The San Juan Daily Star, the only paper with News Service in English in Puerto Rico, publishes 7 days a week, with a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday edition, along with a Weekend Edition to cover Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
By THE STAR STAFF
The mediation team created in April 2022 to facilitate confidential negotiations that would help settle the island’s debt informed the federal Title III court Tuesday that it is not participating in talks between the Financial Oversight and Management Board and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) creditors.
In an informative motion, the mediation team said it has been kept apprised of discussions between the oversight board and mediation parties. The group did not give the reasons why it is not helping mediate talks with PREPA bondholders.
“The Mediation Team has not been directly involved in such discussions and, accordingly, is not in a position to provide more detailed information to the Court regarding” PREPA’s talks with bondholders and other creditors, the officials said.
“Likewise, the Mediation Team is not in a position to provide any information regarding the schedule, if any, of upcoming discussions,” the group added.
In an urgent motion filed last Thursday, the oversight board told the bankruptcy court that it “has reached an agreement in principle with a substantial
number of holders of PREPA bonds to settle their respective claims against PREPA.”
In light of this development, the oversight board sought from the court a further extension of certain plan filing and confirmation-related deadlines in order to finalize the necessary documents, including, but not limited to, a bond purchase agreement and restructuring support agreement (RSA) and to prepare a third amended plan reflecting the agreements in the RSA.
The court granted an extension until this Friday, Aug. 18.
The oversight board has stated that the RSA will be open for all PREPA bondholders to join. It has also informed the court that, if the extension is granted, it may lead to another significant party settling its claim, “but the Oversight Board will not request another extension to further accommodate other parties.”
The STAR learned Tuesday that certain monolines or bond insurers are not participating in the negotiations.
PREPA has been in bankruptcy since 2017 to restructure some $9 billion in debt. A few months ago, U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain declared that $8.4 billion in bonded debt was unsecured and that bondholders only have a claim guaranteed for up to $2.3 billion.
Justice Secretary Domingo Emanuelli Hernández dissociated himself on Tuesday from the controversy generated between two Aguadilla Court judges over the order of imprisonment for contempt issued against former Mayagüez judge María Isabel Negrón García, who heads the owners board of the Sol y Playa Condominium in Rincón.
“The Department of Justice is not going to intervene in the civil case between the [Puerto Rico] Planning Board and the Sol y Playa Condominium, which is being debated in the Aguadilla Court …,” Emanuelli Hernández said in a written statement. “The Department of Justice and the courts belong to different and independent branches of the Government of Puerto Rico. The judges and the Courts Administration Office adhere to the Judicial Branch of the Government of Puerto Rico and are not part of the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice belongs to the Executive Branch of the Government of Puerto Rico.”
Judge Abid Quiñones Portalatín decided
on Monday to order Negrón García to prison for contempt over her failure to act on a demolition order applying to the condo’s controversial recreation area.
“The situation has reached its limit and I cannot allow this sentence to continue to be postponed …,” Quiñones Portalatín said at the start of Monday’s hearing.
“I am going to declare in contempt the [board] president of the Sol y Playa condominium,” the judge continued. “Your incarceration will be ordered today. Once the demolition begins, the court will order the president’s release.”
“If the order is complied with this afternoon, then I will order the discharge,” he added. “If it is fulfilled tomorrow, I will order it tomorrow; it’s as clear as that.”
For her part, Negrón García tried to persuade the judge to revoke his decision, arguing that since she assumed leadership of the condo board, she has managed the start of the demolition work. However, she noted that 50 percent of the condominium does not want to comply with the court’s order.
University of Puerto Rico (UPR) President Luis Ferrao Delgado announced Tuesday a salary hike for the UPR Workers’ Union, which earlier had announced a strike. Ferrao said he had been working with the Financial Oversight and Management Board to obtain funding for the promised salary hike to $9.50 per hour. He had earlier described the decision to strike as unfortunate.
“The call made by the University of Puerto Rico Workers’ Union this morning is unfortunate,” Ferrao said. “As recently as [Monday], I sent a communication to Mr. David Muñoz to let him know that I am in constant communication with the Oversight Board and its executive director, hoping our petition will be approved to address wage justice for all employees who earn less than $9.50 per hour.”
On Monday, the maintenance employees represented by the union agreed to go on an indefinite strike after the university administration failed to comply with an agreement reached on Feb. 20 regarding the salary adjustment and the workers’ right to make decisions regarding their health insurance plan.
“I urge the financial oversight board to expedite the process that allows us to materialize this promise made to the union and the UPR employees,” Ferrao said. “This petition will raise the minimum wage to $9.50 for 1,430 employees. The budgetary impact was $5.3 million. Once we receive the approval, we will proceed to carry out the programming retroactively to July 1, 2023.”
“Since I took over the presidency, I have been in direct conversations and responding to all employees’ claims to do wage justice, formalize their collective agreements, and review the classification plan,” the official added. “Likewise, through the admissions policy, we have managed to stop the downward enrollment trend affecting all universities on the island.”
Ferrao said the union’s determination hurts the student recruitment efforts and all those who have worked hard for
the institution’s benefit.
“I call on all employees to balance the right to demonstrate and the start of classes to minimize interruptions in the academic calendar,” he said. “I call for open communication and a peaceful and respectful protest that does not impede students when they start classes.”
Before Puerto Rico starts paying off its onerous commonwealth debt, it must take care of a number of internal debts, including the University of Puerto Rico’s (UPR) debt with its retirement fund.
Members of the UPR Retirement System board have united to file a lawsuit against the university because of a lack of actuarial payments, salary reinvestments and actuarial reports. The debt exceeds $59 million and goes from 2015 to 2022. The lawsuit was originally filed on July 27 in the San Juan Court of First Instance.
On Tuesday, the board held a press conference to present the lawsuit to the island media. The board members contend the suit is necessary given the desire of the UPR governing board to close the benefits plan for newcomers to the UPR retirement system, replacing it with a new defined contributions plan that is similar to a 401k savings account.
Why is the board so concerned with the possible elimination of the benefits plan? Board members say the benefits plan has allowed thousands of retired UPR employees to have a worthy retirement.
“We have been trying to get the university to pay up the money that they owe the retirement board,” said Luis Vicenty Santini, president of the retirement board. “They don’t answer any of our demands, they don’t accept any payment plans or present any payment fixes, so we’re forced to push forward and take immediate action.”
The press conference’s main purpose was to expose the current state of the UPR retirement system to the entire island. When the STAR asked Vicenty why the UPR hasn’t paid the money it owes the retirement system, the retirement
board president was not shy about telling the STAR that the UPR is being irresponsible with its payments on purpose.
“There is a current strategy that is focused on undermining the retirement system, to in a sense make sure that its solvency is affected in the future,” Vicenty said.
He said the board has had to make sacrifices to keep the retirement system up and running.
“We have been forced to sell investment assets in order to cover the cost of the operations regarding the retirement system of the UPR, because the UPR actively continues to fail with its employer contribution, with the payments that have been agreed to and the refunds for administrative spending,” Vicenty said. “It is highly contradictory and downright embarrassing that the UPR and its president, Luis A. Ferrao Delgado, and his governing board, insist on closing up the defined benefit plan, and they make public assurances that they are being responsible with their part of the contributions toward the retirement system while they have a never-ending debt of millions of dollars that only keeps getting more and more expensive over the years.”
The debt has built up since 2015 and the lawsuit states that on top of a $58.7 million debt with the retirement fund, the institution owes the retirement system trust money because of a lack of actuarial reports from various fiscal years, from 2017 to 2022, which adds up to $67,865 and a $100,455.39 debt, because of a lack of employer contributions.
Regarding the aforementioned salary reinvestments, Vicenty said the UPR has a $105,000 debt, all from salaries of the previous executive director of the UPR Retirement System from 2013 to 2019 for her additional work as investments principal in the Finance Office of the UPR central administration.
In terms of the sacrifices the trust has had to make, the retirement system has had to sell $8 million in investment assets in order to cover its needs, including loan disbursements and supplier payments, the system board president noted.
“It’s not a bad thing to sell investment assets, but we
University of Puerto Rico Retirement System board members contend that a lawsuit is necessary given what they say is the desire of the UPR governing board to close the benefits plan for newcomers to the UPR retirement system, replacing it with a new defined contributions plan that is similar to a 401k savings account. (Richard Gutiérrez/The San Juan Daily Star)
don’t have a choice other than to do it because the university wasn’t responsible with their contributions,” Vicenty reiterated. “We have to denounce them.”
All financial statements continue to demonstrate the solvency of the UPR Retirement System Trust after the retirement board assumed its fiduciary duty by legal ruling in October 2020, Vicenty said. However, given the nonpayment by the UPR, he warned that they must remain vigilant.
“The solvency of the UPR Retirement System is not only considered in the assets it has, but also in the contributions it receives,” Vicenty said. “If any of these variables, which are the contributions of the participants, the employer and the return on investments, is seen to be at risk or has a problem that is not corrected within a reasonable time, this causes damage to the future stability of the trust. The UPR knows this very well and that is why it is delaying payments, on purpose, so that it appears in the state financial [reports] as if we had no solvency and could justify the infamous attempt to close the defined benefit plan.”
The Citizen Victory Movement (MVC by its Spanish initials) began its pre-candidate process for the 2024 elections on Tuesday.
“Almost two years ago, we proposed to our base and to Puerto Rico to create a broad, inclusive Countrywide Alliance with a real possibility of defeating corrupt bipartisanship, where those of us who believe in a better country and in the urgent agenda promoted by the Citizen Victory Movement fit,” MVC Electoral Commissioner Lillian Aponte Dones said in a written statement. “We have developed a pre-candidate process where all the people who see in the Countrywide Alliance the ideal vehicle to carry out a candidacy for an electoral position can submit their request for
consideration by our movement using an open and accessible process.”
The call period for pre-candidacies covers three phases:
1. Municipal applications from Aug. 15 to Sept. 15.
2. Legislative districts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.
3. National and strategic applications from Oct. 15 to Nov. 15.
After closing, a bid evaluation committee, made up of experts in political, social and legal fields, will review the applications. The final report will be presented in November of this year to the MVC National Assembly and the public, emphasizing transparency and democracy.
For more information or to submit a candidacy, visit the official portal at candidaturas.mvc.pr.
By THE STAR STAFF
The National Weather Service (NWS) on Tuesday issued an excessive heat advisory and heat warning for several towns in Puerto Rico that was in effect from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., with heat index values above 112 degrees Fahrenheit estimated. The excessive heat advisory included the Bayamón, Caro-
lina, Cataño, Guaynabo, San Juan, Toa Alta, Toa Baja, Trujillo Alto, Ceiba, Canóvanas, Fajardo, Humacao, Loíza, Luquillo, Naguabo, Río Grande, Aguas Buenas, Caguas, Cayey, Cidra, Comerío, Gurabo, Juncos, Las Piedras, San Lorenzo, Arecibo, Barceloneta, Dorado, Florida, Manatí, Vega Alta, Vega Baja, Aguadilla, Camuy, Hatillo, Isabela, Quebradillas, Aguada, Añasco, Hormigueros, Mayagüez, Moca, Rincón, and San Germán.
The temperature in San Juan at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday stood at 90 degrees.
According to the NWS, a heat advisory is issued within 12 hours of the onset of extremely dangerous heat conditions. The general rule of thumb for a heat advisory is when the maximum heat index temperature is expected to be 100° or higher for at least two days, and night time air temperatures will not drop below 75°; however, those criteria vary across the country, especially for areas that are not used to dangerous heat conditions. Taking precautions to avoid heat illness is strongly advised. Failure to take precautions may lead to serious illness or even death.
Another heat warning includes the towns of Arroyo,
Guayama, Maunabo, Patillas, Salinas, Yabucoa, Guayanilla, Juana Díaz, Yauco, Peñuelas, Ponce, Santa Isabel, Cabo Rojo, Guánica, Lajas, Culebra and Vieques.
Heat index values of 108 to 111 degrees Fahrenheit were estimated in those towns.
Heat watches are issued when conditions are favorable for an excessive heat event in the next 24 to 72 hours. A heat watch is used when the risk of a heat wave has increased but its occurrence and timing is still uncertain.
According to the NWS, the island will cool off somewhat today with a heat index value as high as 103 and isolated showers before 9 a.m,, then isolated showers after noon, with widespread haze. Mostly sunny conditions are forecast, with a high near 90 degrees, and east winds from 11 to 16 mph. The chance of precipitation is 20%.
On Thursday, scattered showers are forecast, mainly before noon, with widespread haze after noon; mostly sunny are again expected, with a high near 89 and east winds at 13 to 16 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. The chance of precipitation will be 30%.
Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia said Tuesday that he will seek a meeting with island legislative leaders to come to an agreement to appoint a chairperson and alternate chairperson for the State Elections Commission (SEC).
“I do not rule out that the legislative leadership in the Legislative Assembly, that is, the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House, and I reach agreements,” the governor said in response to questions from the press. “That could happen. Obviously, both the House speaker and the Senate president would have to discuss it with their respective
delegations, and I would do the same with mine. But I do not rule out this happening, because it is preferable to have not only the [SEC] chairperson in place, … [but] to have both the chairperson and the alternate chairperson appointed in place … for the term of time established in the law.”
The governor said that if the meeting takes place, it should happen near the beginning of the regular legislative session.
“I will say it differently: I am willing to submit candidates, to work the matter out with the Senate president, and the House speaker, for the good of the State Elections Commission and the people in general,” Pierluisi added.
The first semifinal of the 55th National Troubadour Contest 2023 will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 27 at the Plaza de Recreo in Morovis, the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture (ICP by its Spanish initials) announced earlier this week.
“The National Troubadour Contest and the Young Cuatristas Contest are events that keep our traditional expressions of Puerto Rican music alive,” ICP Executive Director Carlos Ruiz said. “We continue working to preserve our traditions and opening spaces for young people to continue participating and enriching our cultural values.”
The second of three semi-finals will be held on Sunday, Oct. 15 in Comerío, and the third will be on Sunday, Nov. 12
in Juana Díaz. All semifinals will start at 3 p.m. and additional entries will be allowed before each event.
In the contest, troubadours must improvise musical cuatro pieces. The winners of the semifinals will compete for the title against champion Humberto Martínez in the final on Nov. 19 in San Germán.
The categories from 11 to 17 years old in the Young Cuatristas Contest also will be evaluated.
“We have seen how in recent years the cuatro has developed hand in hand with young musicians who have integrated it into various musical genres,” said ICP Music Program Director Rubén Amador, highlighting the inclusion this year of pieces of contemporary popular music.
Registration and more information can be found on the ICP website and CulturalPR.com or by writing to jacosta@icp. pr.gov. Additional information is available on ICP social media and CulturalPR.com.
For more than 50 years, prosecutors have relied on a powerful tool to take down people as varied as mafia capos, street gangs such as the Crips and the Bloods, and pharmaceutical executives accused of fueling the opioid crisis.
Now a prosecutor in Georgia is using the state’s version of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, to go after former President Donald Trump, who along with 18 of his allies was indicted Monday on charges of participating in a wide-ranging conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
One power of RICO is that it often allows a prosecutor to tell a sweeping story — not only laying out a set of criminal acts, but identifying a group of people working toward a common goal, as part of an “enterprise,” to engage in patterns of illegal activities.
Fani Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Georgia, is using a RICO indictment to tie together elements of a broad conspiracy that she describes as stretching far outside of her Atlanta-area jurisdiction into a number of other swing states, a legal move made possible by the racketeering statute. Her investigation also reached into rural parts of Georgia — notably Coffee County, where Trump allies got access to voting machines in January 2021 in search of evidence that the election had been rigged.
Signaling its breadth, the indictment brought Monday night laid out a number of ways the defendants obstructed the election: by lying to the Georgia Legislature and state officials, recruiting fake pro-Trump electors, harassing election workers, soliciting Justice Department officials, soliciting Vice President Mike Pence, breaching voting machines and engaging in a cover-up.
“RICO is a tool that allows a prosecutor’s office or law enforcement to tell the whole story,” Willis said at a news conference last year.
Her challenge will be to convince jurors that the disparate group of 19 conspirators charged in the indictment — including a former president and a local bail bondsman, a White House chief of staff and a former publicist for Ye, who changed his name from Kanye West — were all working together in a sprawling but organized criminal effort to keep Trump in power.
State and federal prosecutors have
found that they can use RICO laws to effectively make such arguments, and Willis has done it before. So has Rudy Giuliani, one of the defendants, who made his name trying racketeering cases against mafia families decades ago as a federal prosecutor in New York.
Clark D. Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, said the indictment “shows the incredible power brought to bear against Trump by using Georgia’s racketeering law,” noting that in addition to the 19 people charged, it encompassed “as many as 30 unindicted co-conspirators — over 160 separate acts in all.”
But RICO laws have their detractors. Some critics say that the laws have granted too much power to prosecutors, allowing them to indict dubious members of “organizations” that are in some cases barely organized.
“Because RICO is so expansive, and so open, as a tool, it allows people to be caught in its dragnet that are nothing like the people who were originally intended” when the laws were first developed more than 50 years ago, said Martin Sabelli, a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Another potential pitfall for a big RICO case is that it may become too complex for jurors to follow. As Michael J. Moore, the former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, put it Monday night: “When you fish with too big a net, you risk getting tangled up yourself.”
Some of the defendants were already
accusing Willis of overreaching. A spokesperson for Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who was charged in the case, said Willis was “exceeding her powers by inserting herself into the operations of the federal government to go after Jeff.”
Trump’s legal team said, “We look forward to a detailed review of this indictment which is undoubtedly just as flawed and unconstitutional as this entire process has been.”
Trump and his allies have argued that their efforts to challenge his 2020 election loss in Georgia were well within the bounds of the law. Indeed, Trump has been laying the groundwork for his defense for months, arguing repeatedly that there was nothing illegal about his now-famous call to Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s secretary of state, on Jan. 2, 2021.
In that call, Trump told Raffensperger he hoped to “find” the 11,780 votes he needed to win Georgia.
But the RICO indictment forces Trump to push back against a broader allegation — that he was part of a multipronged criminal scheme that involved not only calls to state officials, but the convening of bogus pro-Trump electors, the harassment of Fulton County elections workers, and false statements made by Trump allies, including Giuliani, before state legislative bodies.
In Georgia, RICO is a felony charge that carries stiff penalties: a potential prison term of five to 20 years, a fine or both.
utilities, Hawaiian Electric operates under the scrutiny of public commissioners who have to approve its spending plans.
“As has always been our policy, we don’t comment on pending litigation,” Jim Kelly, a spokesperson for Hawaiian Electric, said in a statement. “Our immediate focus is on supporting emergency response efforts on Maui and restoring power for our customers and communities as quickly as possible. At this early stage, the cause of the fire has not been determined, and we will work with the state and county as they conduct their review.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Pacific Disaster Center, a firm based in Hawaii that provides disaster-related analysis, said Saturday that more than 2,000 structures had been damaged or destroyed by the recent fires on Maui. And they estimated that it would cost $5.52 billion to rebuild. Pourreza said in a research note that there was a scenario in which Hawaiian Electric’s liability from the fire could exceed $4 billion. It had $314 million in cash at the end of June.
Preemptive power shutdowns are unpopular, because of how disruptive they can be to individuals and businesses. But wildfire experts say that they are a necessary measure, and, with planning, they can be deployed in such a way that they don’t prevent emergency services from operating during the blackout.
“It keeps people safe,” said Michael Wara, a scholar focused on climate and energy policy at Stanford University.
Lightning strikes have been another common source of ignition for wildfires in the Western United States. While not definitive, satellite-based lightning detectors operated by NASA did not indicate lightning activity on Hawaii last Monday or Tuesday.
By PETER EAVIS, IVAN PENN and THOMAS FULLERIn the hunt to determine what caused the fire that consumed Lahaina, the focus has increasingly turned to Hawaii’s biggest power utility — and whether the company did enough to prevent a wildfire in the high winds that swept over Maui last week.
Lawyers for Lahaina residents suing the utility, Hawaiian Electric, contend that its power equipment was not strong enough to withstand strong winds, and that the company should have shut down power before the winds came. Wildfire experts who have studied the catastrophic fires in California over the past two decades also see shortcomings in Hawaiian Electric’s actions.
Nearly a week after the wildfire tore through the island town of Lahaina, state and local officials have not determined a cause for the blaze that killed at least 99 people. But the explosive conditions were similar to those elsewhere in the country where wildfires were sparked by electrical equipment: dry brush, high winds and aging infrastructure.
Many wildfires in the United States occur when poles owned by utilities or other structures carrying power lines are blown down, or when branches or other objects land on power lines and cause them to produce high-energy flashes of electricity that can start fires. That is why utilities in California and other states have at times shut down power in recent years before strong winds arrive.
The National Weather Service expected winds of up to 45 mph last Tuesday, with gusts of 60 mph — conditions that were amplified by Hurricane Dora, which traveled across the Pacific Ocean about 700 miles to the south.
“We allege that many of the regulatory laws that require maintenance of equipment were broken,” said James Frantz, CEO of the Frantz Law Group, one of several law firms taking action against Hawaiian Electric. “There’s got to be some accountability.” He said his firm was representing five Lahaina residents who were filing lawsuits in a Hawaiian state court Monday.
Shares in Hawaiian Electric lost over a third of their value Monday, a sign that investors feared that the company would have to pay out large sums to settle lawsuits filed by homeowners and businesses, and spend enormous amounts to try to fireproof its operations.
“The issue becomes whether they did everything they could that was reasonable to prevent this incident,” said Shahriar Pourreza, an analyst who covers Hawaiian Electric’s stock for Guggenheim Securities. “Was there gross negligence, was there imprudence?”
Hawaiian Electric, established in 1891, operates on Maui through its subsidiary, Maui Electric, and is tiny compared with the Californian utilities that have paid huge wildfire settlements. Its revenue last year totaled $3.7 billion, compared with $21.7 billion at Pacific Gas & Electric of California. Like most other
Local and state officials have said little about what might have caused the fire that eventually engulfed Lahaina on the afternoon of Aug. 8. Earlier that day, Maui County said it had completely contained a small brush fire that was first reported that morning, but later announced at 4:45 p.m. that “an apparent flareup” had forced the closure of one main road and sudden evacuations.
Data from Whisker Labs, a private company that monitors the electrical grid in cities across the country looking for problems that might spark a home fire, appears to show significant faults — or major incidents — on power lines near where the Tuesday morning blaze is believed to have started.
On the night of Aug. 7 and into the early morning hours, its data showed, power lines began losing voltage, which can happen when vegetation interferes with wires, lines touch power poles or electrical equipment malfunctions.
The company said it had almost 1,000 sensors in Hawaii and about 70 on Maui. A major fault was felt by all sensors on the island, but was strongest near Lahaina, Whisker Labs found.
And it was a full eight seconds, “which is an eternity in electrical grid time,” said Bob Marshall, co-founder and chief executive of Whisker Labs, based in Germantown, Maryland. “Something on the grid was very unhappy for eight seconds and trying to recover from a shock.”
Hawaiian Electric, through Kelly, declined to comment on Whisker Labs’ data and findings.
Agroup of young people in Montana won a landmark lawsuit earlier this week when a judge ruled that the state’s failure to consider climate change when approving fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional.
The decision in the suit, Held v. Montana, coming during a summer of record heat and deadly wildfires, marks a victory in the expanding fight against government support for oil, gas and coal, the burning of which has rapidly warmed the planet.
“As fires rage in the West, fueled by fossil fuel pollution, today’s ruling in Montana is a game-changer that marks a turning point in this generation’s efforts to save the planet from the devastating effects of human-caused climate chaos,” said Julia Olson, the founder of Our Children’s Trust, a legal nonprofit group that brought the case on behalf of the young people. “This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate. More rulings like this will certainly come.”
The ruling means that Montana, a major coal and gas producing state that gets one-third of its energy from burning coal, must consider climate change when deciding whether to approve or renew
fossil fuel projects.
The Montana attorney general’s office said the state would appeal, which would send the case to the state Supreme Court.
“This ruling is absurd, but not surprising from a judge who let the plaintiffs’ attorneys put on a weeklong taxpayerfunded publicity stunt that was supposed to be a trial,” Emily Flower, a spokesperson for the attorney general, Austin Knudsen, said in a statement. “Montanans can’t be blamed for changing the climate.”
The case is part of a wave of litigation related to climate change that is targeting companies and governments around the globe. States and cities are suing companies such as Exxon, Chevron and Shell, seeking damages from climate disasters and claiming that the companies have known for decades that their products were responsible for global warming. And individuals are now suing state and federal governments, claiming that they have enabled the fossil fuel industry and failed to protect their citizenry.
Michael Burger, executive director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Litigation at Columbia University, said the Montana case would reverberate around the country.
“This was climate science on trial, and what the court has found as a matter of fact is that the science is right,” Burger said. “Emissions contribute to climate change, climate harms are real, people can experience climate harms individually, and every ton of greenhouse gas emissions matters. These are important factual findings, and other courts in the U.S. and around the world will look to this decision.”
The Montana case, brought by plaintiffs ranging in age from 5 to 22, was the first of its kind to go to trial in the United States. While the state contended that Montana’s emissions are minuscule when considered against the rest of the globe’s, the plaintiffs argued that the state must do more to consider how emissions are contributing to droughts, wildfires and other growing risks to a state that cherishes a pristine outdoors.
Since 2011, state law has prevented officials from weighing “actual or potential impacts that are regional, national, or global in nature” when conducting environmental reviews of large projects. In May, while the case was pending, the Legislature updated the law to be even more explicit, blocking the state from “an evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions and corresponding impacts to the climate in the state or beyond the state’s borders” when deciding whether to approve new projects.
Montana has 5,000 gas wells, 4,000 oil wells, four oil refineries and six coal mines. The state is a “major emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in the world, in absolute terms, in per person terms, and historically,” Judge Kathy Seeley of Mon-
tana District Court wrote. Adding up the amount of fossil fuels extracted, burned, processed and exported by the state, the court found that Montana is responsible for as much carbon dioxide as produced by Argentina, the Netherlands or Pakistan.
In her ruling, the judge found that the state’s emissions “have been proven to be a substantial factor” in affecting the climate. Laws that limited the ability of regulators to consider climate effects were unconstitutional, she ruled.
She added that Montanans “have a fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate as part of the environmental life-support system.”
The trial, which took place in June, involved testimony from climate scientists who detailed how increases in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of human activity were already causing health and environmental damage, and how those effects were likely to accelerate unless action was taken.
Many of the young plaintiffs testified about effects they had witnessed — extreme weather events that threaten family ranching, warmed rivers and streams that harm fish, wildfire smoke that worsens asthma and disruptions to nature that interfere with Indigenous traditions. They also spoke of the toll on their mental health, and the anguish they felt as they considered a future dimmed by environmental collapse.
The government, which was given one week to present its defense, rested after just one day and did not call its main expert witness, surprising many legal experts.
Prosecutors in the criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, earlier this week provided the most detailed account to date of the evidence they plan to use to convict him at trial in October.
In a 70-page court filing, the prosecutors said they would draw on testimony from some of Bankman-Fried’s closest advisers, as well as an expert witness and other employees of FTX and Alameda Research, a crypto hedge fund he also founded.
The prosecutors also said they planned to use notes that Caroline Ellison, one of Bankman-Fried’s top lieutenants, took after conversations with him, including a memo titled “Things Sam Is Freaking Out About.” And they said they would introduce a recording of a meeting in which Ellison told Alameda employees that she had worked with Bankman-Fried to siphon funds from FTX customers’ accounts.
Bankman-Fried, a onetime crypto mogul who built FTX into one of the world’s largest virtual currency exchanges, was arrested in December and charged with orchestrating a sweeping scheme to use customer deposits to finance real estate purchases, charitable giving and donations to politicians. Ellison and two other top FTX executives, Gary Wang and Nishad Singh, have pleaded guilty to participating in the effort and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
Bankman-Fried faces seven charges of wire fraud, securities fraud, commodities fraud and money laundering. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to go on
FSam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, arrives for a bail hearing at Federal District Court in Manhattan, Friday, August 11, 2023. Prosecutors in the criminal case against Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023, provided the most detailed account to date of the evidence they plan to use to convict him at trial in October.
trial Oct. 2. Last week, he was sent to jail after the judge overseeing the case revoked his bail over allegations that he was trying to intimidate witnesses.
A spokesperson for Bankman-Fried declined to comment. A lawyer for Ellison did not respond to a request for comment.
The prosecutors’ filing on Monday argued that the evidence they gathered should be legally admissible at Bankman-Fried’s trial. The evidence includes financial records, spreadsheets, Google documents and private communications, according to the filing.
Bankman-Fried’s lawyers submitted their own memo Monday, claiming that prosecutors had “repeatedly failed” to meet the deadlines for turning over evidence to the
Tasa mínima, promedio ponderado, y máxima para préstamos personales pequeños otorgados para la semana que terminó el sábado, 12 de agosto de 2023
defense. Just three days ago, the filing said, prosecutors produced nearly 750,000 pages of Slack messages from Wang’s laptop. They said the government should not be allowed to use evidence produced to the defense after July 1, and that other material, including evidence related to Bankman-Fried’s resignation from FTX, should also be left out of the trial.
“The defense does not have unlimited resources and must spend the limited time left before trial preparing its defense rather than reviewing eleventh-hour productions,” the filing said.
Over months of investigation, prosecutors have amassed millions of pages of evidence as they have prepared for Bankman-Fried’s trial, one of the largest troves ever collected in a white-collar securities fraud case brought by the federal authorities in Manhattan.
The government’s court filing on Monday offered the first detailed look at the evidence and the witnesses that prosecutors plan to introduce at trial. The government plans to cite spreadsheets maintained by Ellison, Singh and Wang that “kept track of illicit money flows between Alameda and FTX,” the filing said, and to discuss the FTX advertisements that appeared on TV.
Prosecutors also plan to cite Bankman-Fried’s political giving as evidence for the fraud charges. The filing cited a text message that a high-ranking FTX executive, Ryan Salame, sent to a family member in November 2021, describing Bankman-Fried’s plans to use political donations to promote cryptocurrencies in Washington.
The purpose of the donations was to “weed out anti crypto dems for pro crypto dems and anti crypto repubs for pro crypto repubs,” Salame wrote in the message. He added that Bankman-Fried would “route money through me to weed out that republican side.”
Salame has been under investigation for months, culminating in a raid of his home in April, though he has not been charged with any crimes. The filing said he was “unavailable as a witness” because his lawyer had invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to offer self-incriminating information.
A lawyer for Salame did not respond to a request for comment.
But Ellison, Singh and Wang are all expected to testify, the filing said. The prosecutors said they would also call other former FTX and Alameda employees, including someone who “regularly consulted with the defendant about FTX’s fundraising efforts.”
The testimony from Ellison in particular is likely to be crucial to the prosecution’s case. In addition to running Alameda, Ellison was in an on-and-off romantic relationship with Bankman-Fried.
The filing provides a transcript of a meeting that Ellison held with Alameda employees in November 2022, as FTX and Alameda were collapsing amid a run on deposits. According to the transcript, an employee asked Ellison who had made the decision to draw on customer funds.
“Um ... Sam, I guess,” she replied.
Wall Street’s main stock indexes closed sharply lower on Tuesday after stronger-than-expected retail sales data stoked worries interest rates could stay higher for longer, while U.S. big banks dropped on a report that Fitch could downgrade some lenders.
The Commerce Department report showed retail sales grew 0.7% last month against expectations of a 0.4% rise, suggesting the U.S. economy remains strong.
After the data, traders’ bets of a pause on hikes by the Federal Reserve next month stayed intact at 89%, yet analysts said investors were worried rates could stay at current levels longer than anticipated.
Banks saw the brunt of the selling as investors grew more anxious about interest rates. The U.S. Treasury yield curve has been inverted for over a year, with longer-term bonds yielding less than short-term debt instruments. This persistent situation pressures profits that banks can earn on loans.
“We would probably end up with an inverted yield curve for longer than anticipated, even if we don’t end up with an economic recession,” said Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA Research.
“That would end up curtailing lending because even if you were my brother-in-law, I wouldn’t want to lend to you at a loss.”
The S&P 500 dropped 1.16% to end the session at 4,437.86 points.
The S&P 500 closed below its 50-day moving average for the first time since March.
The Nasdaq declined 1.14% to 13,631.05 points, while Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.02% to 34,946.39 points.
Volume on U.S. exchanges was relatively light, with 10.1 billion shares traded, compared to an average of 10.9 billion shares over the previous 20 sessions.
A report said ratings agency Fitch could downgrade multiple banks. Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N) fell 2.5%, Bank of America (BAC.N) fell 3.2% and Wells Fargo (WFC.N) dropped 2.3%.
“The story from Fitch about potential downgrades to multiple U.S. banks (is) weighing on sentiment,” said Michael James, managing director of equity trading at Wedbush Securities.
“You combine that with the retail sales figures this morning that were a little hotter than estimates, (it) furthers the potential higher for longer rates scenario from the Fed.”
Shares of regional lenders PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O), Zions Bancorp (ZION.O) and Western Alliance Bank (WAL.N) slipped between 3.7% to 4.5% after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp’s latest regulatory overhaul proposal.
The S&P 500 banking index (.SPXBK) hit a one-month low, down 2.75%, while the KBW regional banking index (.KRX) also plunged 3.4%.
All 11 major S&P 500 sectors declined, with energy stocks (.SPNY) leading losses on weaker crude prices.
Technology stocks (.SPLRCT) fared slightly better, thanks to 0.4% rise in shares of Nvidia (NVDA.O) after UBS and Wells Fargo lifted their price targets on the stock.
Nvidia posted its biggest one-day percentage since late May in the previous session following bullish comments from Morgan Stanley, with analysts also saying investors were piling into the stock in the run-up to its earnings next week.
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese companies also dropped with e-commerce firm Alibaba Group down 2% and among
those leading the slide after another round of disappointing economic data from
Among other stocks, General Motors (GM.N) fell 2.3% after Berkshire Hathaway (BRKa.N) cut its stake in the automaker. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire disclosed a new investment in homebuilder D.R. Horton (DHI.N), which ended 2.9% higher.
Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 5.24-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.54-to-1 ratio favored decliners.
The S&P 500 posted 3 new 52-week highs and 19 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 45 new highs and 198 new lows.
cruitment model used by the Wagner private military company in the first year of the war.
Alexander said he had enlisted in March, shortly after receiving a long prison term for homicide in central Russia. He left at home a wife, a daughter and a newborn son, and he was worried that he would not survive the torture and extortions in his jail.
Like other inmate fighters, he was promised a monthly salary of $2,000 at today’s exchange rate, and freedom at the end of his six-month contract, a copy of which he shared with the Times.
Wagner claims that 49,000 inmates fought for its force in Ukraine, and that 20% of them died. Former fighters have described brutal disciplinary measures imposed by the paramilitary group. .
plicitly prevented men in his unit from collecting dead comrades from the battlefield.
He claimed that this was done to prevent their families from claiming compensation, because the dead soldiers would be registered as missing rather than as killed in action.
“There were bodies everywhere,” Alexander said, describing the fighting on the banks of the Dnieper River in May. “No one was interested in collecting them.”
Russia’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to a request for comment.
By ANATOLY KURMANAEV and EKATERINA BODYAGINAIn a month spent at the front line, Alexander, an ex-convict serving in the Russian army, hadn’t seen a single Ukrainian soldier and had barely fired a shot. The threat of death came from a distance, and seemingly from everywhere.
Sent to guard against a potential river crossing in southern Ukraine, his hastily formed unit, made up almost entirely of inmates, endured weeks of relentless bombardment, sniper attacks and ambushes. The marshy, flat terrain offered no cover beyond the burned-out hulks of cottages. He said he had watched dogs gnaw at the uncollected corpses of his dead comrades, drank rain water and scavenged garbage dumps for food.
Alexander said that of the 120 men in his unit, only about 40 remain alive. These survivors are being heavily pressured by the Russian military to remain on the battlefield at the end of their six-month contracts, according to Alexander and accounts provided to The New York Times by two other Russian inmates fighting on the front line.
“We are being sent to a slaughter,” Alexander said in a series of audio messa-
ges from the Kherson region, referring to his commanders. “We are not human to them, because we are criminals.”
His account provides a rare window into the fighting in Ukraine from a Russian inmate’s perspective. Units made up of convicts have become one of the cornerstones of Russian military strategy as the prolonged fighting has decimated the country’s regular forces. Alexander’s descriptions could not be independently confirmed, but they aligned with accounts from Ukrainian soldiers and Russian prisoners of war who said that Moscow used inmates essentially as cannon fodder.
The soldiers’ accounts were obtained through voice messages over the past two weeks, some in direct interviews and some through messages provided by family members and friends. Their last names, personal details and military units have been withheld to protect them against retribution.
Alexander’s testimony conveys the brutality imposed on Russian convicts, and the human cost Moscow is prepared to pay to maintain control of the occupied territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry began to sign up thousands of inmates from the country’s jails in special units called “Storm Z” in February, after taking over a prison re-
However, Wagner survivors have also broadly said that they were able to collect wages and return home after six months as free men. To lift the recruitment numbers, Wagner also worked to rehabilitate the inmates in the eyes of Russian society, presenting their military service as a patriotic redemption.
Yet by February, Wagner had lost access to prisons during a power struggle with the military high command, allowing the Defense Ministry to supplant them in terms of recruiting convicts.
The size and casualty rates in the Russian army’s own inmate units are unknown. However, a tally of the country’s war deaths collected by the BBC and Mediazona, an independent news outlet, shows that inmates became the most frequent Russian casualties starting this spring, underlining the oversize contribution they have made to the country’s war effort.
The testimony of Alexander and three other former inmates shows how convict units have evolved under the direct control of the Russian army. The Times obtained Alexander’s contact information through a Russian rights activist, Yana Gelmel, and verified his and other inmates’ identities using publicly available court records and interviews with their relatives and friends.
They have described irregular wage payments that fell far short of the amounts promised to them by the state and an inability to collect compensation for injuries. Alexander also said that his officers had ex-
Alexander also claimed that his officers used threats and intimidation to force surviving inmates to remain at the front for another year after the end of their contracts. Another inmate soldier serving on the Zaporizhzhia front farther east said that his contract had obliged him to remain in Ukraine for an additional year after obtaining his pardon, this time as a professional soldier.
After a month of training near the occupied city of Luhansk, Alexander said he was sent with his unit to hold a line of former holiday homes near the Antonovskiy Bridge, an area that Ukraine has been targeting with hit-and-run attacks since Russia’s forces withdrew to the east bank of the Dnieper in November.
They spent the next 3 1/2 weeks under constant bombardment from the invisible enemy, who shelled their exposed positions from across the river and targeted them with snipers and in night ambushes. Enemy drones constantly hovered in the air.
The aim of their mission was unclear to them; they were told to simply remain in their positions. They had no heavy weapons and no means to defend themselves against Ukrainian attacks.
“I’m running around with an automatic gun like an idiot. I haven’t made a single shot, I haven’t seen a single enemy,” a former inmate from Alexander’s unit named Dmitri, who is now deceased, said in a voice message at the time. “We are just a bait to expose their artillery positions.” The message was shared with the Times by Dmitri’s wife.
“Why the hell do I need to be here? To sit around and shake like a rabbit because shells keep on exploding all around you?” Dmitri said in one of the messages.
The wreckage of a military vehicle with the Russian “Z” symbol in the village of Oleksandrivka, Ukraine, Jan. 26, 2023. Units made up of convicts have become one of the cornerstones of Russian military strategy. The San Juan Daily Star Wednesday, August 16, 2023 12likely that any candidate will reach or exceed the 45% threshold necessary to win outright in the first round. (A candidate can also win outright by winning 40% of the vote with a margin of victory of at least 10 percentage points.)
The center-right coalition’s candidates received a combined 28% of the vote Sunday, while the center-left coalition received 27% — both slightly less than Milei’s total.
The incumbent center-left party has held power in Argentina for 16 of the past 20 years and has been controlled largely by former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
its other candidates.
Touzon said Milei would have less institutional support than far-right candidates who were swept into office elsewhere in recent years, including Trump and former President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil. “Bolsonaro leaned on the army. Trump had the Republican Party. Milei has nothing,” he said.
He added that Milei’s economic plan, while radical, is lacking in details and has been revised frequently. “His dollarization plan was changed 50 times,” Touzon said. “Today, he does not have a team to govern Argentina.”
By JACK NICAS, NATALIE ALCOBA and LUCÍA CHOLAKIAN HERRERAAfar-right libertarian candidate won Argentina’s open presidential primary election Sunday, a surprising showing for a politician who wants to adopt the U.S. dollar as Argentina’s official currency and embraces comparisons to former President Donald Trump.
Javier Milei, 52, a congressman, economist and former television pundit, secured 30% of the vote with 96% of the ballots counted, making him the frontrunner for the presidency in the fall general election.
Polls had suggested Milei’s support was at about 20%, and political analysts had predicted that his radical policy proposals — including abolishing the country’s central bank — would prevent him from attracting many more voters.
But the vote Sunday made clear that Milei has a clear shot at leading Argentina, a South American nation of 46 million with some of the world’s largest reserves of oil, gas and lithium.
“I think these results are surprising even to him,” said Pablo Touzon, an Argentine political consultant. “Up until now, he was a protest candidate.”
Argentina’s general election in Oc-
tober, which could go to a November runoff, will now become a new test of the strength of the far right around the world. Although hard-right forces have gained new influence in several powerful nations in recent years, including the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and Finland, they have also suffered some defeats, including in Spain and Brazil.
Milei has pitched himself as the radical change that the collapsing Argentine economy needs, and he could be a shock to the system if elected. Besides his ideas about the currency and the central bank, he has proposed drastically lowering taxes and cutting public spending, including by charging people to use the public health care system; closing or privatizing all state-owned enterprises; and eliminating the health, education and environment ministries.
Sergio Massa, Argentina’s center-left finance minister, finished second in the primary, with 21% of the vote. Patricia Bullrich, a conservative former security minister, finished in third place, with 17%.
The general election takes place Oct. 22, but it appears likely that the race will be decided in a runoff vote Nov. 19.
The Sunday results showed that Argentina’s three separate coalitions have similar levels of support, making it un-
“We’re not only going to end Kirchnerism, but we’re also going to end the useless, parasitic, criminal political caste that is sinking this country,” Milei told supporters in a speech Sunday night. He then thanked his sister, who runs his campaign, and his five Mastiff dogs, each named after a conservative economist.
Argentina, which has weathered economic crises for decades, is in the midst of one of its worst. The Argentine peso has plummeted in value, annual inflation has surpassed 115%, nearly 40% of the population is impoverished and the country is struggling to repay its $44 billion debt to the International Monetary Fund.
Milei has said his economic policies would represent an austerity package that goes beyond even what the IMF is requesting of Argentina.
He could also have a profound effect on other parts of Argentine society. He and his running mate, a lawyer who has defended the country’s past military dictatorship, have suggested they would loosen gun laws, reverse recent policies allowing abortion and even permit the sale of human organs, an example of commerce that Milei says the government has no business restricting.
Yet implementing such changes would lead to a major challenge. Sunday’s results suggested that Milei, if elected, would have limited direct support in Congress. His party, called Liberty Advances, said it would control just eight of the 72 seats in the Senate and 35 of the 257 seats in the House, according to the results for
Yet Milei has proved to be a skilled politician in the internet age, with a trademark scowl and head of unruly hair that have given him a larger-than-life persona and made him an easy subject of internet memes, much like Trump and Bolsonaro.
In a public video posted online before the vote, Bolsonaro endorsed Milei and said they were political kindred spirits. “We have a lot of things in common,” he said, citing what he called their support for private property, freedom of expression, the free market and the right to selfdefense.
And not unlike supporters of Trump and Bolsonaro, Argentines who voted for Milei said Sunday that they liked him because he was a political outsider who would shake up a broken system and tell it like it is.
“The Argentine people have finally woken up,” said Rebeca Di Iorio, 44, an administrative worker celebrating at Milei’s election-night street party in Buenos Aires. “Argentina needs that. It needs a change.”
Santiago Manoukian, research chief of Ecolatina, an Argentine economic consulting firm, said that of the different scenarios for primary results that analysts had mapped out, Milei’s victory was the least expected.
Now Manoukian said he would have to rethink his predictions of the election, as Milei has a clear chance to reach the second round, which then could be a tossup.
“He was not seen as a competitive candidate for a runoff,” Manoukian said. “Now something very different is happening.”
On Friday night, Mohammed alSayed donned a pale pink shirt and denim overalls to join a friend at a movie theater in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, where the men settled in to watch a film about a doll on a mission to dismantle the patriarchy.
Similar scenes played out across the conservative Islamic kingdom last weekend, as women painted their nails pink, tied pink bows in their hair and draped pink floor-length abayas over their shoulders for the regional debut of the movie “Barbie.” While critics across the Middle East have called for the film to be banned for undermining traditional gender norms, many Saudis ignored them.
They watched as the movie imagined a matriarchal society of Barbie dolls where men are eye candy. They laughed when a male character asked, “I’m a man with no power; does that make me a woman?” They snapped their fingers in delight as a mother delivered a monologue about the strictures of stereotypical femininity. Then, they emerged from the darkened theaters to contemplate what it all meant.
“The message is that you are enough — whatever you are,” said al-Sayed, 21, echoing the Ken doll’s revelation.
“We saw ourselves,” said al-Sayed’s friend, Nawaf alDossary, 20, wearing a matching pink shirt.
Watching Barbie’s search for identity and meaning, al-Sayed said he was reminded of the fraught period when he started college and wasn’t sure of his place in the world. He said he believed that the movie had important lessons for men as well as women.
“I felt like my mom should see the film,” he said.
“All of our families — all families,” al-Dossary said, laughing.
That this was happening in Saudi Arabia — one of the most male-dominated countries in the world — was mind-boggling to many in the Middle East. When “Barbie” opened Thursday in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, it arrived suddenly and overwhelmingly. Moviegoers rushed to prepare Barbie-pink outfits. Some theaters scheduled more than 15 showings a day.
A snide headline in the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat declared that Saudi cinemas had become “havens for Gulf citizens escaping from harsh restrictions” — a twist in a country whose people once had to drive to Bahrain to watch movies.
Eight years ago, there were no movie theaters in the Saudi kingdom, let alone any showing films about patriarchy. Women were barred from driving. The religious police roamed the streets, enforcing gender segregation and shouting at women to cover up from head to toe in black.
Since he rose to power, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 37, has done away with many of those restrictions while simultaneously increasing political repression, imprisoning conservative religious clerics, leftist activists, critical business owners and members of his own family.
Even now, despite sweeping social changes, Saudi Arabia remains a state built around patriarchy. By law, the kingdom’s ruler must be a male member of the royal family, and while several women have ascended to high-ranking positions, all of Crown Prince Mohammed’s Cabinet members and closest advisers are men. Saudi women may be pouring into the workforce and traveling to outer space, but they still need approval from a male guardian to marry. And gay and transgender Saudis face deep-seated discrimina-
tion, and sometimes arrest.
So as word spread through the kingdom that “Barbie” would debut on a delayed schedule — a sign that government censors were most likely deliberating over it — many Saudis thought the movie would be banned, or at least heavily censored. Bolstering their expectations was the fact that neighboring Kuwait banned the film last week.
Lebanon’s culture minister, Muhammad Al-Murtada, also called for the film to be banned, saying that it violated local values by “promoting homosexuality” and “raising doubts about the necessity of marriage and building a family.” It is unclear if the government will follow his recommendation.
Even in Arab nations that have allowed the film to be shown, it has faced intense criticism. Bahraini preacher Hassan al-Husseini shared a video with 1 million Instagram followers calling the movie a Trojan horse for “corrupt agendas.”
Many Arab critics of the movie expressed views similar to those of some American politicians and right-wing figures who have castigated the film as anti-male. The tussle in the Middle East over the movie illustrates how battles that sometimes echo the so-called U.S. culture wars are playing out on a different landscape.
The animated film “Lightyear,” which showed two female characters kissing, was banned in several countries in the region last year. And six Gulf Arab countries issued an unusual statement last year demanding that Netflix remove content that violates “Islamic and societal values and principles,” threatening to take legal action.
In Kuwait, religious conservatives have become more vocal in recent years, Gulf analysts say, broadcasting views that many Saudis would be hesitant to express in public now, fearing repercussions from the government.
“Banning the movie ‘Barbie’ fits into a larger tilt to the right that’s increasingly felt in Kuwait,” said Bader AlSaif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University. “Islamist and conservative forces in Kuwait are relishing in these culture wars to prove their ascendancy.”
Some Kuwaitis expressed astonishment that they would have to travel to the Saudi kingdom to watch the movie. Many pointed out the irony that Kuwait and Lebanon, despite objecting to the film, had long provided greater freedom of expression than many other Arab countries.
Streaming out of movie theaters in Riyadh, people who watched “Barbie” seemed to leave with their own understanding.
Yara Mohammed, 26, said that she had enjoyed the movie, dismissing the Kuwaiti ban as “drama.”
“Even if kids saw it, it’s so normal,” she said.
For a couple of years after the pandemic struck, there was considerable buzz to the effect that much of the financial industry might leave New York for Miami. After all, state and local taxes on the richest 1% are much lower in Florida than in New York — about 9 points lower as a percentage of income, according to the most recent report of the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (and taxes on the rich are even higher in New York City than in the state as a whole).
With COVID disrupting normal urban life, it seemed as if much of the big money might focus on the financial advantages and leave the Big Apple.
Some wealthy finance types did, in fact, move. But the buzz around finance moving to Miami seems to have died down. In fact, the population of Miami-Dade County actually fell between 2019 and 2022.
What happened? Part of the answer is that while New York has lost some population, it is not, despite what many non-New Yorkers appear to believe, a dystopian hellhole. Its homicide rate is only half as high as Miami’s, while it has other advantages, such as an extensive mass transit system that Miami lacks.
And as the city’s life has returned to normal, it has regained its special status as a place for the very affluent
to enjoy their affluence. I know I’m being petty, but I’ve always loved what one asset manager told Bloomberg: “The main problem with moving to Florida is that you have to live in Florida.”
Furthermore, decisions by the wealthy about where to live aren’t all that sensitive to tax rates. Indeed, California — where taxes on high incomes are higher than New York’s — is currently seeing rapid growth in the number of taxpayers making more than $1 million, and explosive growth in those making more than $50 million.
Now, Florida as a whole is still rapidly gaining population, and I’ll talk about why in a bit. First, though, let’s talk about how Miami’s sudden stagnation bears on a longrunning debate about why so many Americans from the Northeast and California have moved to the Sun Belt — a movement that is very real, even if Miami’s dreams of becoming the new New York increasingly look like a mirage.
One story, the one that conservatives prefer, stresses the importance of a “business-friendly environment,” especially low taxes on “job creators,” that is, rich people. An alternative story, however, focuses on housing affordability.
Thanks mainly to rampant NIMBYism, the Northeast and especially California have been building very little housing, and as a result the cost of housing there, whether purchased or rented, is extremely high. So middle- and lower-income Americans move to metropolitan areas such as Atlanta or Houston, where wages may be lower than they are in Northern cities but, thanks to permissive zoning, housing is vastly cheaper.
The thing about the Miami area is that although it offers red-state-style low taxes on the rich, it appears to have blue-state-style limits on housing construction, buil-
ding around the same (low) number of new residential units per capita as greater New York. As a result, housing is extremely expensive — for example, rents are far higher than in other big Sun Belt cities, and not much below levels in New York. Because Florida wages are relatively low, the ratio of median home prices to median income is actually higher in Miami than in New York.
And Miami’s relative population stagnation — even before the recent stumble, the Miami metropolitan area was lagging other big Sun Belt metros — suggests that keeping housing affordable, not being nice to the rich, is the secret of the Sun Belt’s growth.
As I said, however, Florida as a whole is still gaining population. Why? For one thing, the rest of the state isn’t nearly as expensive as Miami. But what are all those new Floridians doing for a living?
Well, a significant number are retired. Retirees have been moving to Florida for the warm winters for a long time, ever since Groucho Marx told potential buyers: “You can get any kind of a home you want. You can even get stucco. Oh, how you can get stucco!” But there are a lot more potential retired migrants now than in the past: between 2010 and 2020 the overall U.S. population grew only 7.4%, but the population 65 and older grew 38.6%. And since retirees spend money on local services, the influx of seniors creates jobs for younger adults as well.
Surely this is only part of the story of Florida’s continuing growth. And with the climate changing, we’ll have to see whether the lure of warm winters will be increasingly offset by the prospect of intolerable summers. We’ll also have to see how the state is affected by its growing home insurance crisis. But the influx of retirees does help explain why Florida’s population is still growing fast even though its biggest metro has become increasingly unaffordable.
For all the evidence suggests that affordable housing, not low taxes on the rich, is the main driver of growth in the rest of the Sun Belt. And if blue states want to slow or reverse their relative decline, allowing more housing construction — not cutting taxes at the top — should be their main priority.
BAYAMÓN – El gobernador, Pedro Pierluisi, informó el martes que el Departamento de la Familia desembolsará 6.2 millones de dólares en incentivos a adultos mayores del Programa de Ayuda Temporal para Familias Necesitadas desde el miércoles.
Además, a partir del 1 de septiembre, el beneficio mensual para estos adultos se incrementará a 100 dólares.
“Hace más de 15 años que las categorías para adultos mayores en el TANF no recibían un aumento en su nivel de beneficio mensual”, dijo Pierluisi en declaraciones escritas.
La secretaria del Departamento de la Familia, Ciení
Rodríguez Troche, destacó: “Este es un incentivo con un gran impacto para nuestros adultos mayores más vulnerables”.
Alberto Fradera Vázquez, Administrador de la ADSEF, señaló que el incentivo se otorga automáticamente y se refleja a partir de las 12:00 a.m. del miércoles 16 de agosto, y que el incremento mensual comenzará en septiembre.
El aumento se enmarca dentro de esfuerzos para brindar mayor bienestar a adultos mayores, especialmente a aquellos en situaciones de pobreza. Además, se añade al desembolso reciente de 79.6 millones de dólares del Departamento de Hacienda en créditos para la Planilla Senior.
Los ciudadanos que deseen más información pue-
den acceder a ADSEF Digital o visitar los Centros de Orientación certificados por ADSEF en su localidad.
– 120 familias del barrio Cañaboncito en Caguas tendrán un sistema de energía solar en el Acueducto Rural Casa de Piedra inaugurado el domingo.
“La autogestión es esencial para el desarrollo sostenible de las comunidades. Es una alegría ver a la comunidad unida y activamente participando en decisiones que benefician a todos”, dijo el alcalde, William Miranda Torres en declaraciones escritas.
El proyecto, que tuvo un costo de 159,996 dólares, provino de fondos del Community Development Block Grant. No solo comprendió el sistema solar, sino también la instalación de sistemas de bombeo, una estruc-
tura de acero para los paneles solares, entre otros componentes esenciales.
Miranda Torres, indicó que el sistema puede generar 32,000 galones de agua diariamente con energía solar. Además, su producción puede ser incrementada si se utiliza la red eléctrica.
Se prevé que la comunidad reciba fondos adicionales del “Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund” bajo el “American Rescue Plan Act” de 2021 para añadir un tanque de almacenamiento de diésel. Fundado en 1974, el Acueducto Rural Casa de Piedra Inc. está próximo a celebrar 50 años de servicio. Surgió por la necesidad de residentes que no tenían acceso al sistema de la Autoridad de Acueductos y Alcantarillados. Tras el huracán Hugo, el primer generador eléctrico fue donado durante la administración del entonces alcalde Ángel Berrios.
S AN JUAN – La División de Arrestos Especiales y Extradiciones del Negociado de la Policía de Puerto Rico actualizó este martes la lista de “Los Más Buscados” a nivel isla, donde predominan acusaciones por Asesinato, Ley de Armas y Conspiración.
“De los doce prófugos originales, ocho siguen sin ser detenidos, todos con órdenes de arresto y fianzas que suman millones”, informó la Policía.
Luis Omar Noble Álvarez, José Muñiz Otero, conocido como “Celso”, y Luis Rohena Rivera son tres de los fugitivos que encabezan esta lista, todos con cargos de asesinato entre otras acusaciones. Además, cada uno tiene establecidas fianzas que
van desde 1 millón de dólares hasta 2.3 millones de dólares. Otros prófugos incluyen a Javier Moisés Umpierre Escalante, apodado “Pata”, Jeffry Algarín Nieves, Maytiel Jomar Negrón Guevarez, conocido como “Jommy”, Ezequiel Rosado, apodado “Zica”, y Sixto Vega Nazario. Las acusaciones varían desde la Ley de Armas hasta Apropiación ilegal y Falsificación. La Policía hizo un llamado a la ciudadanía para que, si tiene información que conduzca a la captura de estos individuos, contacte a las autoridades a través de las líneas confidenciales 787-343-2020, 787-793-0457 y 1-800-981-3635. También puede llamar al Centro de Información y Análisis de Arrestos Especiales y Extradiciones al 787-793-0457. Finalmente la Uniformada recalcó que “todos estos individuos se consideran armados y extremadamente peligrosos”.
On certain corners of the internet, “The Loveliest Time,” Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen’s seventh album, could be confused for the biggest album of the year. But the average Top 40 radio listener probably hasn’t heard it. And when the Billboard 200 chart posted the week after its arrival last month, “The Loveliest Time” was nowhere to be found.
Jepsen’s very active online fan base is part of the ecosystem known as stan Twitter. A spin through obsessively curated social media “update accounts” such as @PopCrave and @chartdata leads to the impression that we’re living through a golden age of pure pop, akin to the period of the 2010s in which Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Rihanna reached commercial dominance with songs constructed from monster hooks and pounding synths.
Online, conversation constantly bubbles about a set of singers — Kim Petras, Ava Max, Sabrina Carpenter, Bebe Rexha, Rina Sawayama, Rita Ora, Troye Sivan and others — who are debated and adored, often becoming trending topics. To their loyal fans, many of whom are women and queer men (who have always worked hard to valorize underappreciated divas), they are, in the parlance of the internet, pop stars.
They are undoubtedly celebrities, with considerable social media followings. They may have tasted a version of popularity — a Hot 100 hit, a moment of TikTok virality or simply a very faithful (though modest) collection of devotees that allows them to sell out concerts at midsize venues around the world. But they have yet to make the leap to, or have failed to remain at, music’s mainstream center.
Instead, they build careers off hooky, vividly toned meta-pop — songs that seem to actively address and play with the tropes of pop history — and with the help of fan bases that treat them as if they were as big as Taylor Swift. For these artists, pop stardom isn’t a commercial category, but a sound, an aesthetic and an attitude.
The streaming economy has essentially created a swath of pop stars who may never muster the virality or the major-label support required to reach the upper echelons of the charts or sell out stadiums, but nonetheless have devoted fan bases and consistent income from touring and licensing — essentially, the kind of model that indie musicians have relied upon for years. It may be miles away from the spectacle and
flash usually associated with pop music, but it does provide a path toward something that, for decades, has proved elusive for a lot of aspirant pop stars: career sustainability.
Some of these musicians, like Jepsen and Charli XCX, minted a hit (or a handful) early in their careers before settling into pop’s middle class; others, like Rexha and Max, consistently net genre hits, often in dance music, but have as yet failed to cement themselves as household names. Ora, a genuine chart success in the United Kingdom, has built a cultish fan base based on the fact that she seems unable to get a foothold in the United States. (Her most recent album, “You & I,” didn’t chart after its release in July.) As with many of these stars, Ora’s fans love her precisely because she is unsuccessful — a niche concern who operates with all of the pomp and pageantry of an A-lister.
Artists like Sawayama and Caroline Polachek make music that has little commercial impact, but they have manipulated a pop-leaning sound that allows them to mount pop-style live shows and toy with pop aesthetics, while artists like Sivan and Carpenter always seem as if they’re teetering right on the edge of genuine megastardom, occasionally getting a hit to the lower echelons of the Hot 100, but rarely any higher.
The common thread linking these musicians is that they don’t treat “pop music” as a commercial category, but as a discrete musical lineage with its own codes and conventions to be plundered and reinterpreted. It’s a point of view made possible by the kind of fame the internet has built and fostered: the idea that the term “pop star” is a measure of clout or name recognition, not a badge that directly correlates to
commercial success.
These pop stars essentially make genre records. Unlike those of bygone eras, who pillaged the underground in search of new sounds to bring to the mainstream, this brand of musician is fixated on pop’s own history. In many ways, it makes sense that they would read as capital-P Pop Stars to the denizens of a world as reference-obsessed as stan Twitter; much of this music feels as if it were made by and for a hard-core fan.
In many ways, pop itself is shrinking. The Hot 100 is currently populated by country musicians (Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs), purveyors of regional sounds (Rema, Peso Pluma) and rap stars (Travis Scott, Gunna). Aside from a few holdouts like Swift and Miley Cyrus, relics of an era in which mainstream music was dominated by world-beating megawatt pop stars, there are few pop singers on the charts right now.
For other contemporary pop stars, the act of releasing music itself feels incidental to their celebrity status. In recent years, Kesha — one of the dominant commercial forces of the 2010s, securing 10 Top 10s in the first four years of her career — has become known less for her music than for her longtime legal battle with producer Dr. Luke; still a Twitter (now known as X) and tabloid fixture, her music is often the least-discussed thing about her. “Gag Order,” her latest album, debuted at No. 187 in May, selling the equivalent of 8,300 copies its first week.
And then there is Charli XCX, who spent a large portion of her career making outré, abrasive records with a bevy of collaborators from the worlds of hyperpop and experimental electronic music. Once a true commercial prospect — during the early years of her career, Charli scored a handful of Hot 100 Top 10s, including the No. 1 Iggy Azalea collaboration “Fancy” — it seemed, for a while, as if Charli had willfully recused herself from the pop music Olympics, perhaps as a way of insulating herself against the major-label industry’s callous and often cruel whims.
As it turned out, it was actually far simpler than that: She was just taking an aesthetic detour. Her mainstream-skewing fifth album “Crash,” released last year, was described by Charli herself as her “main pop girl moment” and debuted at No. 7, her highest Billboard 200 position yet. This month, her single “Speed Drive,” written for the “Barbie” soundtrack, became her first Hot 100 entry in nine years. It drove the point home: She can be a big-time pop star, if she so chooses.
The San Juan Daily Star Wednesday, August 16, 2023 17 From left: Ava Max, Carly Rae Jepsen and Kim Petras, pop singers with strong fan bases but limited commercial success.He was being interviewed by an Australian newspaper that year because, while he had settled into a life as a laborer and office worker in Detroit (though still playing bars and even running unsuccessfully for various political offices), he had — unknown to him — been developing fans overseas. Australia was one place where his music had found an audience, and in 1979 he was invited to tour there. He returned in 1981 for a few shows with the band Midnight Oil and released a live album in Australia.
Rodriguez’s music had found an even bigger following in South Africa, which was still under apartheid and cut off from the rest of the world in many respects. He seemed to have no idea how popular he was there, especially among white South Africans uncomfortable with apartheid and the country’s rigidly conservative culture.
countries. In the United States, the label Light in the Attic rereleased “Cold Fact” in 2008 and “Coming From Reality” in 2009. And there was another round of rediscovery ahead. In 2012 Malik Bendjelloul released “Searching for Sugar Man,” his first and only documentary (he died in 2014), to rave reviews. The film, which won the Oscar for best documentary feature, concentrated on the search by Segerman and Bartholomew-Strydom and included an interview with Rodriguez, who in the aftermath found himself at the Hamptons International Film Festival and embarking on a fresh round of touring.
Matt Sullivan founded Light in the Attic Records, which reissued Rodriguez’s albums.
By NEIL GENZLINGERRodriguez, a Detroit musician whose songs, full of protest and stark imagery from the urban streets, failed to find an American audience in the early 1970s but resonated in Australia and especially South Africa, leading to a late-career resurgence captured in the Oscar-winning documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” in 2012, died Aug. 8. He was 81.
A posting on his official website announced his death but did not say where he died or provide a cause.
Rodriguez’s story was, as The New York Times put it in 2012, “a real-life tale of talent disregarded, bad luck and missed opportunities, with an improbable stop in the Hamptons and a Hollywood conclusion.”
Rodriguez — who performed under just his surname but whose full name was Sixto Diaz Rodriguez — was playing bars in Detroit in the late 1960s, his folkrock reminding those who heard it of Bob Dylan, when producer Harry Balk signed him. In the documentary, Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore, who would go on to produce his first album, “Cold Fact”
(1970), told of hearing Rodriguez at a particularly smoky establishment called the Sewer on the Detroit River, where he was playing, as he often did, with his back to the audience.
“Maybe it forced you to listen to the lyrics, because you couldn’t see the guy’s face,” Coffey said.
A single released under the name “Rod Riguez” went nowhere. “Cold Fact,” released on the Sussex label, drew a smattering of favorable notices; its first track, “Sugar Man,” gave the documentary its title.
“Rodriguez is a singing poet/journalist, telling stories of today,” Jim Knippenberg wrote in The Cincinnati Enquirer. “He does it with a voice much like Dylan’s, very Dylanesque imagery and a musical backing dominated almost entirely by a guitar. But he’s not a Dylan carbon. Rodriguez is much more explicit.”
Mostly, though, the album went unnoticed in America, as did its follow-up a year later, “Coming From Reality.”
“Getting the records cut was easy,” Rodriguez told The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia in 1979. “Getting them played was a lot harder.”
“To many of us South Africans, he was the soundtrack to our lives,” Stephen Segerman, owner of a Cape Town record store, said in the documentary. “In the mid-’70s, if you walked into a random white, liberal, middle-class household that had a turntable and a pile of pop records, and if you flipped through the records, you would always see ‘Abbey Road’ by the Beatles, you’d always see ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ by Simon and Garfunkel, and you would always see ‘Cold Fact’ by Rodriguez. To us, it was one of the most famous records of all time. The message it had was ‘Be anti-establishment.’ ”
In the mid-1990s Segerman began trying to find out more about the mysterious artist known as Rodriguez and how he had died; rumors were rampant that he had killed himself onstage, died of an overdose, and so on. He joined forces with Craig Bartholomew-Strydom, a journalist who was also searching for Rodriguez, and eventually they found the singer, still living in Detroit. A 1998 tour of South Africa followed, with Rodriguez playing six soldout shows at 5,000-seat arenas.
“It was strange seeing all those bright white faces, all of them knowing every word to every one of my songs,” he told The Sunday Telegraph of Britain in 2009.
After the South Africa tour he played shows in England, Sweden and other
“His words and music were brutally honest and raw to the core,” he said by email. “It instantly struck a chord the second we heard it, and still does, nearly 20 years later.”
Sixto Diaz Rodriguez was born July 10, 1942, in Detroit. His mother, Maria, died when he was a boy. His father, Ramon, was a laborer who became a foreman at a steel plant.
He said that he started playing the guitar at 16.
“Of course I’ve been into Dylan forever,” he told the Times in 2012, “and also Barry McGuire, the whole ‘Eve of Destruction’ thing.”
During his period of relative anonymity after the release of his albums, he earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Wayne State University in Detroit. Information about his survivors was not immediately available.
The “Coming From Reality” album includes a song called “Cause,” a lament about hard times and life’s disappointments.
“They told me everybody’s got to pay their dues,” Rodriguez sings. “And I explained that I had overpaid them.”
But in the 2009 interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he was more serene about his unusual career path.
“My story isn’t a rags to riches story,” he said. “It’s rags to rags, and I’m glad about that. Where other people live in an artificial world, I feel I live in the real world. And nothing beats reality.”
An uptick in COVID-19 cases and the fast-approaching new school year have many people wondering when they should get their next booster. The short answer, according to experts: not quite yet — you will be a lot better off if you wait another month or two.
In June, an advisory panel to the Food and Drug Administration recommended that the next COVID vaccine formulation target the omicron XBB.1.5 variant.
Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax are now working to update, test and mass-produce their vaccines, which will then need to be officially authorized by the FDA. Experts estimate that shots will be available to the public by late September or early October.
“For most people right now, it seems to me waiting makes more sense,” said Dr. Paul Sax, the clinical director of the division of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
There are two main reasons to hold out for the updated vaccine. First, it will be a better match for the variants that are currently circulating.
The majority of the coronavirus strains infecting people right now are either descended from, or related to, XBB.1.5, so the decision to target that variant with the vaccine “was about as good as you could imagine for the moment,” said Trevor Bedford, a professor in the vaccine and infectious disease division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
The vaccine will most likely also provide some protection against EG.5, which recently became the dominant variant in the United States, accounting for about 17% of current cases. EG.5 is descended from another XBB variant and has a few additional mutations, so antibodies produced by the updated
vaccine may not be quite as effective against it. But the new booster is still a better fit for EG.5 than last year’s booster, which targeted both the original COVID strain and the BA.5 omicron variant — neither of which appear to be circulating anymore.
Dr. David Boulware, a professor of medicine specializing in infectious diseases at the University of Minnesota Medical School, added that because the new vaccine is a better match for the current variants, he is “somewhat optimistic” that it will help prevent not only severe disease but also infection.
“Once you’re boosting with the variant that is closest to what’s actually circulating,” you will most likely regain some protection against infection, he said.
The second reason to wait a month or two for the new vaccine is that it will increase the odds that your defenses against the virus will be strongest when cases are expected to peak, historically between December and February. Antibodies wane over time, and protection is highest during the first three months after an infection or vaccination.
“Case numbers are increasing
now, but they’re not at exceptionally high levels,” Sax said. “I can’t imagine, though, that they won’t go up again in November, December or January, as they did every single year in the past three years.”
If you have had COVID recently,
experts suggest waiting a few additional months before getting the new shot. Your antibodies are already elevated because of the infection, and so the vaccine won’t provide you with much additional benefit during this time.
In case you need a little extra motivation to get the new booster, vaccination is the only proven way to shorten a case of COVID, Boulware said. In a study published last year, he found that people who got COVID within six months of receiving a shot “had less severe disease and shorter duration of illness.”
If you are worried about catching COVID in the meantime, use the behavioral protections you have employed throughout the pandemic: Avoid big crowds; wear a high-quality, well-fitting N95, KN95 or KF94 mask when you are in indoor public settings; and try to make sure rooms are wellventilated — even opening a window can help.
AVISO
DE LAS SUCESIONES SANTOS ALONSO MALDONADxO SOBRE FORMACIÓN DE INVENTARIO EN SEDE NOTARIAL
ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U. ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO. SS.
A: ACREEDORES DEL CAUSANTE SANTOS ALONSO MALDONADO
POR LA PRESENTE se les notifica que se ha iniciado la preparación del inventario en sede notarial del caudal relicto de los causantes Santos Alonso Maldonado. Se les requiere para que toda reclamación con los correspondientes comprobantes bajo juramento sea presentada y dirigida al peticionario por conducto de sus abogados a las siguientes direcciones y dentro del plazo de treinta (30) días contados desde la publicación del presente edicto:
Sucesión Santos Alonso Maldonado
Lcdo. Omar Sánchez Pagán PO Box 195055
San Juan Puerto, Rico, 00919
Se le advierte que de no responder a este Aviso, los procedimientos para la formación y liquidación del caudal d ela causante continuarán sin más citarle ni oirle.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA
SALA SUPERIOR DE MAYAGÜEZ ZAMARIE
PONCE FANTAUZZI Peticionaria EX-PARTE
Civil Núm.: MZ2023CV00665.
Sala: 307. Sobre: EXPEDICIÓN DE CARTAS TESTAMENTARIAS. AVISO DE ACREEDORES.
A: TODO POSIBLE
ACREEDOR DEL FINADO, RAMÓN ANTONIO PONCE FANTAUZZI, t.c.c. RAMÓN PONCE FANTAUZZI o RAMÓN PONCE, QUIEN
MURIÓ TESTADO EL 3 DE MARZO DE 2023 EN MAYAGÜEZ, PUERTO RICO.
POR LA PRESENTE se le informa a cualquier acreedor del finado Ramón Antonio Ponce Fantauzzi, t.c.c. Ramón Ponce Fantauzzi o Ramón Ponce, quien murió testado el 3 de marzo de 2023, en Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, que si tiene una
acreencia en su contra deberá presentársela a su Albacea, Zamarie Ponce Fantauzzi, con los correspondientes comprobantes bajo juramento en su dirección postal en De Diego 55 Este, Oficina 206, Mayagüez, 00680, dentro del plazo de seis meses de publicado el aviso. Quedan advertidos los potenciales acreedores del causante de que si la Albacea dudase de la validez de su reclamación la rechazará, notificándoselo por escrito, quienes quedarán expeditos su derecho para incoar la acción contra la administración del caudal ante el tribunal competente. Asimismo, que la Albacea no le será personalmente responsable a un acreedor que no hubiese presentado la reclamación dentro del plazo aquí dispuesto por los caudales o dinero que hubiera entregado a cuentas de legítimas reclamaciones, legados o hijuelas antes de intentarse la acción, sin que ello afecte su derecho de ir directamente contra los herederos por el monto de su reclamación hasta el importe de lo recibido en pago de la herencia, si la misma no está prescrita. Arts. 594 y 595 del Código de Enjuiciamiento Civil, 32 L.P.R.A. §§2542 y 2543. EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y Sello del Tribunal hoy día 14 de junio de 2023. LCDA. NORMA G. SANTANA IRIZARRY, SECRETARIA REGIONAL II. REBECA MEDINA FIGUEROA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL I.
LEGAL NOTICE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
FINANCE OF AMERICA
REVERSE, LLC.
Plaintiff V.
CARMEN MARÍA SUÁREZ
ARISTUD A/K/A CARMEN
M. SUÁREZ ARISTUD
A/K/A CARMEN MARÍA
SUÁREZ; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Defendants
Civil Action No.: 3:16-cv-02478PAD. COLLECTION OF MONIES AND FORECLOSURE
COMPLAINT. NOTICE OF SALE.
To: CARMEN MARÍA
SUÁREZ ARISTUD A/K/A
CARMEN M. SUÁREZ
ARISTUD A/K/A CARMEN
MARÍA SUÁREZ; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, GENERAL PUBLIC.
WHEREAS: Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff to recover from defendants the principal sum of $138,060.89, plus the annual interest rate convened of 5.060% per annum
until the debt is paid in full. The defendant Carmen María Suárez Aristud a/k/a Carmen M. Suárez Aristud a/k/a Carmen María Suárez to pay Finance of America Reverse, LLC., all advances made under the mortgage note including but not limited to insurance premiums, taxes and inspections as well as 10% ($22,200.00) of the original principal amount to cover costs, expenses, and attorney’s fees guaranteed under the mortgage obligation. The records of the case and of these proceedings may be examined by interested parties at the Office of the Clerk of the United States District Court, Room 150, Federal Office Building, 150 Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. WHEREAS: Pursuant to the terms of the aforementioned Judgment, Order of Execution, and the Writ of Execution thereof, the undersigned Special Master was ordered to sell at public auction for U.S. currency in cash or certified check without appraisement or right of redemption to the highest bidder and at the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico, Room 150 – Federal Office Building, 150 Carlos Chardón Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, to cover the sums adjudged to be paid to the plaintiff, the following property.
“URBANA: Solar marcado con el número FF veintidós del Plano de Inscripción del Proyecto de Viviendas a Bajo Costo denominado B.V.C. cincuenta y dos, radicado en el Barrio Martín González y Hoyo Mulas del término municipal de Carolina, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de doscientos noventa y ocho metros cuadrados con cincuenta y siete centésimas de otro, en lindes: por el NORTE, con el solar FF veintiuno; por el SUR, con el solar FF veintitrés; por el ESTE, con terrenos propiedad de la Corporación de Renovación Urbana y Vivienda de Puerto Rico; y por el OESTE, con la Calle número doce.”
Property Number 31,199 filed at page 203 of volume 776 of Carolina, Registry of the Property of Puerto Rico, Section II of Carolina. The mortgage deed is recorded at page 132 of volume 1,508 of Carolina, Registry of the Property of Puerto Rico, Section II of Carolina. WHEREAS: This property is subject to the following liens: Senior Liens: None. Junior Liens: Reverse mortgage securing a note in favor of Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, or its order, in the original principal amount of $222,000.00, due on August 1, 2087 pursuant to deed number 50, issued in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on March
Wednesday, August 16, 2023 20
27, 2013, before notary David Garcia Medina, and recorded, at page 134 of volume 1,508 of Carolina, property number 31,199, 5th inscription. Other Liens: None. Potential bidders are advised to verify the extent of preferential liens with the holders thereof. It shall be understood that each bidder accepts as sufficient the title and that prior and preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax, liens, (express, tacit, implied or legal) shall continue in effect it being understood further that the successful bidder accepts them and is subrogated in the responsibility for the same and that the bid price shall not be applied toward their cancellation. THEREFORE, the FIRST PUBLIC SALE shall be held on the 12TH DAY SEPTEMBER OF 2023, AT: 9:50 AM. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $222,000.00. In the event said first auction does not produce a bidder and the property is not adjudicated, a SECOND PUBLIC AUCTION shall be held on the the 19TH DAY SEPTEMBER OF 2023, AT: 9:50 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $148,000.00, which is twothirds of the amount of the minimum bid for the first public sale. If a second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD PUBLIC AUCTION will be held on the the 26TH DAY SEPTEMBER OF 2023, AT: 9:50 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $111,000.00, which is one-half of the minimum bid in the first public sale. The Special Master shall not accept in payment of the property to be sold anything but United States currency or certified checks, except in case the property is sold and adjudicated to the plaintiff, in which case the amount of the bid made by said plaintiff shall be credited and deducted from its credit; said plaintiff being bound to pay in cash or certified check only any excess of its bid over the secured indebtedness that remains unsatisfied.
WHEREAS: Said sale to be made by the Special Master subject to confirmation by the United States District Court for the District of Puerto Rico and the deed of conveyance and possession to the property will be executed and delivered only after such confirmation. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued cancelling all junior liens. For further particulars, reference is made to the judgment entered by the Court in this case, which can be examined in the Office of Clerk
of the United States District Court, District of Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 11th day of July, 2023. PEDRO A. VÉLEZ-BAERGA, SPECIAL MASTER.
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE BAYAMÓN SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN
BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE EDNA ABIGAÍL VEGA
GONZÁLEZ, COMPUESTA
POR SUS HEREDEROS
CONOCIDOS: MELVIN DÍAZ VEGA, ORLANDO DÍAZ VEGA Y ALEXIS DÍAZ VEGA; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE” COMO
POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE EDNA ABIGAÍL VEGA
GONZÁLEZ; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (C.R.I.M.)
Demandados
Civil Núm.: BY2023CV00451.
Sala: 501. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hago saber, a la parte demandada y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: Que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el día 20 de julio de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que ubica y se describe a continuación: URBANA: Solar número cinco del Bloque DB en la Urbanización de Levittown en el Barrio Sabana Seca de Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, con un área de trescientos diez metros cuadrados con cincuenta centímetros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en trece metros cincuenta centímetros, con el solar número doce; por el SUR, en trece metros cincuenta centímetros, con Lago Matrullas, calle quinientos cincuenta y cinco según planos; por el ESTE, en veintitrés metros con el solar número cuatro; y por el OESTE, en veintitrés metros, con el so-
lar número seis. Contiene una casa de cemento diseñada para una familia, construida de acuerdo con los planos y especificaciones aprobados por la Administración Federal de Hogares y otras agencias gubernamentales. Inscrita en la finca número 9,797 al folio 44 del tomo 165 de Toa Baja. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Bayamón. La propiedad está ubicada, según pagaré, en: Solar 5 DB Urb. Levittown, Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. Además, el Alguacil que suscribe, hago saber a todos los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante, o de los acreedores de cargas o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca ejecutada y las personas interesadas en, o con derecho a exigir el cumplimiento de instrumentos negociables garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito ejecutado, siempre que surjan de la certificación registral, para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les convenga o satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, costas y honorarios de abogados asegurados, quedando entonces subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante: Aviso de Demanda de fecha 24 de febrero de 2022, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, en el caso civil número BY2022CV00779, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Sucesión de Edna Abigail Vega González, compuesta por sus herederos conocidos: Melvin Díaz Vega y Orlando Diaz Vega; John Doe y Richard Roe como posibles herederos desconocidos de la Sucesión de Edna Abigail Vega González, Centro de Recaudaciones de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM), por la suma de $68,046.25 más intereses y otras sumas, anotado el día 8 de marzo de 2022, al tomo Karibe de Toa Baja, finca número 9,797, anotación A. Aviso de Demanda de fecha 27 de enero de 2023, expedido en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Bayamón, en el Caso Civil número BY2023CV00451, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico, contra Sucesión de Edna Abigail Vega González, compuesta por sus herederos Melvin Díaz Vega y Orlando Díaz Vega; John Doe y Richard Roe como posibles herederos desconocidos de la sucesión de Edna Abigail Vega Gonzalez; Centro
de Recaudación de Ingresos Municipales (CRIM), por la suma de $66,292.06 de principal mas intereses y otras sumas, anotado el día 7 de marzo de 2023, al tomo Karibe de Toa Baja, finca número 9,797, Anotación B. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada a su favor el día 7 de junio de 2023, archivada en autos y notificada el 8 de junio de 2023, y publicada en periódico de circulación general, “The San Daily Star”, el 13 de junio de 2023, en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $66,292.06 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 5% desde el 1ro de marzo de 2022; cargos por demora los cuales al igual que los intereses continúan acumulándose hasta el saldo total de la deuda reclamada en este pleito, y la suma de $8,852.20 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente (“Sentencia”). La adjudicación se hará al mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en efectivo (moneda del curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América), giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del alguacil del Tribunal. LA PRIMERA subasta se llevará a efecto el día 7 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $88,522.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 14 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023
A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $59,014.66, equivalentes a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una TERCERA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 21 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 9:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el cuarto piso, Oficina de Alguaciles de Subastas de Centro Judicial de Bayamón, Bayamón, Puerto Rico. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $44,261.00, equivalentes a la mitad (1/2) del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si se declarase desierta la tercera subasta, se adjudicará la finca a favor del acreedor
por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si ésta es igual o menor que el monto del tipo de la tercera subasta, si el Tribunal lo estima conveniente; se abonará dicho monto a la cantidad adeudada si esta es mayor, todo ello a tenor con lo dispone el Articulo 104 de la Ley Núm. 210 del 8 de diciembre de 2015 conocida como “Ley del Registro de la Propiedad Inmueble del Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico”. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquiere libre de toda carga y gravamen que afecte la mencionada finca según el Artículo 102, inciso 6. Una vez confirmada la venta judicial por el Honorable Tribunal, se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente escritura de venta judicial y se pondrá al comprador en posesión física del inmueble de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Para conocimiento de la parte demandada y de toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando, y para conocimiento de todos los licitadores y el público en general, el presente Edicto se publicará por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas, con un intervalo de por lo menos siete días entre ambas publicaciones, en un diario de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico y se fijará además en tres (3) lugares públicos del Municipio en que ha de celebrarse dicha venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía. Se les informa, por último, que: a. Que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. b. Que se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes. Se entenderá, que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Bayamón, Puerto Rico, hoy día 01 de agosto de 2023. EDGARDO ELÍAS
VARGAS SANTANA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR PLACA #193, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE BAYAMÓN. ***
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMA-
CAO BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Parte Demandante Vs. COOPERATIVA DE AHORRO Y CREDITO YABUCOEÑA (YABUCOOP), ORIENTAL BANK COMO SUCESOR EN DERECHO DE RG
PREMIER BANK OF PUERTO RICO, FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC) COMO SÍNDICO DE RG MORTGAGE CORPORATION, LA SUCESIÓN DE PAULA DELGADO PAGÁN COMPUESTA POR: JULIO JOEL DE JESÚS DELGADO, JULIO LUIS DE JESÚS DELGADO, MIOSOTY DE JESÚS DELGADO, WANDA LIZ DE JESÚS DELGADO, SUTANO Y PERENCEJO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS, JULIO DE JESÚS LABOY POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA
FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ
Parte Demandada
Civil Núm.: YB2023CV00179. (207). Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO POR LA VÍA JUDICIAL. EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS E.E.U.U., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO.
A: JULIO JOEL DE JESÚS DELGADO, JULIO LUIS DE JESÚS DELGADO, MIOSOTY DE JESÚS DELGADO y WANDA LIZ DE JESÚS DELGADO COMO PARTE DE LA SUCESIÓN DE PAULA DELGADO PAGÁN, JULIO DE JESÚS LABOY POR SÍ Y EN LA CUOTA VIUDAL USUFRUCTUARIA a las siguientes direcciones: PARCELAS NUEVA
PLAYA, COMUNIDAD
RURAL CALABAZAS, 431
CALLE C, YABUCOA, PR 00767, HC 3 BOX 12205, YABUCOA, PR 007679767 y 3010 BURTON
POINT CT, WAXHAW, NC 28173-0298. SUTANO Y PERENCEJO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE PAULA DELGADO
Queda usted notificado que en este Tribunal se ha radicado demanda sobre cancelación de pagaré extraviado por la vía judicial. El 27 de agosto de 1992, Julio De Jesús Laboy y su esposa Paula Delgado Pagán constituyeron una hipoteca en Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, conforme a la Escritura núm. 39 autorizada por el notario Ali Laboy Ramos en garantía de un pagaré suscrito bajo testimonio número 1040 por la suma de $34,000.00 a favor de Cooperativa De Ahorro y Credito Yabucoeña (YABUCOOP), o a su orden, devengando intereses al 8 1/8% anual y vencedero el 1ro de octubre de 2005 sobre la siguiente propiedad: RÚSTICA: Parcela marcada con el número 431 en el plano de parcelación de la Comunidad Rural Calabazas del Barrio Calabazas del término municipal de de Yabucoa, con una cabida superficial de 351.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con parcelas números 430 y 432 de la Comunidad; por el SUR, con “C” de la Comunidad; por el ESTE, con parcelas números 430 y 434 de la Comunidad; y por el OESTE, con parcela número 429 de la Comunidad. Inscrita al folio 120 del tomo 223 de Yabucoa, Finca 14068, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio 120 vuelto del tomo 223 de Yabucoa, Finca 14068, Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. Inscripción segunda. La parte demandada deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Administración y Manejo de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal. Se le advierte que, si no contesta la demanda, radicando el original de la contestación en este Tribunal y enviando copia de la contestación a la abogada de la parte demandante, Lcda. Belma Alonso García, cuya dirección es: PO Box 3922, Guaynabo, PR 00970-3922, Teléfono y Fax: (787) 789-1826, correo electrónico: oficinabelmaalonso@gmail.com, dentro del término de treinta (30) días de la publicación de este edicto, excluyéndose el día de la publicación, se le anotará la rebeldía y se le dictará Sentencia en su contra, concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal, hoy 2 de agosto de 2023, en Humacao, Puerto Rico. IVELISSE
C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. DALISSA REYES DE LEÓN, SUBSECRETARIA.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE HUMACAO ORIENTAL BANK
Demandante Vs. EDDIE TORRES MILLS, SU ESPOSA CÁNDIDA YANET
PUJOLS LUCIANO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS
Demandados
Civil Núm.: HU2023CV00585.
Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE. UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.
A: CÁNDIDA YANET
PUJOLS LUCIANO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES
QUE FORMA CON EDDIE TORRES MILLS. URB. VERDE MAR, 327 CALLE 10, HUMACAO, PR 00791.
DIRECCIÓN POSTAL: PO BOX 243 NAGUABO, PR 00718 Y URB. VERDE MAR 250 CALLE 10, HUMACAO, PR 00791. POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días a partir de la publicación de este edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Si usted deja de presentar su alegación responsiva dentro del referido término, el tribunal podrá dictar sentencia en rebeldía en su contra y conceder el remedio solicitado en la demanda, o cualquier otro, si el tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente.
Representa a la parte demandante, la representación legal cuyo nombre, dirección y teléfono se consigna de inmediato: BUFETE FORTUÑO & FORTUÑO FAS, C.S.P. LCDO. JUAN C. FORTUÑO FAS
RÚA NÚM.: 11416
PO BOX 3908, GUAYNABO, PR 00970
TEL: 787-751-5290,
FAX: 787-751-6155
E-MAIL:
ejecuciones@fortuno-law.com
En Humacao, Puerto Rico, a 29 de junio de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. DALISSA REYES DE LEÓN, SUBSECRETARIA.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN RESTAURANTE EL RODABALLO, INC. Demandante Vs. M A R REALTY CORP., ET AL.
Demandada
Civil Núm.: KCD2013-1636. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO (EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA.
Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.
A: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL: M A R REALTY CORP.; THE TILE OUTLET CORP.; AZULEJOS Y CERÁMICAS, INC.; EDWIN RAMOS RODRÍGUEZ; SU ESPOSA ROSALYND VÁZQUEZ DÁVILA Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS; BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO.
Yo, EDWIN E. LÓPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre las propiedades que más adelante se describen, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 11 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA A, A LAS 11:05 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA B y A LAS 11:10 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA C, en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta las propiedades inmuebles que más adelante se describen y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria al mejor postor quien hará el pago en dinero en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del o la Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal de San Juan durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBAS-
TA para la venta de las susodichas propiedades, el día 18 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA A, A LAS 11:05 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA B y A LAS 11:10 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA C, y en caso de no producir remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 25 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023 A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA A, A LAS 11:05 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA B y A LAS 11:10 DE LA MAÑANA para la finca más adelante identificada como FINCA C, en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. Las propiedades a venderse en pública subasta se describen como sigue: FINCA A: URBANA: URBANA: Solar de forma rectangular que mide 12.00 metros de frente por 21.00 metros de fondo, marcado con el número 31 de la manzana BM de la Urbanización Puerto Nuevo, propiedad de la Everlasting Development Corp., que radica en el Barrio Monacillos de Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 252.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, SUR, ESTE Y OESTE, con terrenos de propiedad de la Everlasting Development Corp. Y dando frente al Oeste, con la calle denominada Main Street de la Urbanización. Enclava una casa de bloques de cemento y hormigón reforzado, que consta principalmente de dos dormitorios, sala-comedor, cocina y cuarto de baño. Finca 4,951, inscrita al folio 212 del tomo 137 de Monacillos. Registro de la Propiedad, Sección Tercera de San Juan. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Puerto Nuevo, Solar 31-BM, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será la suma pactada de $318,000.00. De no producirse remate ni adjudicación, en la segunda subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la suma de $212,000.00 equivalente a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado, para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la suma de $159,000.00 lo que equivale a la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para la primera subasta. FINCA B: URBANA:
URBANA: Solar de forma rectangular que mide 12.00 metros de frente por 21.00 metros de fondo, marcado con el número 32 de la manzana BM de la Urbanización Puerto Nuevo, propiedad de la Everlasting Development Corp., que radica en el Barrio Monacillos de Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 252.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, SUR, ESTE Y OESTE, con terrenos de propiedad
de la Everlasting Development Corp. Y dando frente al Oeste, con la calle denominada Main Street de la Urbanización. Enclava una casa de bloques de cemento y hormigón reforzado, que consta principalmente de dos dormitorios, sala-comedor, cocina y cuarto de baño. Finca 4,952, inscrita al folio 218 del tomo 137 de Monacillos.
Registro de la Propiedad, Sección Tercera de San Juan. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Puerto Nuevo, Solar 32-BM, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será la suma pactada de $374,000.00. De no producirse remate ni adjudicación, en la segunda subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la suma de $249,333.33 equivalente a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado, para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la suma de $187,000.00 lo que equivale a la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para la primera subasta. FINCA C: URBANA: 21.00 metros de fondo, marcado con el número 33 de la manzana BM de la Urbanización Puerto Nuevo, propiedad de la Everlasting Development Corp., que radica en el Barrio Monacillos de Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de 252.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, SUR, ESTE Y OESTE, con terrenos de propiedad de la Everlasting Development Corp. Y dando frente al Oeste, con la calle denominada Main Street de la Urbanización. Enclava una casa de bloques de cemento y hormigón reforzado, que consta principalmente de dos dormitorios, sala-comedor, cocina y cuarto de baño. Finca 4,953, inscrita al folio 224 del tomo 137 de Monacillos. Registro de la Propiedad, Sección Tercera de San Juan. La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Puerto Nuevo, Solar 33-BM, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00920. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será la suma pactada de $348,000.00. De no producirse remate ni adjudicación, en la segunda subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la suma de $232,000.00 equivalente a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo pactado, para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la suma de $174,000.00, lo que equivale a la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para la primera subasta. Las propiedades se adjudicarán al mejor postor, quien deberá satisfacer el importe de su oferta en moneda legal y corriente de los Estados Unidos de América en el momento de la adjudicación y que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuaran subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta
y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de ellos mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. De declararse desierta la tercera subasta, podrá el Alguacil adjudicar las propiedades a la parte demandante dentro de los diez (10) días siguientes por la totalidad de la cantidad adeudada si dicha cantidad es igual o menor del tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta, disponiéndose además que el adquiriente en cualquiera de las subastas asumirá el pago de los gravámenes y créditos preferentes que surjan del Registro de la Propiedad. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. Las propiedades a ser ejecutadas se adquirirán libres de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 4 de agosto de 2023.
EDWIN E. LÓPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, ALGUACIL DEL TRIBUNAL, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN JUAN.
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE FAJARDO ESTRELLA
HOMES III, LLC
Parte Demandante V. RAFAEL MARTÍNEZ
FELICIANO, JOSSIE RODRÍGUEZ
GAZTAMBIDE Y LA SOCIEDAD DE BIENES
GANANCIALES POR ESTOS COMPUESTA
Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: FA2022CV00866.
Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (IN REM). LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Fajardo, hago saber a la parte demandada RAFAEL MARTÍNEZ FELICIANO, JOSSIE RODRÍGUEZ GAZTAMBIDE
Y LA SOCIEDAD DE BIENES
GANANCIALES POR ESTOS COMPUESTA y al PÚBLICO EN GENERAL; que en cumplimiento del Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 16 de marzo de 2023, por la Secretaría del Tribunal, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta por el precio mínimo de $136,000.00 y al mejor postor, pagadero en efectivo, cheque de gerente o giro postal, a nombre del alguacil del tribunal, la propiedad que se
describe a continuación: APT D3-1 MONTESOL CONDOMINIO, FAJARDO, PR 00736, y que se describe de la siguiente manera: El inmueble gravado mediante la hipoteca antes descrita es: URBANA: propiedad horizontal: apartmaento residencial número D3-1, localizado en el Segundo piso del cluster d3 del condominio montesol, ubicado en el barrio quebrada, del término municipal de fajardo, puerto rico, con una cabida superficial de 1,138 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 1,105.72 metros cuadrados. su entrada principal se encuentra en su lado norte. colinda por el norte, con elementos exteriores; por el sur, con elementos comunes limitados; por el este, con elementos exteriores y por el oeste, con apartamento d3-2. contiene una cocina, sala-comedor, 2 closets; 2 dormitorios con closet; 1 dormitorio con walk-in-closet, 2 baños, una terraza, balcón y un área de laundry. Le corresponde el 0.440% en los elementos communes generales. le pertenece el uso y disfrute de un área de estacionamiento doble marcado con los números 277 y 278. le pertenece el uso y disfrute exclusivo de un patio en la parte trasera del apartamento de alrededor de 408 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 37.90 metros cuadrados. Finca 19091 inscrita al folio 31 del tomo 499 de Fajardo, Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo. La finca antes descrita se encuentra afecta a los siguientes gravámenes: (i) HIPOTECA en garantía de pagaré a favor del Firstbank Puerto Rico o a su orden por la suma principal de $136,000.00 con intereses a razón del 6% y vencimiento el 1 de mayo del 2034. Constituida por la Escritura #350 otorgada en San Juan el 16 deabril de 2004 ante el notario José R. Fournier Torres. Inscrita al folio 31 del tomo 499 de Fajardo, finca 19091, inscripción 2, Registro de la Propiedad de Fajardo. La hipoteca objeto de esta ejecución es la que ha quedado descrita en el inciso (i). Será celebrada la subasta para con el importe de la misma satisfacer la sentencia dicta el 29 de enero de 2023, mediante la cual se condenó a la parte demandada pagar a la parte demandante la suma de $105,080.24 de principal, más $30,378.26 de intereses acumulados desde el 1 de octubre de 2017, los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 6.00% hasta el pago total de la obligación, $7,507.13 de escrow balance, $1,793.88 de cargos por atrasos, $1,711.45 de recoverable balance, $13,600.00 de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otro desembolso que haya efectuado o efectúe la parte demandante durante la tramitación de este caso para otros adelantos de conformidad con el Contrato
Demandados
Civil Núm.: CA2021CV01665.
Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.
A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA,
SECRETARIO(A)
GENERAL:
Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, el 2 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, todo derecho título, participación o interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cualquiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación:
URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Villa Carolina, situado en el barrio Hoyo Mulas de Carolina, que es describe en el plano de inscripción de la urbanización, con el número cinco (5) de la manzana ciento sesenta y seis (166) con un área de trescientos veinticuatro metros cuadrados (324.00 mc), en lindes por el NORTE, con el solar once (11) distancia de trece punto cincuenta metros (13.50 m); por el SUR, con la calle cuatrocientos diecinueve (419) distancia de trece punto cincuenta metros (13.50 m): por el ESTE, con el solar cuatro (4) distancia de veinticuatro metros (24.00 m) y por el OESTE, con el solar seis (6) distancia de veinticuatro metros (24.00 m).
Enclave casa. Inscrita al folio
71 del tomo 720 de Carolina
Sur, finca 28,955, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección II. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al folio 152 del tomo 1348 de Carolina Sur, finca 28,955, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección II, inscripción 12ª. Propiedad localizada en: URB. VILLA
CAROLINA, 166-5 CALLE 419, CAROLINA, PUERTO RICO 00985-4064. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas anteriores o preferentes: Nombre del Titular: N/A. Suma de la Carga: N/A. Fecha de Vencimiento: N/A. Según figuran en la certificación registral, la propiedad objeto de
ejecución está gravada por las siguientes cargas posteriores a la inscripción del crédito ejecutante: Nombre del Titular: Secretario de la Vivienda y Desarrollo Urbano. Suma de la Carga: $231,000.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 14 de julio de 2092. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad de la propiedad y que todas las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes al crédito ejecutante antes descritos, si los hubiere, continuarán subsistentes. El rematante acepta dichas cargas y gravámenes anteriores, y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. Se establece como tipo de mínima subasta la suma de $231,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la escritura de hipoteca. De ser necesaria una SEGUNDA SUBASTA por declararse desierta la primera, la misma se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, el 10 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $154,000.00, 2/3 partes del tipo mínima establecido originalmente. Si tampoco se produce remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se establece como mínima para la TERCERA SUBASTA, la suma de $115,500.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, el 17 DE OCTUBRE DE 2023, A LAS 10:00 DE LA MAÑANA. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo para, con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante, el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor ascendente a la suma de $111,094.21 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $54,868.29 en intereses acumulados al 2 de abril de 2022 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 4.990% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $16,824.54 en seguro hipotecario; $9,715.07 en seguro; $965.00 de tasaciones; $782.00 de inspecciones; $3,208.30 en honorarios de abogados; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $23,100.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado, esta última habrá de devengar intereses al máximo del tipo legal fijado por la oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras aplicable a esta fecha, desde este mismo día hasta su total y completo saldo. La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen posterior que afecte la mencionada finca, a cuyo efecto se notifica y se hace saber la fecha, hora y sitio de la PRIMERA, SEGUNDA Y TERCERA SU-
BASTA, si esto fuera necesario, a los efectos de que cualquier persona o personas con algún interés puedan comparecer a la celebración de dicha subasta. Se notifica a todos los interesados que las actas y demás constancias del expediente de este caso están disponibles en la Secretaría del Tribunal durante horas laborables para ser examinadas por los (las) interesados (as). Y para su publicación en el periódico The San Juan Daily Star, que es un diario de circulación general en la isla de Puerto Rico, por espacio de dos semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, así como para su publicación en los sitios públicos de Puerto Rico. Expedido en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 1ro de agosto de 2023. JOSÉ
R. CRISTOBAL, ALGUACIL REGIONAL. HÉCTOR L. PEÑA
RODRÍGUEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #278.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBU-
NAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA
TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INS-
TANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO
FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE LLC.
Demandante V.
SUCESIÓN JULIO CESAR
VEGA ROMÁN T/C/C
JULIO C. VEGA ROMAN
COMPUESTA POR JULIO
VEGA OYOLA, MARITZA
VEGA OYOLA, VERONICA
VEGA OYOLA, JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO
POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; SUCESIÓN DHARMA
MARITZA OYOLA
SANABRIA T/C/C DARMA
M. OYOLA SANABRIA
T/C/C DHARMA MARITZA
OYOLA COMPUESTA POR
JULIO VEGA OYOLA; MARITZA VEGA OYOLA, VERONICA VEGA OYOLA; JOHN ROE Y JANE ROE; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES
Demandado(a)
Civil: RG2023CV00174. Sobre:
EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA.
NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.
A: MARITZA VEGA
OYOLA; VERONICA VEGA OYOLA; JOHN DOE Y JANE DOE COMO
POSIBLES MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE SUCESIÓN JULIO
CESAR VEGA ROMAN
T/C/C JULIO C. VEGA
ROMAN; JOHN ROE
Y JANE ROE COMO POSIBLES MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE SUCESION DHARMA
MARITZA OYOLA
SANABRIA T/C/C
DHARMA M. OYOLA
SANABRIA T/C/C
DHARMA MARITZA
OYOLA. URB JARDINES DE RIO GRANDE, AW-137 CALLE 35, RIO GRANDE PR 00745.
(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 04 de agosto de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 08 de agosto de 2023. En FAJARDO, Puerto Rico, el 08 de agosto de 2023. WANDA I. SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. LINDA I. MEDINA MEDINA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.
LEGAL NOTICE
Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA Tribunal de Primera Instancia Sala Superior de SAN JUAN BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. ANÍBAL NICOLÁS DÍAZ MORALES, R&G MORTGAGE CORPORATION, JOHN DOE
Demandado(a)
Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV05335.
Sala: 903. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ EXTRAVIADO POR LA VÍA JUDICIAL. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.
A: R&G MORTGAGE CORPORATION y JOHN DOE COMO TENEDORES DESCONOCIDOS DEL PAGARÉ.
(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que sus-
cribe le notifica a usted que el 1 de agosto de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha de 8 de agosto de 2023. En SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, el 8 de agosto de 2023. GRISELDA RODRÍGUEZ COLLADO, SECRETARIA. MILDRED J. FRANCO REVENTOS, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE LOÍZA BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. MARJORIE JIMÉNEZ QUIÑONES
Demandado Civil Núm.: LO2023CV00031. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, S.S.
A: MARJORIE JIMÉNEZ QUIÑONES. Por la presente se le emplaza y notifica que debe contestar la demanda dentro del término de treinta (30) días a partir de la publicación del presente edicto. Usted deberá presentar su alegación responsiva a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual puede acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: httrs://unired. ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Se le apercibe que de no contestar la demanda dentro del término aquí estipulado, se le anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia sin más citarle ni oírle. Los abogados de la parte demandante son: Lcdo. Guillermo A. Somoza Colombani, P.O. Box
366603, San Juan, PR 009366603. Tel. (787) 919-0073, Fax (787) 641-5016. Expido este edicto bajo mi firma y sello de este Tribunal, hoy 03 de agosto de 2023. LCDA. KANELLY
ZAYAS ROBLES, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. MYRIAM I.
FIGUEROA PASTRANA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA
TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE TOA ALTA
BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO
Demandante V. SUCESIÓN DE NIELS
P. SAYERS ROBERTO
T/C/C NIELS SAYERS
ROBERTO T/C/C
NIELS PETER SAYERS
ROBERTO COMPUESTA
POR SU VIUDA ERNESTA
LLERAS VELÁZQUEZ
T/C/C ERNESTA LLERA
VELAZAQUEZ T/C/C
ERNESTINA LLERAS
DELGADO T/C/C
ERNESTINA LLERAS
T/C/C ERNESTINA
LLERAS VELÁZQUEZ, POR SI; SU HEREDERA
CONOCIDA REBECCA
SAYERS LLERAS T/C/C
REBECCA SAYERS
LLERA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL
COMO HEREDEROS
DESCONOCIDOS Y/O
PARTES CON INTERÉS
EN DICHA SUCESIÓN
Demandado(a)
Civil: BY2022CV04366. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.
A: SUCESIÓN DE NIELS
P. SAYERS ROBERTO
T/C/C NIELS SAYERS ROBERTO T/C/C
NIELS PETER SAYERS
ROBERTO COMPUESTA
POR SU VIUDA ERNESTA
LLERAS VELAZQUEZ
T/C/C ERNESTA LLERA
VELAZAQUEZ T/C/C
ERNESTINA LLERAS
DELGADO T/C/C
ERNESTINA LLERAS
T/C/C ERNESTINA
LLERAS VELAZQUEZ, POR SI; SU HEREDERA CONOCIDA REBECCA
SAYERS LLERAS T/C/C
REBECCA SAYERS
LLERA; FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANA DE TAL COMO HEREDEROS
DESCONOCIDOS Y/O
PARTES CON INTERÉS
URB. LEVITTOWN
SOLAR #2167 BLOQUE
C TOA BAJA, PR 00949
// DIRECCIÓN POSTAL:
URB. LEVITTOWN #2167
CALLE PASEO ATENAS
TOA BAJA, PR 00949.
(Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto)
EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 1 de mayo de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los autos de este caso, con fecha 9 de agosto de 2023. En Toa Alta, Puerto Rico, el 9 de agosto de 2023. LAURA I. SANTA SÁNCHEZ, SECRETARIA. MARTHA E. ROSARIO ROSA, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE COAMO ISLAND PORTFOLIO SERVICES, LLC COMO AGENTE DE ACE ONE FUNDING, LLC.
Demandante V. MARÍA J. VIERA COLÓN
Demandado(a)
Civil: CO2022CV00235. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO - TRÁMITE ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.
A: MARIA J. VIERA COLON - CARR 150 KM 16.4 BO. SANTA CALINA, COAMO, PR 00769 / PO BOX 3000 STE 337 COAMO, PR 00769. (Nombre de las partes a las que se le notifican la sentencia por edicto) EL SECRETARIO(A) que suscribe le notifica a usted que el 7 de agosto de 2023, este Tribunal ha dictado Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución en este caso, que ha sido debidamente registrada y archivada en autos donde podrá usted enterarse detalladamente de los
términos de la misma. Esta notificación se publicará una sola vez en un periódico de circulación general en la Isla de Puerto Rico, dentro de los 10 días siguientes a su notificación. Y, siendo o representando usted una parte en el procedimiento sujeta a los términos de la Sentencia, Sentencia Parcial o Resolución, de la cual puede establecerse recurso de revisión o apelación dentro del término de 30 días contados a partir de la publicación por edicto de esta notificación, dirijo a usted esta notificación que se considerará hecha en la fecha de la publicación de este edicto. Copia de esta notificación ha sido archivada en los auto de este caso, con fecha de 9 de agosto de 2023. En COAMO, Puerto Rico, el 9 de agosto de 2023. ELIZABETH GONZÁLEZ RIVERA, SECRETARIA. JACKELINE VEGA COLÓN, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.
LEGAL NOTICE
ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN BOSCO IX OVERSEAS, LLC.
Demandante Vs. RAMON ACOSTA
DIAZ, VELIA AIMEE
FERNANDEZ ACOSTA
T/C/C VELIA FERNANDEZ ACOSTA COMO VELIA
AIMEE FERNANDEZ
NEGRON Y COMO VELIA
FERNANDEZ NEGRON Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR AMBOS
Demandados
Civil Núm.: KCD2015-1946. (607). Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS.
A: LA PARTE DEMANDADA, AL (A LA) SECRETARIO(A) DE HACIENDA DE PUERTO RICO Y AL PÚBLICO
GENERAL:
Certifico y Hago Constar: Que en cumplimiento con el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por el (la) Secretario(a) del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, en el caso de epígrafe, venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América y/o Giro Postal y Cheque Certificado, en mi oficina ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan, el 11 DE SEPTIEMBRE DE 2023, A LAS
The clock started ticking as soon as Rebecka Blomqvist’s shot, crafted with considerable calm and poise given the circumstances, swept into the net. Sweden did not know it, not at that point, but it had 95 seconds to enjoy that sensation, of a game being saved, of a World Cup campaign being extended. It would not last beyond that.
In that time, that minute and a half, the Swedish players rushed the field, seeking out Blomqvist — a late substitute — to thank her for hauling her team back from the brink. Sweden’s coach, Peter Gerhardsson, and his staff embraced on the touchline. Spain’s players stared with glassy eyes at the grass, trying to summon the energy to go through it all again.
It was not long, after all, since they had thought they were heading to a first World Cup final. Salma Paralluelo, the ascendant star of the latter stages of this tournament, had broken the scoreless deadlock that seemed to have settled on Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. She had proved decisive a few days beforehand, in the quarterfinal against the Dutch. Here, she had reacted instinctively to end Sweden’s resistance.
That had prompted the Spanish bench to empty, too; prematurely, as it turned out. The lead had lasted almost exactly seven
minutes before Blomqvist struck, and parity was restored. Thoughts drifted toward extra time, and penalties, and how whole worlds turn on the very finest of margins.
And then Spain, as irony would have it, won a corner. Set pieces are Sweden’s notespecially-secret weapon, of course. A day before the game, Jorge Vilda, the Spanish
coach, had offered a paean of praise — one just ever so slightly tinged, perhaps, with the aesthete’s disapproval — to his opponents’ efficacy from dead balls.
Spain did not, though, choose to heave the ball into the penalty area, to shave the odds, to play the percentages. Instead, it was passed, crisply, quickly, out to Olga Carmo-
na, the fullback. She took a touch, steadied herself, and then sent a fizzing shot looping over the outstretched arms of Sweden goalkeeper Zecira Musovic. It clipped the bar as it fell, rolling into the back of the net.
Once again, 95 seconds after their hearts had sunk, Spain’s players were back on the field, back in the lead, the coaching staff spraying drinks, a few cool heads pleading for calm amid the jubilation. This time, though, there would be no final twist. Sweden huffed and puffed; Spain held firm. The score held at 2-1. The next time the substitutes’ bench emptied would be the last.
Spain came into this tournament without ever having won a knockout game. That is three in a row now. One more and it will, for the first time, be champion of the world.
FIFA Women’s World Cup Semifinals (all times Eastern Standard Time)
Tuesday’s Result Spain 2, Sweden 1
Today’s Match Australia vs. England (6 a.m., FOX)
Saturday’s Match for 3rd Place Sweden vs. TBD (4 a.m., FOX)
Sunday’s Final Spain vs. TBD (6 a.m., FOX)
The Puerto Rico Baseball Federation (FBPR by its Spanish initials) announced this week the list of the 20 players that will make up the national team that will represent the island in the first stage of the Women’s Baseball World Cup.
The event will be held in Miyoshi, Japan from Sept. 13 to Sept. 17 and will define three places for the last phase of the 2024 World Cup. The Puerto Rican team will be led by Carlos Ferrer.
“We have a more complete and versatile team, with more depth in pitching, with three position players who can also throw,” the manager said Monday. “The physical condition of the girls is extraordinary and it was demonstrated in the warm-up games in
Cuba, where they played for days on end.”
Along with Puerto Rico, the national teams from Cuba, France, Taiwan, Venezuela and Japan will compete in group B.
The list of 20 players is headed by team captain Adrix Paradizo and veteran slugger Lisandra Berríos, who has played for Puerto Rico in all competitions since the women’s baseball program began in 2009. Among the new faces on the team are Yahelis Muñoz, Mileyshka Soto, Gabriela Vélez and Ashley Moreira. In addition, Nylah Ramírez returns to the pitching rotation.
“We have to play our best games against France, Venezuela and Cuba to be among the best six teams in the 2024 Summer World Cup,” Ferrer said.
Puerto Rico’s roster for the first stage of the World Cup:
CATCHERS: Jenny Ortiz, Yahelis Muñoz
INFIELDERS: Mileyshka Soto, 3B; Lisandra Berríos, 1B; Eva Torres, 2B; Kiara Resto, 3B; Adrix Paradizo, SS; Gabriella Vélez, SS; Luz Ashley Moreira, UT
PITCHERS: Janiliz Rivera, Danna González, Angelis Rivera, Zoé Collazo, Mirelis Adorno, Nylah Ramírez, Katiria Dávila
OUTFIELDERS: Alanis Rodríguez, Nashali Rivera, Luz Feliciano, Jonalis Ayala
TECHNICAL STAFF: Carlos Ferrer, manager; Juan Rodríguez, coach; Mario Alicea, coach; Edwin García, coach; Robert Rivera, pitching coach; Migdalia Moctezuma, trainer; José “Abi” Colón, equipment manager; José Rafael Torres, FBPR delegate; Gloribee Llanos, FBPR assistant
Puerto Rico will compete along with Cuba, France, Taiwan, Venezuela and Japan in Group B in the first stage qualifier for the Women’s Baseball World Cup in Miyoshi, Japan, Sept. 13-17.
Spain’s Olga Carmona scored what proved to be the winner as the clock struck 90 minutes. The San Juan Daily Star Wednesday, August 16, 2023 27tiative, John Moriarty Football, have called for meaningful support of Indigenous-led grassroots programs from soccer’s Australian and global governing bodies. John Moriarty Football says it has received less than 20,000 Australian dollars, or about $13,000, from its country’s soccer governing body, Football Australia, since Moriarty began the program in 2012.
“If it wasn’t for programs like JMF, the pathways for children in Tennant Creek to get to elite football, let alone a World Cup tournament, would be nonexistent — an impossible dream,” Moriarty wrote in an email. “But the talent for football in the bush is deep and the potential for football to break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage is huge.”
school and works with more than 300 Indigenous children weekly in the town and nearby communities.
Each week, classes have a block in their schedule for what they call “John Moriarty time,” when they learn and practice soccer skills and do breathing exercises that can help students regulate their behavior. The period ends with a snack of fresh fruit, which can be prohibitively expensive in remote parts of the Northern Territory. In recent weeks, the classes have also watched clips of the Australian team, known as the Matildas. They have drawn the nation’s attention and support during their run to the World Cup semifinals, where they will face England on Wednesday in Sydney.
By JENNY VRENTASThey do not have marked soccer fields in Tennant Creek, a town in Australia’s Northern Territory, halfway across the continent from Sydney. So one morning last week, before nearly 100 kids arrived to play a round-robin tournament, three fields had to be laid out on a big grass oval with cones, flags and portable goals.
The children were bused in from schools all over the Barkly Region, a vast expanse of the outback that is about the size of Finland but has a population of only about 8,000 people. For some, the trip meant enduring long stretches on rutted dirt roads. One school brought 12 students, about one-third of its entire enrollment. Another did not bring enough to field a team, so it borrowed two players from a nearby community whose families are part of the same Aboriginal language group.
Boys and girls of different ages played games together. For two days, the sport that can be played anywhere enlivened a community where the separation from the Women’s World Cup’s main stage is more than just thousands of miles.
“It’s a real soccer carnival,” said Annastashia August, an 11-year-old from
Tennant Creek who is Warumungu, the people who are the traditional custodians of the land where the town now sits.
Soccer is Annastashia’s favorite sport, but this was only the second soccer carnival in her town. Both events arose from the initiative of John Moriarty, the first Aboriginal Australian selected for a national soccer team, who hopes to use the sport to help improve outcomes for Indigenous children in remote communities.
The rights of Indigenous peoples was one of the social causes FIFA chose to highlight at this year’s World Cup. Tournament organizers have recognized Indigenous communities in Australia and New Zealand, the two host countries, through measures that include the use of traditional place names alongside the more common English ones for each host city; the flying of Indigenous flags at stadiums; and the performing of Welcome to Country ceremonies by representatives of the traditional owners of the land wherever events are held.
Moriarty, 86, a Yanyuwa man who was first named to an Australian national team in 1960, said that these gestures were appreciated but that there needed to be “substance” behind them. He and the other members of Indigenous Football Australia, a council that supports his ini-
Football Australia pointed to the creation two years ago of its National Indigenous Advisory Group, which includes Australia striker Kyah Simon, who is of Aboriginal descent, and said that its Legacy ’23 plan, created to continue developing the sport after the World Cup, includes financing for a First Nations competition in New South Wales. Courtney Fewquandie, a Butchulla and Gubbi Gubbi woman who serves as Football Australia’s general manager of First Nations, said the advisory group had agreed to a meeting with Indigenous Football Australia after the World Cup that she hoped will be “the first step to moving forward together.”
Far away from this back-and-forth at the sport’s highest levels, the grassroots work championed by Moriarty continues. His exposure to the sport came after he was removed from his mother at age 4 and put into boys’ homes in other parts of the country under policies at the time that permitted the state to separate tens of thousands of children from their Aboriginal mothers. The Indigenous children removed during that era are referred to as the Stolen Generations. Now, as many communities continue to experience the aftereffects of colonial policies, Moriarty is directing resources and attention back to remote, primarily Indigenous areas like the one he was taken from.
Last week’s soccer tournament in Tennant Creek brought together young players from across the region in partnership with the territory’s education department. But John Moriarty Football maintains a daily presence in Tennant Creek, where it has an office in the primary
Ros Moriarty, John’s partner and cofounder of their nonprofit, said Football Australia expressed interest in their work a few years ago. Those conversations did not lead anywhere, she said, because it seemed the federation was merely interested in taking over their initiatives under its umbrella. (Fewquandie, the Football Australia official, said those discussions took place before her time with the federation.)
“It feels like it’s almost a forgotten space within Football Australia,” said Allira Toby, a Kanolu and Gangulu woman who has played in Australia’s top professional women’s league and is part of the Indigenous Football Australia council. “There could be — there is — so much talent in rural communities where they never get the chance to even look at playing sport or soccer in that space in Australia, because there just aren’t the pathways that should be there.”
As the soccer carnival in Tennant Creek neared its end, members of the community gathered around the grassy oval. Elders. The school principal. A nurse and a constable. The cousin whom Annastashia calls her big sister.
Tennant Creek High School, whose students have been part of the John Moriarty program for four years, won the trophy. The makeshift soccer fields were packed up, but not for long. The John Moriarty Football van, with the Aboriginal flag on the dashboard, would be back on the road the next morning, headed to the community of Ali Curung, making sure the sport that can be played anywhere is played there.
Fill in the empty fields with the numbers from 1 through 9.
Sudoku Rules:
Every row must contain the numbers from 1 through 9
Every column must contain the numbers from 1 through 9
Every 3x3 square must contain the numbers from 1 through 9
Answers on page 30
Aries (Mar 21-April 20)
Don’t poke your nose into other people’s business today, Aries. Give others their space and let them work things out for themselves. Don’t feel like you have to gain the attention of everyone. Do what you need to do and your rewards will come in due time. Your actions might be thrown off course by the unexpected. Be on the lookout for something wild and bizarre that could be coming your way.
Taurus (April 21-May 21)
Ask for what you need, Taurus, and you will get it. Don’t wait around for the rewards to come to you. This is one of those days in which actions speak louder than words. Don’t expect others to read your mind. If you want something, go after it. There may be an element of the unexpected working its way into your day so be on guard.
Gemini (May 22-June 21)
Watch the sunrise today, Gemini. Open your eyes to the beauty around you and let it inspire you to take action. Someone may be trying to throw you a curve ball, so be ready. You have a generous heart that you should share freely. Your helpful nature will draw others to you and help you skate effortlessly through your day. Teach someone a lesson that you know they need to learn.
Cancer (June 22-July 23)
Watch the sunrise today, Gemini. Open your eyes to the beauty around you and let it inspire you to take action. Someone may be trying to throw you a curve ball, so be ready. You have a generous heart that you should share freely. Your helpful nature will draw others to you and help you skate effortlessly through your day. Teach someone a lesson that you know they need to learn.
Leo (July 24-Aug 23)
Mind your manners, Leo, and open doors that you’ve never opened before. Maintain your principles and integrity as you venture forth into worlds unknown. Don’t write people off without giving them a fair chance. Don’t judge others. Give them an equal amount of respect. It may be hard to maintain a solid footing today, but you should try.
Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)
You may go in many different directions today, Virgo, so try to stay focused. Spend some time by water, even if it’s just your bathtub, and reconnect with your true self. The more you integrate your inner nature with your outer demeanor, the more you will attract the people and situations that can help you in your journey.
Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)
Your actions may take a sudden turn today, Libra, so beware. This may seem like an annoying bend in the road at first, but if you keep walking, you’ll see that this course of action is exactly the one you need to take. This isn’t a day to sit back and watch. Get your act together and do something before you’re the one who gets acted upon.
Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)
Your actions may take a sudden turn today, Libra, so beware. This may seem like an annoying bend in the road at first, but if you keep walking, you’ll see that this course of action is exactly the one you need to take. This isn’t a day to sit back and watch. Get your act together and do something before you’re the one who gets acted upon.
Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)
Your actions may take a sudden turn today, Libra, so beware. This may seem like an annoying bend in the road at first, but if you keep walking, you’ll see that this course of action is exactly the one you need to take. This isn’t a day to sit back and watch. Get your act together and do something before you’re the one who gets acted upon.
Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)
Your actions may take a sudden turn today, Libra, so beware. This may seem like an annoying bend in the road at first, but if you keep walking, you’ll see that this course of action is exactly the one you need to take. This isn’t a day to sit back and watch. Get your act together and do something before you’re the one who gets acted upon.
Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)
Your actions may take a sudden turn today, Libra, so beware. This may seem like an annoying bend in the road at first, but if you keep walking, you’ll see that this course of action is exactly the one you need to take. This isn’t a day to sit back and watch. Get your act together and do something before you’re the one who gets acted upon.
Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)
Your actions may take a sudden turn today, Libra, so beware. This may seem like an annoying bend in the road at first, but if you keep walking, you’ll see that this course of action is exactly the one you need to take. This isn’t a day to sit back and watch. Get your act together and do something before you’re the one who gets acted upon.
