proposal to assign funds for highways in Puerto Rico, which includes the formal request to extend the Urban Train, will be sent to the House Transportation Committee on Monday by Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño. It is expected that the fund request exceeds $110 million annually. "It is an initial proposal that could be done through available money, but it will have to be adjusted at the end of the month," Fortuño said. Fortuño, who is a member of the Transportation Committee, is not totally committed to some of the proposals about where the Urban Train should extend. The train is not yet operating regularly. 650 Government Workers Will Lose Official Vehicle Privilege February 7, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – Based on recommendations to reduce government expenses from the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Ileana Fas Pacheco, Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila confirmed he will eliminate the privilege of an official vehicle for 650 government management employees. This was one of the recommendations that Fas Pacheco included in a two-page plan that suggested $12 million in cuts. Acevedo Vila said he will not limit the reductions suggested by the incoming OMB director. "What she said involves dropping the car for about 600 people. This is to lower the salary. I am going to do it," Acevedo Vila said. "They are preliminary recommendations, that can be implemented quickly, that don’t require waiting for the next budget, or legislative action … I am examining them and will act on it this week, but this is not the only thing I am going to do," he said. Lack Of Support For Drug Courts By JOSÉ FERNÁNDEZ COLÓN February 6, 2005 PONCE (AP) – Presiding Supreme Court Judge, Federico Hernandez Denton, said Sunday that a lack of support from the Mental Health & Anti-Addiction Services Administration and from drug rehabilitation centers has made it impossible to establish drug courts in four jurisdictions. Hernandez Denton said that eight drug courts currently operate in as many jurisdictions: San Juan, Bayamon, Carolina, Ponce, Mayagüez, Arecibo, Guayama y Humacao. The presiding judge of the highest judicial forum on the Island said that, in order for drug courts to be established in Aguadilla, Caguas, Utuado, and Aibonito, the Mental Health & Anti-Addiction Services Administration and the Corrections & Rehabilitation Department have to set up the necessary facilities. Hernandez Denton said that all the studies he has reviewed on the drug courts program in the Island and the U.S. show that they are "very successful" in the rehabilitation of drug addicts. He praised the performance of Ponce’s drug court, where he attended several hearings held last Thursday. "The work done in Ponce’s drug court is really very impressive. I was very encouraged by what is being done there," he said. "Deadly" Reduction Of Federal Housing Funds February 6, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) - Peñuelas mayor, Walter Torres Maldonado, said Saturday that the possible reduction of funds from the Federal Housing Department’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) would be "deadly" for his municipality. Press reports seem to indicate that U.S. President, George W. Bush, could cut the program's funds by half. Peñuelas received $1.2 million through the program this fiscal year. "It would be a deadly blow for almost 60 of the Island’s municipalities. In Peñuelas’ case, it would create a crisis in the construction industry that would affect several infrastructure projects that are in development and will start soon," said the mayor. The future of the CDBG funds will be revealed on Monday, Feb. 7, when Bush gives his message on the budget for fiscal year 2005-2006. Permit Is Approved For Puerto De Las Americas February 5, 2005 PONCE (AP) – After four years of study and evaluations, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved, with conditions, the permit for the development of what will the the Puerto de Las Américas in Ponce. Sindulfo Castillo, chief of the Office of Permits in the Antilles of the Corps of Engineers, said the permit was approved with 21 conditions that the authority of Puerto de Las Américas promised to comply with. "The Army Corps of Engineers has completed the evaluation of the Environmental Impact Statement and the permit request application for the proposed Puerto de Las Américas in Ponce," he said. Dept. Of Corrections Not To Interfere With Inmates’ Rights By JOSÉ FERNÁNDEZ COLÓN February 5, 2005 PONCE (AP) – Secretary of Corrections Miguel Pereira and officials of the maximum security prison Las Cucharas in Ponce were warned by the Court not to deny inmates access to the library and not to interfere with their mail or they will be found in contempt. Superior Judge Rosaline Santana Rios of the Ponce Court of the First Instance granted a preliminary order of interdict in favor of inmate Jose Cruz Berrios, who claimed he had been denied his rights. Cruz Berrios, who went to the Court in his own right, said that Corrections officials violated organic rule 6037 and denied him and other inmates use of the library and law books, which hindered his right to "access the Courts". This case was first seen on Dec. 15, 2004 and ended on Jan. 25, 2005. J Lo, Marc To Perform Together February 4, 2005 Los Angeles - Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are to perform together for the first time since their reported marriage, according to reports on Thursday. The couple, who have not publicly confirmed their reported June wedding, will croon together later this month at the Grammy Awards. The pair are expected to sing a number from Lopez's new album, Rebirth, which is due out March 1. The February 13 Grammy Awards show which will air live on CBS from the Staples Centre in Los Angeles. Congress Didn’t Consider Effect Of Rum Tax Reduction On PR February 4, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – When the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation proposed reducing the federal tax on foreign alcoholic beverages, they didn’t consider what the measure would do to the rum tax reimbursement Puerto Rico receives. Resident Commissioner Luis Fortuño said this was indicated in directives from the Congressional committee to his office director, Luis Baco, and his economic adviser, Jaime Gonzalez. "This was not the intention," Fortuño said to a newspaper, in reference to the effect the tax reduction would have on the Puerto Rican fiscal situation. The Congressional proposal would reduce the tax on rum from $13.50 to $8.40 per gallon. As a result of this tax, Puerto Rico receives $13.25 for each gallon of rum exported to the United States. U.S. Supreme Court Justice To Visit PR February 4, 2005 SAN JUAN (AP) – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will visit Puerto Rico next week to participate in a series of conferences on contemporary legal topics, offered annually at the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. Bader Ginsburg, who will arrive Sunday for a six-day visit, will take the occasion to visit the Puerto Rico Supreme Court and the Federal District Court, and will be received at La Fortaleza by Gov. Aníbal Acevedo Vila, according to Ana Segarra, of the UPR Law School. "The purpose of the visit is to participate in a series of conferences on contemporary legal topics offered annually by the UPR Law School based on a subject relevant to current discussion. This year, the general theme will be the judicial function," Law School Dean Efrén Rivera said in a statement. El Sentinel Chief Moves To Hoy Aníbal Torres, publisher of the Spanish-language El Sentinel, will oversee Hoy in New York. By Sean Mussenden | Sentinel Staff Writer February 3, 2005 The publisher of El Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel's Spanish-language sister publication, Aníbal Torres, 54, was named vice president and general manager of the New York edition of the Spanish-language newspaper Hoy on Wednesday. El Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel and Hoy -- with editions in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles -- are all owned by the Chicago-based Tribune Co. In his new position, Torres, who was born in Puerto Rico, will oversee the New York edition of Hoy, a six-year old daily newspaper that serves the metropolitan area. 2004 Tourist Arrivals Up February 3, 2005 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Tourist arrivals in the Caribbean rose 7 percent in 2004, despite one of the worst hurricane seasons in history. The region also saw a 13 percent increase in cruise ship passengers. Here's a glance at individual countries and territories. PUERTO RICO: A 6.9 percent increase in visitors with 1,082,649 between January and September. A 13.5 percent increase in cruise ship passengers with 1,065,215 recorded between January and October.
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