Wednesday Feb 8, 2023

GOOD MORNING

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.

El Conquistador Resort granted $50 million recovery loan

INDEX

By JOHN McPHAUL jpmcphaul@gmail.com

Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia announced on Tuesday along with island Housing Secretary William Rodríguez Rodríguez the granting of a loan of $50 million in recovery funds for El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, with the purpose of completing the reconstruction of the property and acquisition of furniture damaged as a result of the passage of Hurricane Maria.

“My administration views tourism and the visitor economy as a pillar of economic development,” the governor said in a written statement. “Despite historic challenges, Puerto Rico’s potential has been evident to the world. The island has become an example of resilience, recovery and growth in tourism. This program provides the opportunity to finance entities that with their large-scale projects promote the revitalization of Puerto Rico through commercial and industrial activity, job creation and economic growth. The investments we are making with these funds seek to foster sustainable economic development.”

Pierluisi said the loan, which is being granted under the Economic Development and Growth Investment Portfolio Program (IPG), leverages the total investment of $263 million in the renovation of this iconic property. The remaining $213 million needed to complete the reconstruction, which began in 2019, comes from private investment. including

an investment from cooperatives previously reported by the STAR.

Once the renovation of the property is completed, it is expected that the income from stay tax (Room Tax) will exceed $2 million per year and that 558 jobs will be generated, with a payroll of $29 million per year, which makes the hotel one of the main employers in the eastern region of the island.

The Housing secretary noted that “economic development that includes the creation of jobs and investment spaces is an essential part of the island’s recovery.”

“Through this program, we aim to provide the help needed by large-scale, multi-industry projects that have the potential to provide the island with a diverse window of employment opportunities,” Rodríguez said. “This announcement is the first of many we will be making soon.”

The full opening of the hotel will substantially benefit Puerto Rico’s economy, the officials said, through purchases from local suppliers, sales and use tax revenues, and collateral activities in the region.

Likewise, Fajardo Mayor José Aníbal Meléndez said that “once again, our city of Fajardo marks the beginning of a cutting-edge initiative and what better than for El Conquistador, the IPG investment portfolio program.”

“The operation of the Hotel El Conquistador in Fajardo represents a pillar for the economic development of the city, since it is the main employer in terms of employability,” he added.

El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo

Bill would mandate recycling of electric car batteries

By THE STAR STAFF

In order to safeguard the environment, San Juan District Rep. Víctor Parés Otero announced the filing of a bill on Tuesday to include electric vehicle batteries among the objects that, by law, must be recycled in Puerto Rico.

“Governments, by nature, tend to be reactive rather than proactive,” the legislator said. “Little, if anything, is done to prevent a problem before it occurs. We have to change that. In Puerto Rico we have reached a crossroads around the issue of recycling, particularly about electric vehicle batteries.”

The Highways and Transportation Authority estimates that between 3,000 and 6,000 electric vehicles are already on island roads, Parés Otero pointed out.

“We are sure that this number will increase,” he said. “So what do we do with the batteries in these vehicles when their useful life ends?”

“At this time there are no detailed legal parameters to deal with the problem and if we do not do something, the discarded batteries will end up being an environmental problem and we cannot allow that,” the San Juan District 4 legislator added.

The measure amends subsection (i) and adds a subsection (y) to Section 2.01 of Article 2 of Law 18-2012, better known as the “Puerto Rico Electronic Equipment Recycling and Disposal Act,” to include electric vehicle batteries among the objects that must be recycled on the island.

“Law 18 was made under other parameters because at that time there were no electric vehicles as we know them today,” Parés Otero noted. “We have not currently identified any specific regulations mandating the recycling of the batteries of these electric vehicles in our jurisdiction. This measure changes that by creating, for the first time in our history, a regulation on the handling and disposal of the electric batteries of these vehicles.” According to multiple studies, the lifespan of an electric vehicle battery is around 100,000 miles.

In order to meet the demand for the fuel used by the emerging generation of motor vehicles, that is, electricity, the central administration announced last August that this year charging stations will be installed adjacent to state highways PR-2, PR-22 and PR-52 at different strategic points to meet the demand and increase the use of electric vehicles, which are much friendlier to the environment than those powered by a fossil fuel-burning combustion engine.

Vargas Vidot files bill to plug gaps in auto insurance law

By THE STAR STAFF

If you hit another car with your door when opening it in a parking lot, would the mandatory auto insurance cover it?

The answer is no, and that is precisely what Senate Bill 1009, authored by independent Sen. José “Chaco” Vargas Vidot seeks to remedy.

When Law 253-1995, as amended, known as the “Motor Vehicle Compulsory Liability Insurance Act,” was passed, a “traffic accident” was not defined for the purposes of coverage.

That legal vacuum was filled by regulation, but left out the possibility of coverage for damages caused by an insured driver. This is because the current rules of the Joint Subscription Association and the insurance commissioner provide that only accidents where at least one of the vehicles is moving are covered.

This means that if an insured person causes damage in a door-opening mishap as described above, that person will be liable personally and perhaps in court for that damage, because that type of accident is not covered by the compulsory insurance.

Vargas Vidot argues that the current reality is far from the intention of compulsory insurance when it was legislated.

“In the absence of an effective mass transportation system in Puerto Rico, not receiving the proper compensation to repair a vehicle that suffers damage in a traffic accident can be an undue hardship for its owner, if he does not have the means available to carry out the repair on his own,” Vargas Vidot said. “With compulsory liability insurance covering vehicle damage, repairs or replacements arising as a result of the actions of others would be covered up to the limit of insurance to be established.”

To remedy this, the independent senator’s bill intends to define by law what a traffic accident is as “a collision or Impact between motor vehicles or between a motor vehicle and a part of another vehicle or an object which is detached from another vehicle, or between a vehicle and a part or object that was struck by another

vehicle,” according to the legislation’s preamble.

“For the purposes of this law, it will not be required that one, both or several of the vehicles involved in an accident are in motion, it is enough for a claim to proceed that the vehicle of the person responsible for the accident is insured with this compulsory insurance,” the bill says.

Sen. José Vargas Vidot

The Highways and Transportation Authority estimates that between 3,000 and 6,000 electric vehicles are already on island roads.

CRIM has 2 weeks to identify an income source to replace inventory tax

By THE STAR STAFF

The Municipal Revenue Collections Center (CRIM by its Spanish acronym) must draft a bill over the next two weeks that identifies how the $240 million that the inventory tax generates each year could be replaced.

The information was provided by CRIM Executive Director Reinaldo Paniagua Látimer this week after a meeting with CRIM Governing Board Chairman Jesús E. “Gardy” Colón Berlingeri and Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia.

Island mayors said the inventory tax cannot be eliminated without finding a substitute because it is a significant source of revenue for municipalities, most of which are having fiscal problems.

Paniagua pointed out that one cannot talk about the elimination of the tax without identifying a substitute considering that the CRIM collects some $1.1 billion annually and the inventory tax represents a substantial sum.

“We know that there is a claim from the commercial sector, and we are trying to strike a balance between the claims of the commercial sector and the urgent needs of the municipalities, and we have been entrusted with working on legislation that will be discussed with the governor, the Treasury secretary and the municipalities,” Paniagua said in a report aired by Foro Noticioso.

He insisted that the municipal governments do not disagree with addressing the issue.

“It cannot be eliminated all at once by creating a gap in what is the debt restructuring, the Center’s certified fiscal plan and the government’s fiscal plan,” he said.

Paniagua noted that the claim of the merchants has

been primarily about the recurrence of the payment; that is, that they pay for the same item year after year as long as it is not sold. The intent is to create a single payment to be made when the item is sold.

“What we are looking for is to reduce the cost of doing business in Puerto Rico by paying for that item

only once after it has been sold,” the CRIM director said. The commercial sector has held the inventory tax responsible for the low product inventories on the island. However, Paniagua contended that this phenomenon, which worsened after the passage of Hurricane Maria in September 2017, was really due to logistics.

Fiscal board: Latest lawsuit seeking to disqualify its local law firm ‘recycles baseless allegations’

By THE STAR STAFF

For the second time in less than a year, the Financial Oversight and Management Board has to fight lawsuits seeking to disqualify its local law firm O’Neill & Borges.

In a motion filed last Thursday, the oversight board alleged that a petition to disqualify its local firm contained “baseless allegations” from a lawyer who lost a previous case.

R&D Master Enterprises sued to disqualify O’Neill & Borges on Jan. 19. Their lawyer, Carlos Lamoutte, had failed in a similar suit because he lacked standing. R&D argued that O’Neill & Borges had conflicts of interest and could not represent the oversight board because it also represented a group of funds that acquired a $384 million commercial loan portfolio from Puerto

Rico’s Economic Development Bank (EDB). R&D is one of the borrowers whose loans were the subject of that transaction.

When U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain, who oversees Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy, dismissed Lamoutte’s suit, it paved the way for R&D Master Enterprises to sue as a creditor. But Swain also found that the EDB’s conduct had no connection to the Title III cases to ensure no other group could bring up the same issues successfully if it had standing.

According to the oversight board, “the motion recycles many of the same baseless allegations and meritless arguments that Lamoutte previously advanced.”

“It contains the same conclusory, unsupported, and erroneous allegations against [O’Neill & Borges], as well as the same misstatements of the disclosure requirements,” the board said.

U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain

Municipal Revenue Collections Center Executive Director Reinaldo Paniagua Látimer

NPP secretary general: Push for territorial incorporation is not without validity, but party already pledged support for HR 8393

By THE STAR STAFF

New Progressive Party (NPP) Secretary General Carmelo Ríos Santiago said Tuesday that while he does not object to a proposal by a sector in the pro-statehood movement that seeks to convince U.S. lawmakers to make Puerto Rico an incorporated territory instead of a full-fledged state, he said the NPP already voted to support HR 8393, the legislation that seeks to end the island’s debate over status.

“The NPP assembly voted to support legislation to admit Puerto Rico as a state,” Ríos, who is also an NPP senator, told the STAR. “That does not mean I oppose any genuine effort from people who support statehood. But there is a mandate that we want equality as a state.”

A sector in the pro-statehood movement believes Puerto Rico is better off convincing the U.S. Senate to make Puerto Rico an incorporated territory rather than seeking statehood. There is opposition in the Senate to the approval of HR 8393, legislation that provides for a plebiscite to be held on Nov. 5 to resolve Puerto Rico’s political status. Specifically, the plebiscite will offer eligible voters a choice of independence, sovereignty in free association with the United States, or statehood.

Pro-statehood lawyer Gregorio Igartúa said the battle for

statehood is in a stalemate in part because the Popular Democratic Party continues to press Congress for a status alternative that promotes inequality.

He said that while Gov. Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia and Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón have the best of intentions, the statehood movement needs to be more active.

“We have to take a more definitive road,” Igartúa said. “The territorial incorporation would get independence and other status options out of the way and pave the way for statehood.”

He also urged the governor to create a statehood commission that can create a plan as to the steps it should follow.

Ríos said meanwhile that while asking U.S. lawmakers to make Puerto Rico an incorporated territory is “less strong” than asking for statehood, he asked, “Why should we make it easier for them?”

In December 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives approved HR 8393 with 233 votes in favor and 191 against. However, the bill does not have a chance in the Senate. Sen. Joe Manchin, who heads the committee overseeing statehood, reportedly said it is not on his committee’s agenda.

Ríos also noted that there “are two views about the legislation.” One view is that the House bill continues to the Senate and another is that new status legislation is needed because

it is a new congressional session, with Republicans taking majority control of the House, albeit by a slim margin.

“I tend to believe we have to start again because it is a new Congress,” he said.

In that regard, Ríos noted that President Biden is expected at a winter meeting to reaffirm his support for statehood, which he believes may convince lawmakers to pass the bill.

“I also hope the resident commissioner also does her job to convince Republicans,” he said.

PDP presidential candidate Ortiz González presents initial points in action plan

By THE STAR STAFF

Rep. Jesús Manuel Ortiz González, a candidate for the presidency of the Popular Democratic Party (PDP), presented on Tuesday the first points of his action plan for the PDP.

Ortiz González also announced the components of his campaign committee for the election on May 7.

The first part of Ortiz González’s plan focuses on the effective and planned reorganization of the PDP around the island. To this end, he noted the implementation of special measures for such a reorganization process following a strategy that involves the execution of a plan designed for the particular conditions of each region. Among the measures presented are:

1. Conduct an accurate review of the status of the reorganization carried out so far throughout Puerto Rico. A team

will be appointed for the task and will deliver a report to the president within 15 days.

2. Create a Metropolitan Reorganization Task Force that would be tasked with designing a specific reorganization process for San Juan, Bayamón and Guaynabo. The metropolitan plan must adjust to the current reality of the area and include strategies to address it.

3. Create the Group of 15, which would be in charge of assisting in the reorganization and political work in 15 municipalities. Those municipalities will be selected using as a metric: recovered municipalities (last election), lost municipalities (last election), and corruption cases, among others. The team will work hand in hand with mayors and municipal presidents.

4. Appoint eight district assistant secretaries, to be named by the president, who would report directly to the secretary

general. Their function will be to work together with the district board in the swift response to controversies and other political issues in the region.

“These first points are aimed at determining the current reality of the reorganization at the island level so that specific processes can be directed to address the political situation of the PDP in the metropolitan area and in municipalities with particular situations,” Ortiz González said. “There is a lot of work and time is pressing.” A number of colleagues in the island Legislature are supporting Ortiz González’s candidacy, along with mayors Juan Carlos García Padilla (Coamo) and Carlos Ramírez (Arecibo), among other leaders to be heard from later.

The candidate also announced that Aguada Mayor Christian Cortés will serve as his campaign director. Cortés is a lawyer and engineer and is in his first term as mayor.

Pet vaccination fair slated for Sunday

By THE STAR STAFF

This Sunday, Feb. 12, a “Pet Vaccination Fair” for dogs and cats will take place in the parking lot of Carolina Bowling Center on Campo Rico Avenue in that municipality. “If you have a pet, this event is definitely for

you,” said Carolina District Sen. Marissa “Marissita” Jiménez Santoni, who emphasized that “for all those people who have and love pets, they certainly consider them a very important part of the family.”

The senator added that “the costs of the different vaccines will be very accessible for

everyone’s pocketbook.”

“Well, what we are looking to do, primarily, is to give health to the cherished and spoiled members of our home,” she said. “This activity, requested by thousands of people throughout the District of Carolina, is open to the general public.”

New Progressive Party Secretary General Carmelo Ríos Santiago

How US-China tensions could affect who buys the house next door

By J. DAVID GOODMAN

After a Chinese billionaire with plans to create a wind farm bought up more than 130,000 acres of Texas land, some of it near a U.S. Air Force base, the state responded with a ban on such infrastructure projects by those with direct ties to China.

Now, a Republican state senator is proposing to broaden the ban, seeking to stop Chinese citizens and companies from buying land, homes or any other real estate in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott announced his support last month: “I will sign it,” he wrote without equivocation on Twitter.

His endorsement underscored just how important foreign land ownership, particularly by Chinese buyers, has become as a political issue, not just in Texas but across the country.

Tensions have been rising between the United States and China over a range of issues, including international trade, recognition of Taiwan and the war in Ukraine. On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken abruptly canceled a planned weekend trip to China — the first by a U.S. secretary of state since 2018 — after the discovery of what U.S. officials described as a Chinese surveillance balloon drifting over the American heartland. (On Saturday, a U.S. fighter jet shot down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina.)

The geopolitical strain has fueled calls for a more aggressive approach to Chinese investments in the United States with an eye on security.

“We don’t want to have holdings by hostile nations,” Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said in a news conference last month. Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia made it part of his State of the Commonwealth speech soon after, urging lawmakers in his state to prevent “dangerous foreign entities” tied to the Chinese government from purchasing farmland.

Chinese owners have very slowly expanded their holdings in U.S. agricultural land in recent decades, but the increasingly hostile political climate has made the topic a rising concern, with at least 11 states considering some form of new legislation related to foreign ownership of farmland or real estate, according the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Some of the new and proposed laws go beyond targeting Chinese nationals to broadly

take aim at ownership by all foreign governments, businesses and new immigrants. Other laws, like the one under consideration in Texas, single out countries seen as particular security threats, including Russia, Iran and North Korea, in addition to China.

Nor are Republican lawmakers the only ones challenging foreign land ownership. In California, a bill to rein in foreign ownership of farmland passed both Democratically controlled houses last year. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Melissa Hurtado, a Democrat, said it was an effort to stop the purchases while trying to better understand the motivation behind them.

“Something doesn’t smell right,” she said in an interview. Other Democrats, including in Congress, have proposed legislation to increase the oversight of foreign agricultural land purchases.

State Sen. Lois W. Kolkhorst, the sponsor of the Texas bill, said in a statement that foreign land ownership had become an issue in her district, a mostly rural area stretching west and south of Houston.

“One of the top concerns for many Texans is national security and the growing ownership of Texas land by certain adversarial foreign entities,” Kolkhorst said, referring to the Chinese purchase of the land near an Air Force base near Del Rio, Texas, for a proposed wind farm.

But the legislative push, while in some cases bipartisan, has largely brought opposition from Democratic elected leaders. The California bill was vetoed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. In Texas, Democratic leaders said the broad measure now before the Legislature appeared to be prompted more by a rising anti-China political environment than by any legitimate concern over espionage or foreign ownership of the food supply.

The bill as written would make it impossible for the large number of Chinese immigrants who have come to work in the tech sector or study at Texas universities to do something as basic as buy a home. It would not affect those who already own such property.

“Through the years I have helped a lot of Chinese immigrants purchase their homes in Houston, and a lot of them had been working toward their citizenship for years,” Kevin Yu, a green card holder and a real estate agent in Houston, said at a protest. “These people can be engineers, medical doctors, accountants

and teachers.” The proposed bill in Texas, he said, would “take American dreams away from these people, including my family.”

A 2021 census survey estimated that about 150,000 foreign-born Chinese are living in Texas, a larger population than any of the other nationalities targeted by the proposed ban.

Protesters have rallied against the bill in Houston and Dallas in recent weeks, saying that the legislative efforts could worsen the climate of anti-Asian violence and could be easily extended to include other immigrant groups.

State Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, said he supported laws targeting foreign corporations with ties to the government from buying certain property. “That’s fine,” said Wu, who was born in Guangzhou, China, and immigrated to Texas with his family as a child. “But the difference is this bill. This bill attacks individuals, private people with no connections with other governments other than being from that country.”

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas who are watching the bill’s progress said that the measure was likely to run afoul of the federal government’s prerogative to manage relations with other nations, and that it was unconstitutional.

“The discriminatory bill would prohibit

members of our communities from participating in the Texas economy, including dual citizens and legal permanent residents, such as green card holders,” said David Donatti, a lawyer with the ACLU of Texas.

Some legal scholars were also skeptical. “Such a bill would raise a host of constitutional issues,” said Stephen I. Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas. Because the measure does not distinguish between targeting people who are already here and those outside the United States, he said, it raises “serious due process and equal protection issues.”

In response to an inquiry from the New York Times, Kolkhorst said in a statement that she would amend her bill “to include a provision that will make crystal clear that the prohibitions do not apply to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents.”

That would mean, presumably, that Chinese green card holders would be entitled to buy property but more recent immigrants, or those on temporary work visas, would not.

The share of United States farmland owned by Chinese people and companies is small and has not been growing substantially.

Chinese owners held about 350,000 acres at the end of 2020, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, and most of

A rally against Senate Bill 147, the bill to ban Chinese citizens from buying real estate in Texas, at City Hall in Houston.

Harris announces funding to address root causes of migration crisis

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this week announced almost $1 billion in new pledges by private companies to support communities in Central America, part of the Biden administration’s effort to keep migrants from fleeing toward the U.S. border.

Ten companies, including Nestle, Target and Columbia Sportswear, said they would collectively spend $950 million on projects in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to support farmers, create textile jobs and invest in telecommunications and other industries.

The effort comes as crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border remain at record highs, posing logistical and humanitarian challenges to President Joe Biden and drawing intense criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill.

House Republicans have begun to investigate the administration’s efforts at the border and said they might pursue the impeachment of Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary.

The vice president’s announcement came Monday afternoon as she met with a number of companies.

It added to the commitments from businesses through the Partnership for Central America, a nonprofit organization that was created in mid-2021 to facilitate Harris’ efforts to rally support for the region. The partnership had previously announced about $3 billion in future spending from a range of companies.

The idea, according to the vice president’s aides, is to address what she calls the root causes of migration: poverty, corruption, climate change and political instability that drives people to leave their homes in search of a better life.

Administration officials said the program had already gener-

Migrants

ated results, though they acknowledged on a call with reporters that they could not specifically document those effects. Since mid-2021, officials said, migration from the three countries was down 71%.

“As part of this public-private partnership, approximately 47 companies and organizations are collaborating across financial services, textiles and apparel, agriculture, technology, telecommunications and nonprofit sectors to strengthen the region’s economic security,” the White House wrote in a fact sheet released Monday.

But even those participating in the effort say there are challenges to its success, especially in the short term.

Ajay Banga, the former executive chair of Mastercard and

How US-China tensions could affect who buys the house next door

From page 7

the farmland came from the Chinese acquisition of Smithfield Foods in 2013. Canadian owners, by contrast, held 12.4 million acres.

The figures do not include residential or commercial buildings, though that has largely not been the focus of most legislative efforts. Chinese investors are among the top foreign purchasers of residential real estate, along with Canadians, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Other states have had concerns over foreign ownership of land and have made efforts to regulate it. Some states, including Minnesota and Iowa, have enacted bans on foreign ownership of agricultural land, and a larger number place restrictions on such purchases. The Oklahoma Constitution limits land ownership to U.S. citizens. Those laws, unlike the proposal in Texas, do not single out citizens of particular countries.

In Canada, a sweeping ban on foreign ownership of residential property went into effect this year — a move that the country’s liberal leadership said was aimed at curbing soaring housing prices.

However, the proposed ban in Texas, endorsed by Abbott, appears to go further than the laws adopted in other U.S. states, both in applying to all “real property” — including urban buildings or condominium apartments — and in applying its provisions not only to the governments of certain countries but also to their citizens.

During its last session, in 2021, the Texas Legislature barred companies from the same list of countries targeted in

one of the business executives who worked with Harris on the effort to raise money for Central America, said it was unlikely to make a difference in the next few months or even years.

“If anyone speaking to you is declaring victory, they’re crazy,” Banga said in November. “There’s work. There’s real work there. That $3 billion is interesting, but it is not implemented yet.”

Banga and others said they had been impressed with Harris’ preparation and well-informed questions behind the scenes on the issue. But he said that the administration’s focus on oversight when investing the funds and deterring illegal migration was critical to its success.

“Then this can make a difference over five or 10 years,” Banga said.

There are other challenges, too. People who have worked with the administration for the past year and a half said that private investment was not enough as the United States competes with other countries, especially China, for investment in the region.

Executives with some of the companies who pledged to spend millions of dollars over the course of the next five years or so said they would also need regulatory changes and adjustments to tariffs if they wanted to be successful in the long run.

They will also need infrastructure to support their investments — roads, internet and power — and a total scale of spending by other similar companies. Both are things that China has embraced as it spreads investments through Asia, Africa and Latin America.

In response, the administration said Monday that Harris would announce a program aimed at increasing investment in infrastructure in the region.

The program aims to help companies gain access to funding from the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. and will create a Northern Central America Investment Facilitation Team intended to promote economic development.

the new proposed law from winning contracts that relate to “critical infrastructure” in the state, including the electricity grid, water treatment plants, and cybersecurity and communications systems.

That bill came in response to the plan by Chinese billionaire Sun Guangxin to construct a wind farm that would have connected to the Texas electricity grid. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the state Senate, and Abbott signed it.

A representative of Sun did not respond to a request for comment.

Last month, more than 100 people joined the rally against the latest proposal on the steps of Houston City Hall, a diverse coalition that included local officials and members of Congress.

“This is wrong,” Mayor Sylvester Turner said, standing at the rally with Wu, who grew up in a house his parents purchased after immigrating to Texas but before they became citizens.

“This could be my family’s home, this could be yours,” the mayor said, pointing to an image of the home, in an area of the city now represented by Wu.

cross the Rio Grande from Mexico at El Paso, Texas, on Dec. 20, 2022. Crossings at the southern border remain at record highs, posing logistical and humanitarian challenges for President Joe Biden.

Education issues vault to top of the GOP’s presidential race

By TRIP GABRIEL

With a presidential primary starting to stir, Republicans are returning with force to the education debates that mobilized their staunchest voters during the pandemic and set off a wave of conservative activism around how schools teach about racism in American history and tolerate gender fluidity.

The messaging casts Republicans as defenders of parents who feel that schools have run amok with “wokeness.” Its loudest champion has been Gov. Ron DeSantis, who last week scored an apparent victory attacking the College Board’s curriculum on African American studies. Former President Donald Trump has sought to catch up with even hotter language, recently threatening “severe consequences” for educators who “suggest to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body.”

Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor, who has used Twitter to preview her planned presidential campaign announcement this month, recently tweeted “CRT is un-American,” referring to critical race theory.

Yet, in its appeal to voters, culturewar messaging concerning education has a decidedly mixed track record. While some Republicans believe the issue can win over independents, especially suburban women, the 2022 midterms showed that attacks on school curriculums — specifically on critical race theory and so-called gender ideology — largely were a dud in the general election.

While DeSantis won reelection handily, many other Republican candidates for governor who raised attacks on schools — against drag queen story hours, for example, or books that examine white privilege — went down in defeat, including in Kansas, Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin.

Democratic strategists, pointing to the midterm results and to polling, said voters viewed cultural issues in education as far less important than school funding, teacher shortages and school safety.

Even the Republican National Committee advised candidates last year to appeal to swing voters by speaking broadly about parental control and quality schools, not critical race theory, the idea that racism is baked into American institutions.

Still, Trump, the only declared Republican presidential candidate so far, and potential rivals are putting cultural fights at the center of their education agendas. Strategists say the push is motivated by evidence that the issues have the power to elicit strong emotions in parents and at

least some potential to cut across partisan lines.

In Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s victory in 2021 on a “parents’ rights” platform awakened Republicans to the political potency of education with swing voters. Youngkin, who remains popular in his state, began an investigation last month of whether Virginia high schools delayed telling some students that they had earned merit awards, which he has called “a maniacal focus” on equal outcomes.

DeSantis, too, has framed his opposition to progressive values as an attempt to give parents control over what their children are taught.

Last year, he signed the Parental Rights in Education Act, banning instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in early elementary grades.

Democrats decried that and other education policies from the governor as censorship and as attacks on the civil rights of gay and transgender people. Critics called the Florida law “Don’t Say Gay.”

Polling has shown strong support for a ban on LGBTQ topics in elementary school. In a New York Times/Siena College poll last year, 70% of registered voters nationally opposed instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in elementary grades.

“The culture war issues are most potent among Republican primary voters, but that doesn’t mean that an education message can’t be effective with independent voters or the electorate as a whole,” said Whit Ayres, a Republican pollster, who worked for DeSantis during his first governor’s race in 2018.

DeSantis’ approach to education is a far stretch from traditional issues that Republicans used to line up behind, such as charter schools and merit pay for teachers who raise test scores. But it has had an impact.

Last week, the College Board purged its Advanced Placement course on African American Studies after the DeSantis administration banned a pilot version, citing readings on queer theory and reparations for slavery. The College Board said the changes were not a bow to political pressure, and had been decided in December.

DeSantis next rolled out an initiative to end diversity and equity programs in universities, to require courses in Western civilization and to weaken professors’ tenure protections.

DeSantis’ communications staff did not respond to a request for comment.

The current era of Republican culture-driven attacks on education began in 2020 during the pandemic with a tandem crusade against mask mandates in schools and the supposed

influence of critical race theory.

Yet, the political power of opposition to critical race theory — which became a grab bag for conservative complaints about the teaching of American history and racial inequality — largely petered out by last year’s midterm general elections. A September polling memo by the Republican National Committee warned candidates that “focusing on CRT and masks excites the GOP base, but parental rights and quality education drive independents.”

Of $9.3 million spent on campaign ads that mentioned critical race theory in 2022, in nearly 50 races for House, Senate and governor, almost all was spent during the primaries, according to an analysis by AdImpact. The issue was raised in only eight general election ads. The theme of “parents’ rights,” invoked in ads worth $9.8 million in 19 races, proved a more popular general election topic; it was used in 14 of those races.

Conservative groups in 2022 also supported hundreds of candidates in local school board races with limited success. In nearly 1,800 races nationwide, conservative school board candidates who opposed discussions of race or gender in classrooms, or who opposed pandemic responses such as mask requirements, won just 30% of races, according to Ballotpedia, a site that tracks U.S. elections.

Republicans point to a May 2022 survey for the American Federation of Teachers union showing that voters in battleground states had slightly more confidence in Republicans than in Democrats, 39% to 38%, to handle education issues.

Geoff Garin, whose firm, Hart Research, conducted that poll, said later surveys showed that Democrats had regained the advantage on education, a gain he attributed to Republicans’ focus on race being out of sync with parents.

In a December survey by Hart for the teachers’ union, voters who were asked for the most important problems facing schools ranked teacher shortages and inadequate funding at the top. Critical race theory and “students being shamed over issues of race and racism” were near the bottom.

“In addition to focusing on things that voters see as the wrong priorities, I expect that Republicans will deepen their problems with suburban voters by identifying so closely with book banning and whitewashing the treatment of race in schools and society,” Garin said.

As DeSantis rolled out his latest plans last week to push Florida public universities to the right, he called universities’ diversity statements akin to “making people take a political oath.”

Days earlier, Trump presented an education agenda of his own in a scripted 4-minute, 33-second video. It attacked many of the same targets that have made DeSantis both an intensely disliked figure to national Democrats and a star of Republicans, many of them once Trump supporters.

After spending the past two years focused on the lie of a stolen 2020 election, Trump is playing catch-up, starting with education proposals. In his video, the former president called for cutting school funding for critical race theory as well as “inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.”

A long-exposure photograph shows Glenn Youngkin, the Republican nominee, campaigning for governor in Manassas, Va., Oct. 30, 2021.

Toxic fumes are released from burning train that derailed in Ohio

The train, which had been traveling from Madison, Illinois, to Conway, Pennsylvania, derailed at about 9 p.m. Friday in East Palestine. As of Monday afternoon, the fire appeared to still be burning, according to a spokesperson for the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 residents were asked to evacuate the area after the derailment, and DeWine issued an urgent evacuation notice Sunday night, addressing hundreds of residents who had declined to leave their homes within a 1-mile radius of where the cars were scattered. There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.

On Monday, the governor extended that evacuation order to include anyone in a 1-mile by 2-mile area surrounding East Palestine, which includes parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania. His office warned that the chemicals in the rail cars were “unstable and could potentially explode, causing deadly disbursement of shrapnel and toxic fumes.”

Firefighters worked to control the fire through the weekend, trying to keep the tanks cool and letting their contents burn off, as authorities warned that there could be an explosion.

Chief Keith A. Drabick, of the East Palestine Fire Department, said Saturday that the product that investigators were most worried about was vinyl chloride, a colorless and flammable gas that is toxic to people.

“The rail car that was carrying that is doing its job,” Drabick said. “The safety feature of that rail car is still functioning.”

But on Monday, officials with Norfolk Southern said that they planned to drain and “manually vent” some of the cars after their pressure-relief devices stopped working.

By CHRISTINE HAUSER and LIVIA ALBECK-RIPKA

Arail operator earlier this week released toxic fumes from several derailed train cars that they said were at risk of exploding in East Palestine, Ohio, after authorities ordered residents on both sides of the state’s border with Pennsylvania to evacuate to avoid a deadly threat.

The train derailed Friday night, with 50 of its 100 cars running off the tracks, igniting a fire that left much of the town in smoke and prompted repeated calls for evacuation.

“We are ordering you to leave,” Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio said Monday at a news conference. “This is a matter of life and death.”

He added that there was “grave danger” of inhaling fumes from chemicals produced by the release, which authorities identified as phosgene and hydrogen chloride. In high concen-

trations, both chemicals can cause severe and life-threatening respiratory issues.

The release of the fumes began late Monday afternoon and was “completed successfully,” Norfolk Southern, the rail operator, said in a statement Monday evening. The material was continuing to burn off, and was expected to “drain” for a number of hours, the operator said, adding that it would continue monitoring the air quality in the region together with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Images posted to social media appeared to show fire and a toxic plume of black smoke billowing above East Palestine, a village of less than 5,000 people that is about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Residents crammed into emergency shelters, authorities said, and schools were closed for the week, according to a statement posted to Facebook by the East Palestine City School District.

“This will be loud and visible,” the rail operator said. “Some of the material will burn off as it drains for a short number of hours.”

The venting plan was to involve five cars, at least one of which was carrying vinyl chloride, the company said. Pits and embankments were being prepared to catch the material, which will “then be remediated,” it said.

Drabick said at the news conference Monday that authorities would also shut down power in the area to add an “extra layer of safety.”

Officials from state and federal agencies have gathered at the site to investigate the cause of the derailment, work on the cleanup and monitor air quality. The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating, and Ohio’s highway patrol and its emergency management and environmental protection agencies had personnel at the scene as well. The governor deployed the Ohio National Guard.

A plume of smoke rises from the derailed trains in East Palestine, Ohio, on Monday.

Staring down bankruptcy, Bed Bath & Beyond says it will sell stock

“If suddenly a golden goose has appeared on your doorstep and starts laying golden eggs — and you decide, well, I just don’t believe in golden geese, and I’m just going to ignore these geese and eggs on my doorstep — I’m not sure that’s the right call,” said Eric Talley, a professor of finance at Columbia Law School.

Bed Bath & Beyond did not immediately respond to a request for comment beyond its announcement. Even borrowed time leaves questions about how Bed Bath & Beyond might ascertain a strategy to turn its core business around. At its peak in 2013, Bed Bath & Beyond had more than 1,500 stores and a market value of about $17 billion. It now has fewer than 800 stores. Its home-goods emporiums full of towels and kitchen aids — all available at a reduced price with that big blue coupon — were beacons that kept shoppers coming back.

Bed Bath & Beyond’s inventory levels had dropped to less than half by the end of December, according to the research firm DataWeave, a signal that the brands that sell to the store have been pulling back, fearful that they might never be paid for the products they had sent it.

By LAUREN HIRSCH and JORDYN HOLMAN

Bed Bath & Beyond, the struggling home goods retailer, announced plans for a public offering earlier this week, a move that it hopes will allow it to pay off its debts and possibly stave off bankruptcy.

Early last month, Bed Bath & Beyond warned investors that bankruptcy was a possible option, if it could not otherwise raise money after a disappointing holiday season. It said that its sales in the run-up to Black Friday were a third what they were in 2021.

The retailer said Monday that it had plans to raise a little more than $1 billion in equity offerings, alongside tapping $100 million from its credit line, to repay outstanding loans. It already has investor commitment to buy those funds, a person familiar with the situation said.

The move is expected to be enough for Bed Bath & Beyond to make payments on its debt and fund its business operations so it won’t have to imminently file for bankruptcy, that person said. At certain points in the past few weeks, it was unclear whether the retailer would be able to do so.

Last February, Bed Bath & Beyond had about 32,000 employees. It has since gone through several rounds of layoffs. In August, the company announced an aggressive restructuring plan, saying that it would close 150 stores and lay off more workers.

Bed Bath & Beyond in August secured $500 million in new financing, including a $375 million loan from the investment firm Sixth Street and an expanded debt facility led by JPMorgan Chase. The retailer disclosed last month that JPMorgan had informed Bed Bath & Beyond that it had defaulted on its debt.

At the same time, the retailer has become a favorite of meme stock traders, retail investors who bid up the shares of undervalued companies. On Monday its stock surged nearly 100%, giving it a market value of around $690 million. Its stock has swung wildly in the past few weeks as traders placed bets on its fortunes.

The equity offering, which has been tried by other ailing meme stock favorites, like AMC Theaters, is legal, securities experts said. The risk is that by the time Bed Bath & Beyond issues its shares, which could take days, its stock could drop further, meaning the company might need to issue more shares and further dilute its current shareholders, said Reena Aggarwal, a professor of finance at Georgetown University. But even that option might be viewed as a positive alternative to bankruptcy by shareholders, who are last to be paid out in any filing.

Some experts even argued that it was in the company’s duties to take advantage of the frenzied trading, even if Bed Bath & Beyond’s stock price is not, by any traditional measure, justified by current business fundamentals.

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At this school, computer science class now includes critiquing chatbots

By NATASHA SINGER

Marisa Shuman’s computer science class at the Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx in New York City began as usual on a recent January morning.

Just after 11:30, energetic 11th and 12th graders bounded into the classroom, settled down at communal study tables and pulled out their laptops. Then they turned to the front of the room, eyeing a whiteboard where Shuman had posted a question on wearable technology, the topic of that day’s class.

For the first time in her decadelong teaching career, Shuman had not written any of the lesson plan. She had generated the class material using ChatGPT, a new chatbot that relies on artificial intelligence to deliver written responses to questions in clear prose. Shuman was using the algorithm-generated lesson to examine the chatbot’s potential usefulness and pitfalls with her students.

“I don’t care if you learn anything about wearable technology today,” Shuman said to her students. “We are evaluating ChatGPT. Your goal is to identify whether the lesson is effective or ineffective.”

Across the United States, universities and school districts are scrambling to get a handle on new chatbots that can generate humanlike texts and images. But while many are rushing to ban ChatGPT to try to prevent its use as a cheating aid, teachers such as Shuman are leveraging the innovations to spur more critical classroom thinking. They are encouraging their students to question the hype around rapidly evolving AI tools and consider the technologies’ potential side effects.

The aim, these educators say, is to train the next generation of technology creators and consumers in “critical computing.” That is an analytical approach in which understanding how to critique computer algorithms is as important as — or more important than — knowing how to program computers.

New York City Public Schools, the nation’s largest dis-

Andeno Co

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trict, serving about 900,000 students, is training a cohort of computer science teachers to help their students identify AI biases and potential risks. Lessons include discussions on defective facial recognition algorithms that can be much more accurate in identifying white faces than darker-skinned faces.

In Illinois, Florida, New York and Virginia, some middle school science and humanities teachers are using an AI literacy curriculum developed by researchers at the Scheller Teacher Education Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. One lesson asks students to consider the ethics of powerful AI systems, known as “generative adversarial networks,” that can be used to produce fake media content, such as realistic videos in which well-known politicians mouth phrases they never actually said.

With generative AI technologies proliferating, educators and researchers say understanding such computer algorithms is a crucial skill that students will need to navigate daily life and participate in civics and society.

To observe how some educators are encouraging their students to scrutinize AI technologies, I recently spent two days visiting classes at the Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx, a public middle and high school for girls that is at the forefront of this trend.

The hulking, beige-brick school specializes in math, science and technology. It serves nearly 550 students, most of them Latina or Black.

It is by no means a typical public school. Teachers are encouraged to help their students become, as the school’s website puts it, “innovative” young women with the skills to complete college and “influence public attitudes, policies

and laws to create a more socially just society.” The school also has an enviable four-year high school graduation rate of 98%, significantly higher than the average for New York City high schools.

As part of Shuman’s lesson, the 11th and 12th graders read news articles about how ChatGPT could be both useful and errorprone. They also read social media posts about how the chatbot could be prompted to generate texts promoting hate and violence.

But the students could not try ChatGPT in class themselves. The school district has blocked it over concerns that it could be used for cheating. So, the students asked Shuman to use the chatbot to create a lesson for the class as an experiment.

Shuman spent hours at home prompting the system to generate a lesson on wearable technology such as smartwatches. In response to her specific requests, ChatGPT produced a remarkably detailed 30-minute lesson plan — complete with a warmup discussion, readings on wearable technology, in-class exercises and a wrapup discussion.

As the class period began, Shuman asked the students to spend 20 minutes following the scripted lesson, as if it were a real class on wearable technology. Then they would analyze ChatGPT’s effectiveness as a simulated teacher.

Huddled in small groups, students read aloud information the bot had generated on the conveniences, health benefits, brand names and market value of smartwatches and fitness trackers. There were groans as students read out ChatGPT’s anodyne sentences — “Examples of smart glasses include Google Glass Enterprise 2” — that they said sounded like marketing copy or rave product reviews.

“It reminded me of fourth grade,” said Jayda Arias, 18. “It was very bland.”

The class found the lesson stultifying compared with those by Shuman, a charismatic teacher who creates course materials for her specific students, asks them provocative questions and comes up with relevant, real-world examples on the fly.

“The only effective part of this lesson is that it’s straightforward,” Alexania Echevarria, 17, said of the ChatGPT material.

“ChatGPT seems to love wearable technology,” noted Alia Goddess Burke, 17, another student. “It’s biased!”

Shuman was offering a lesson that went beyond learning to identify AI bias. She was using ChatGPT to give her pupils a message that AI was not inevitable and that the young women had the insights to challenge it.

“Should your teachers be using ChatGPT?,” Shuman asked toward the end of the lesson.

The students’ answer was a resounding “No!” At least for now.

Marisa Shuman with students at the Young Women’s Leadership School of the Bronx, in New York, Jan. 19, 2023. Shuman generated a lesson plan using ChatGPT, the new chatbot that can create clear prose using artificial intelligence, to examine its potential usefulness and pitfalls and to get her students to evaluate its effectiveness and think critically about artificial intelligence.

Stocks climb, dollar and U.S. Treasury yields fall as Powell speaks

Stocks gave back some of this year’s gains, with traders waiting to see if Jerome Powell will dampen the bullish reaction to his recent remarks amid bets the Federal Reserve will keep its firm grip on policy.

As equities came off overbought levels, Treasuries took a hit following the best start to a year for cross-asset returns since 1987. The Fed’s boss will have an opportunity in an interview Tuesday to remind Wall Street that bets on rate cuts in 2023 are probably misplaced. Fed funds futures show another 25 basis-point hike in March as a nearly done deal, while pegging a 75 per cent chance of another one in May. The odds for a June hike have also risen.

“Fed Chair Powell remains a big wild card every time he speaks,” said Chris Senyek at Wolfe Research. “Investors will be looking to see if he ‘walks back’ his very dovish tone from last Wednesday, particularly with respect to financial conditions and the U.S. ‘disinflationary process.’ We still believe that the Fed will be ‘higher for longer’.”

Fed Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said January’s strong jobs report raises the possibility that the central bank will need to increase interest rates to a higher peak than policymakers had previously expected.

Geopolitical concerns also simmered on the background, with the U.S. preparing to impose a 200 per cent tariff on Russian-made aluminum and U.S.-listed Chinese shares tumbling as Washington’s move to shoot down an alleged surveillance balloon from the Asian nation.

A rout in megacaps like Apple Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Google’s parent Alphabet Inc., which reported results last week, weighed on sentiment. The group’s reality check came after the Nasdaq 100 approached bull-market territory. Investors will continue to focus on earnings to figure out whether the recent rally was a “bear trap” driven by “fear of missing out,” noted Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley.

“The major averages have become overbought after their strong January rallies,” said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak + Co. “We are not trying to say that any short-term pullback will be followed by another strong rally. In fact, we believe that a short-term pullback could — and probably will — turn into another leg lower in the bear market that began just over a year ago.”

JPMorgan Chase & Co. strategist Marko Kolanovic reiterated that stock investors should fade last week’s Fedinduced rally, arguing the U.S. economy’s disinflationary process could just be “transitory.”

The S&P 500 now accurately reflects signs of betterthan-expected economic growth and a drop in bond yields, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. strategists led by David Kostin. At the same time, higher valuations, lackluster corporate earnings and elevated interest rates mean there’s little room for the rally to extend, they said, a view that was broadly echoed by their counterpart at

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Morgan Stanley, Michael Wilson.

To Solita Marcelli at UBS Global Wealth Management, the risk-reward trade-off for equities doesn’t look appealing. She continues to recommend that equity investors position defensively and be prepared for additional volatility ahead.

“We remain bearish equities,” said Eric Johnston at

COMMODITIES CURRENCY

Cantor Fitzgerald. “There has been a dramatic change in sentiment and positioning which has gotten much more bullish, making this a tailwind for our bearish view. And while this dramatic change has happened, the outlook for earnings, the Fed, and multiples is unchanged. All of the stock being bought now will just create that much more supply on the way down.”

Now with the path for further monetary tightening in focus, bond investors still broadly expect U.S. inflation to ebb further. The so-called breakeven rate on five-year five-year forwards — a proxy for inflation expectations — slumped to 2.18 per cent on Friday from 2.31 per cent a week prior. It was little changed Monday.

Rescuers race against time as quake toll rises to 7,700

By SAFAK TIMUR, RAJA ABDULRAHIM and BEN HUBBARD

Time was running out Tuesday as thousands of rescue workers were digging through debris in freezing conditions in an increasingly desperate search for survivors, a day after an earthquake left at least 7,700 people dead in Turkey and Syria.

“The later people are found under the rubble, the worse the chances for survival get,” said Dr. Gerald Rockenschaub, a regional emergency director for the World Health Organization. The agency warned that the death toll from the 7.8-magnitude earthquake Monday, in a region already burdened by a war and refugee crisis, could increase by the thousands.

Here are key developments:

— President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on Tuesday declared a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces affected by the earthquake. “We are face to face with one of the biggest disasters ever

for our region,” he said in a nationally televised address from the capital, Ankara.

— The death toll in Turkey has risen to 5,894, Vice President Fuat Oktay said. He added that more than 8,000 people had been rescued from underneath the wreckage.

— In Syria, where more than a decade of civil war had already created a humanitarian crisis, at least 1,872 people are dead, according to the state Health Ministry and the White Helmets relief group. Thousands more were injured across the country. Many Syrian war refugees are also in the quake-stricken area of Turkey.

— Rescue efforts in Syria are complicated by the location of the quake zone, which includes government- and opposition-controlled lands. The only crossing between Syria and Turkey that is approved by the United Nations for transporting international aid into Syria is closed because of earthquake damage to surrounding roads, according to U.N. officials. Syria cannot receive direct aid from many coun-

tries because of sanctions against President Bashar Assad’s government.

— A significant fire has broken out among containers at Turkey’s Port of Iskenderun after the earthquake, A.P. MollerMaersk, one of the world’s largest shipping companies, said Tuesday. The Danish company had said Monday that all of its

operations at the port had been stopped.

— The earthquake is already one of the deadliest natural disasters this century. It was also one of the strongest ever recorded in Turkey, which sits on two fault lines that frequently cause earthquakes. One aftershock Monday almost rivaled the original temblor, reaching a magnitude of 7.5.

Moscow’s forces advance only a few hundred meters a week, UK says

By MARC SANTORA

As Russia makes slow, bloody gains in a renewed push to capture more of eastern Ukraine, it is pouring ever more conscripts and military supplies into the battle, Ukrainian officials say, although it remains far from clear that Moscow could mobilize enough forces to sustain a prolonged offensive.

The Ukrainian military said Tuesday that Russian forces were attacking in five different directions along the crescentshaped front line in the east, relying on masses of troops to try to overrun Ukrainian positions. The tactic has allowed Russia to make incremental gains in recent weeks and to slowly tighten a noose around the key Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, but at a cost of hundreds of dead and wounded soldiers each day, according to U.S. officials.

“The major threat is the quantity,” Serhiy Haidai, the Ukrainian governor of the eastern region of Luhansk, told Ukrainian television Tuesday. “It is a huge monster that is at war with us, and it owns immense resources — not endless, but still. There are

too many of them.”

He said the day before that a “full-scale offensive” could begin after Feb. 15, as the Kremlin strains to show progress around the one-year mark of its invasion.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has been warning that Moscow plans to mobilize as many as half a million more soldiers to sustain its campaign. That would be “in addition to the 300,000 mobilized in October 2022,” Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy intelligence chief, wrote in a lengthy statement released Monday night assessing the state of the war.

But Western intelligence officials have questioned whether President Vladimir Putin of Russia could quickly find hundreds of thousands more soldiers without triggering a greater domestic backlash. The Kremlin is already struggling to train and arm the soldiers it does have, military analysts have said.

Britain’s defense intelligence agency said Tuesday that Russia had been trying to launch “major offensive operations” since early last month, with the aim of capturing the rest of the Donetsk region, which includes Bakhmut. But it had “only managed

to gain several hundred meters of territory per week,” because of a lack of munitions and maneuver units, the agency said in its latest daily assessment of the war.

“It remains unlikely that Russia can build up the forces needed to substantially affect the outcome of the war within the coming weeks,” the agency concluded.

Tanks in a village near the front in eastern Ukraine on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2023.

Rescue workers atop the rubble of a collapsed building in Malatya, Turkey, on Monday night, Feb. 6, 2023. A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Turkey and Syria early Monday.

By EMMA BUBOLA

AChinese balloon floated over Latin America and the Caribbean, the Chinese government confirmed Monday, adding that it was for civilian purposes and was being used for flight tests.

“Affected by the weather and with limited self-steering capability, the airship deviated far from its planned course and entered into the airspace of Latin America and the Caribbean,” a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry, Mao Ning, said at a news conference Monday.

On Friday morning, before the United States shot down a Chinese spy balloon that had spent the last week traversing the country, the Colombian National Air Defense System detected an object that had entered the northern part of the country’s airspace, the Colombian air force said in a statement.

Officials determined that the object had “characteristics similar to those of a balloon” and that it was flying at an altitude of over 55,000 feet and moving at an average speed of 25 knots.

On Saturday, the United States confirmed that a balloon was observed transiting Central and South America, and said that it was another Chinese surveillance

balloon.

“These balloons are all part of a PRC fleet of balloons developed to conduct

surveillance operations, which have also violated the sovereignty of other countries,” Brig. Gen. Patrick S. Ryder, the Pen-

tagon’s press secretary, told reporters, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

The Colombian air force said it had tracked the object until it left the country’s airspace, adding that officials determined it did not pose a threat to national security and were investigating its origin.

On Sunday, the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, referring to the U.S. decision to shoot down the balloon Friday, said the government “rejects the attack by the United States against a civilian unmanned aircraft of Chinese origin.” In a statement, the Venezuelan government said: “Once again, the United States resorts to the use of force, instead of treating this situation with the seriousness and responsibility that the case deserves.”

President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela has recently proposed establishing a new international bloc of Latin American and Caribbean countries and referred to Presidents Xi Jinping of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia as each being an “older brother.”

Mao said the Chinese government had informed relevant officials in other nations about the balloon flying over Latin America and that “they have expressed their understanding.”

The United States, Mao said, had “a clear overreaction.”

Another Chinese balloon flew over Latin America, China confirms Zelenskyy may attend EU summit in Brussels on Thursday

By MATINA STEVIS-GRIDNEFF

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine could visit Brussels on Thursday to meet with European Union leaders arriving in the Belgian capital for a longplanned summit.

As part of such a visit, Zelenskyy would likely address the European Parliament on Thursday, according to an email from the parliament’s secretary-general to European lawmakers that was reviewed by the New York Times. Zelenskyy’s possible presence, which hinges on security arrangements, was reported earlier by the Financial Times.

Charles Michel, the president of the European Council of member nation leaders, invited Zelenskyy to participate in person at “a future summit.” The invitation was announced in a Twitter post from a spokesperson for Michel, who did not specify any details of the invitation or its timing.

Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on a state news broadcast Monday night that his department was working on a number of possible visits by Zelenskyy, “but when and where they will take place, you will find out from the president himself and from his office,” accord-

ing to the Ukrinform news agency.

A visit this week, if it happens, would be the Ukrainian leader’s second known trip outside his country since Russia invaded nearly a year ago. In December, Zelenskyy visited Washington to meet with President Joe Biden and deliver an emotional plea to Congress.

Last month, Ukraine received more heavy military aid from the United States, as well as the promise of Abrams tanks.

Zelenskyy’s mission to Brussels would be a little different. As he did during visit by top EU brass to Kyiv last week, Zelenskyy would most likely be trying to shore up political support as the EU deals with the economic fallout of the war and the cost of hosting more than 4 million Ukrainian refugees.

European nations have largely closed ranks behind Ukraine, in some cases at great cost to their economies, including by severing their energy links to Russia. They have also dealt with the fallout of ratcheting up the economic costs of the war for the Kremlin through sanctions — while Zelenskyy has been pushing for more, and better enforced, economic penalties for Moscow.

Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in June, but

the recent visit by European leaders to Kyiv underscored that it is unlikely to be admitted to the club soon. Zelenskyy’s request for an expedited process has also fallen flat.

Still, Zelensky needs EU funding to keep his embattled country running and avoid a default on its debts. And his country will need enormous sums of funding to ultimately rebuild.

A Chinese balloon floating off the coast of South Carolina before being shot down by an American fighter jet on Saturday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine at a meeting with to European Union leaders in Kyiv on Friday.

Outnumbered and worn out, Ukrainians in east brace for Russian assault

By MICHAEL SCHWIRTZ

In a tiny village in eastern Ukraine at the epicenter of the next phase of the war, Lyudmila Degtyaryova measures the Russian advance by listening to the boom of incoming artillery shells.

There are more and more of them now. And they are coming more frequently, as Russian troops grind their way forward.

“You should see the fireworks here,” said Degtyaryova, 61, as the sounds of artillery howled all around. “It is like New Year’s.”

Russia’s military is preparing to launch a new offensive that could soon swallow Degtyaryova’s village of Nevske, and perhaps much more in the eastern Ukrainian region known as the Donbas. But already the impact of Russia’s stepped-up assault is being felt in the towns and villages along the hundreds of miles of undulating eastern front.

Exhausted Ukrainian troops complain they are already outnumbered and outgunned, even before Russia has committed the bulk of its roughly 200,000 newly mobilized soldiers. And doctors at hospitals speak of mounting losses as they struggle to care for fighters with gruesome injuries.

The civilians standing in the way of Russia’s planned advance once again face the agonizing decision of whether to leave or to stay and wait out the coming calamity. This area in the northern Donbas was among the last to be liberated in a Ukrainian blitz offensive last fall that raised hopes among local residents that their months of trauma were over.

But the war has come back. Two weeks ago, a Russian shell landed in Degtyaryova’s yard, and as she contemplated her future over the weekend, the remains of her barn still smoldered.

She has rabbits, ducks and three pregnant cows to care for. A chicken, its feathers partly burned off in the recent strike, lay recovering in a bed of hay, its small injured foot in a homemade cast.

If the Russians come back, she lamented, she’ll have to flee.

“I’ve started to pack my things, if I’m being honest,” she said. “The soldiers will cover my back and I will leave. I’ll let my

cows out and I’ll go. I don’t want to go back there.”

When and where the new offensive will begin in earnest is still unclear, but Ukrainian officials are gravely concerned. Ukraine’s military defied dire assessments before the war, thwarting Russia’s early efforts to seize the capital, Kyiv, and eventually driving Russian forces back in the northeast and south.

But the Russian military just keeps coming. Right now, the newly mobilized troops are finishing their training and entering the field; the forces include as many soldiers as took part in the initial invasion last year.

They could be ready to fight in as little as two weeks, said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, which includes Nevske — much sooner than new Western weapons, including tanks and heavy armored fighting vehicles, are expected to arrive in Ukraine.

“There are so many,” Haidai said of the new recruits. “These are not professional soldiers, but it is still 200,000 people who are shooting in our direction.”

Russia is expected to punch hard, looking to reverse nearly a year of cascading failure. While a renewed attack on Kyiv is now considered improbable, Russian forces will likely try to recover terri-

tories they lost last fall. as well as take full control of the Donbas, a key objective of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Military analysts say that one likely scenario would be for Russian forces to swing down from the north and up from the south in an arc, creating a large claw that would cut off Ukrainian supply lines running east and west. That would put villages like Nevske in the direct path of Russia’s likely advance.

For locals it would be a disaster. Out here at the far edge of Ukraine’s offensive, people have not experienced the fruits of liberation the way Ukrainians farther west have. There is still no power or water and the fighting has never subsided. Fields of black unharvested sunflowers are pocked with snow-filled craters, and the area is littered with burned-out tanks and unexploded ordnance and mines that frequently kill livestock. Passing through the region, one occasionally comes across their frozen bodies or bones.

The first stages of the Russian offensive have already begun. Ukrainian troops say that Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian city that Russian forces have been trying to seize since the summer, is likely to fall soon. Elsewhere, Russian forces are advancing in small groups and probing the front lines looking for Ukrainian weaknesses.

The efforts are already straining Ukraine’s military, which is worn out by nearly 12 months of heavy fighting.

Troops say they have tanks and artillery pieces, but not enough of either, and have far less ammunition than their adversaries. Russian forces have also started to field more sophisticated weaponry, such as the T-90 tank, which is equipped with technology capable of detecting the targeting systems of antitank weapons like the U.S-made Javelins, limiting their effectiveness.

Mostly, though, the challenge comes down to numbers.

“It’s particularly difficult when you have 50 guys and they have 300,” said a 35-year-old infantry soldier named Pavlo, who was struck in the eye with a piece of shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade near Bakhmut. “You take them out and they keep coming and coming. There are so many.”

Losses among Ukrainian forces have been severe. Troops in a volunteer contingent called the Carpathian Sich, positioned near Nevske, said that some 30 fighters from their group had died in recent weeks, and soldiers said, only partly in jest, that just about everyone has a concussion.

“It’s winter and the positions are open; there’s nowhere to hide,” said a soldier from the unit with the call sign Rusin.

At one front-line hospital in the Donbas, the morgue was packed with the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers in white plastic bags. In another hospital, stretchers with wounded troops covered in gold foil thermal blankets crowded the corridors, and a steady stream of ambulances arrived from the front nearly all day long.

A military surgeon at that hospital, Myroslav Dubenko, 36, scrolled through photographs of soldiers with ghastly injuries: a lower jaw blasted off, half of a face missing. One soldier was rushed in with his throat sliced open from ear to ear. Dubenko was able to quickly repair the damage, and the soldier survived.

“In civilian life, you know that no matter how horrible your shift is, it will end sooner or later,” Dubenko said. “Here, you never know when it will end.”

A team of doctors from a frontline stabilization point in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine bandage the hand of a civilian named Serhii, who was hit by shrapnel while collecting wood on Friday, Sept. 3, 2023.

How Russia is surviving the tightening grip on its oil revenue

By ANATOLY KURMANAEV and STANLEY REED

Shunned by the West, Russia was able last year to redirect its potent oil exports to Asia, marshal a fleet of tankers unencumbered by Western penalties and adapt evasion schemes perfected previously by its allies Iran and Venezuela.

The strategy worked: President Vladimir Putin not only retained but increased money from energy exports, according to official data, and may have brought in more cash, collected in the shadows of the oil trade, that could be helping the war effort.

But it’s not clear if Russia can keep outmaneuvering efforts to throttle oil revenue. There are signs that Western controls that took effect in December — an embargo on most sales to Europe, and the Group of 7 nations’ price cap on Russian crude sold to other nations — are beginning to have a deep impact on energy earnings.

And another round of sanctions to slash Russia’s war chest began Sunday, when the European Union’s embargo on Russian diesel, gasoline and other refined oil products took effect. Like the crude oil sanctions, it is accompanied by Group of 7 price caps on Russian diesel and other oil products sold elsewhere.

The gradual ratcheting up of oil sanctions, which are designed to cut Russia’s oil export revenues without snuffing out a fragile global pandemic recovery, is a policy that analysts say could take years to bear fruit.

“Sanctions, in general, are more like a marathon than a sprint,” said Edward Fishman, a former State Department sanctions official. “Now that these sanctions are in place on Russia’s oil sector, I think you have got to assume they are a permanent fixture of the market.”

A year since the start of the war, Russia has been able to keep its oil flowing.

For all of 2022, Russia managed to increase its oil output 2% and boost oil export earnings 20%, to $218 billion, according to estimates from the Russian government and the International Energy Agency, a group representing the world’s main energy consumers. Russia’s earnings were helped by an overall rise in oil prices after the start of the war and by growing demand after pandemic lockdowns; those trends also benefited Western oil giants such as Exxon Mobil and Shell, which reported record profits for 2022. Russia also raked in $138 billion from natural gas, a nearly 80% rise over 2021 as

record prices offset cuts in flows to Europe.

Export volumes of Russia’s main type of crude have also recovered after a dip in December caused by the imposition of the Group of 7 price cap and a Western embargo on seaborne Russian crude, according to the IEA.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund said that the oil price cap, currently $60 per barrel, was unlikely to affect Russian oil export volumes, and that it expected the Russian economy would grow 0.3% this year after shrinking 2.2% in 2022. That projection beats the fund’s forecasts for the British and German economies.

Russia has blunted the impact of Western measures by redirecting crude exports to China, India and Turkey, exploiting its access to oil ports on three different seas, extensive pipelines, a large fleet of tankers and a sizable domestic capital market that is shielded from Western sanctions.

In the process, the Kremlin was able to reengineer, in months, decadelong global oil trade patterns. Russia’s oil exports to India, for example, have grown sixteenfold since the start of the war, averaging 1.6 million barrels per day in December, according to the IEA.

“Russia remains a formidable force on the global energy market,” said Sergey Vakulenko, an energy scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a research group in Washington. “Opposing such a major player is not easy at all, and won’t happen in a day.”

Even as Russia continues producing about 10 million barrels of oil per day — making it the world’s third-largest producer, after the United States and Saudi Arabia — the European oil ban and price cap adopted Dec. 5 have recently curtailed the money its treasury derives from exports. In December,

Russian oil export revenues were $12.6 billion, nearly $4 billion less than a year earlier, according to the IEA estimates.

That’s largely because Russian oil companies have to offer increasingly large discounts to a shrinking pool of buyers.

The trend appears to be persisting. The Russian government’s revenue from oil and gas production and exports fell in January by 46% from the same month last year, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The difference between the prices of Brent, a global oil benchmark, and Urals, the main type of exported Russian crude, widened to about $40 per barrel in January, according to energy-data company Argus Media. That gap was just a few dollars before the war.

The Russian Finance Ministry has acknowledged the drop in oil revenues, saying last week that the average price of Urals in January was $49.50 a barrel, nearly half its price a year earlier. The ministry uses the Urals price to calculate its tax take from oil exports.

“The windfall income will decline, and volumes of their receipts will become less predictable,” the Finance Ministry said in a budget forecast late last year.

To supporters of Russian oil sanctions, the Kremlin’s ability to keep selling oil for less money is the intended outcome of the price cap. The idea is to avoid a shortage that could force prices up.

“So far, so good,” said Fishman. Some oil experts say, however, that the steep discounts for Russian oil could partly be an illusion.

Using customs data from India, Vakulenko showed that local importers of Russian crude paid almost the same price as Brent crude. A New York Times analysis of the same data produced similar results.

The explanation, Vakulenko suggested, is that at least part of the large discount on the quoted Urals price had been pocketed by Russian exporters and intermediaries, who then charged a higher price to the buyers in India.

This revenue will not accrue directly to the Russian government in taxes, said Tatiana Mitrova, a Russian oil expert at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. But because the Russian exporters probably have close ties to the Kremlin, some of money might still support the war effort, she said.

“It’s a complete black box of funds,” she said.

Experts agree that in the longer term, the future of Russian oil revenues will be decided by global economic forces beyond the control of Western sanctions enforcers and Russian evaders.

They say global oil prices will remain the single biggest determinant of how much money the Kremlin will collect from a barrel of exported crude, despite the growing opacity of its trade.

And the fate of that price rests, to a large extent, on Russia’s ally China, whose economy is just beginning to emerge from years of strict COVID-19 restrictions. In December, China’s imports of crude oil hit a record of 16.3 million barrels a day, according to estimates by Kpler, a firm that tracks energy shipping. If the trend continues, it will strain global oil supplies and benefit the Kremlin.

Adding to the upward pressure on oil prices, OPEC+, an alliance of Russia and OPEC, said Wednesday that it would maintain last year’s restrictive output targets, which could strain oil supplies if demand grows.

After a year of preparations, Russia seems able to absorb the immediate impact of Western oil sanctions on production, said Felix Todd, an analyst at Argus Media. Experts say Russia can plug any oil funding gaps in the next few years by using its National Wealth Fund, which it has amassed from past windfall energy profits and is worth about $150 billion.

The Russian government has also shielded its defense and social spending from budget cuts, meaning that even a drastic decline in oil revenues will not hurt its war effort for the foreseeable future, said Alexandra Prokopenko, a Russian economic analyst and former adviser at the Russian central bank.

“Putin has plenty of money to keep fighting,” she said.

An oil tanker in Novorossiysk, Russia, in October. Russia is facing a gradual ratcheting up of Western oil sanctions.

Inclusive or alienating? The language wars go on.

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

Before the millions of views, the subsequent ridicule and finally the earnest apology, The Associated Press Stylebook practically oozed good intentions in its tweet last week:

“We recommend avoiding general and often dehumanizing ‘the’ labels such as the poor, the mentally ill, the French, the disabled, the college educated.”

“The French”?

Zut alors! The result was a wave of mocking conjecture of how to refer sensitively to, er, people of French persuasion. The French Embassy in the United States proposed changing its name to “the Embassy of Frenchness.”

The AP Stylebook deleted its tweet, citing “an inappropriate reference to French people.” But it doubled down in recommending that people avoid general terms with “the,” such as “the poor, the mentally ill, the wealthy, the disabled, the college-educated.”

It’s not obvious to me that “the college-educated” is a label that dehumanizes people. I’m guessing George Santos wishes he were included in that category.

The flap over the French underscores the ongoing project to revise terminology in ways that are meant to be more inclusive — but which I fear are counterproductive and end up inviting mockery and empowering the right.

Latino to Latinx. Women to people with uteruses. Homeless to houseless. LGBT to LGBTQIA2S+.

Breastfeeding to chestfeeding. Asian American to AAPI. Ex-felon to returning citizen. Pro-choice to pro-decision. I inhabit the world of words, and even I’m a bit dizzy.

As for my friends who are homeless, what they yearn for isn’t to be called houseless; they want housing.

Rep. Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., who identifies as AfroLatino, noted that a Pew survey found that only 3% of Hispanics themselves use the term Latinx.

“I have no personal objection to the term ‘Latinx’ and will use the term myself before an audience that prefers it,” Torres told me. “But it’s worth asking if the widespread use of the term ‘Latinx’ in both government and corporate America reflects the agenda-setting power of white leftists rather than the actual preferences of working-class Latinos.”

Similarly, terms like BIPOC — for Black, Indigenous and People of Color — seem to be employed primarily by white liberals. A national poll for The New York Times found that white Democrats were more than twice as likely to feel “very favorable” toward the term as nonwhite people.

A legitimate concern for transgender men who have uteruses has also led to linguistic gymnastics to avoid the word “women.” In an effort to be inclusive, the American Cancer Society recommends cancer screenings for “individuals with a cervix,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers guidance “for breastfeeding

people,” and Cleveland Clinic offers advice for “people who menstruate.”

The aim is to avoid dehumanizing anyone. But some women feel dehumanized when referred to as “birthing people,” or when The Lancet medical journal had a cover about “bodies with vaginas.”

The American Medical Association put out a 54-page guide on language as a way to address social problems — oops, it suggests instead using the “equity-focused” term “social injustice.” The AMA objects to referring to “vulnerable” groups and “underrepresented minority” and instead advises alternatives such as “oppressed” and “historically minoritized.”

Hmm. If the AMA actually cared about “equityfocused” outcomes in the United States, it could simply end its opposition to single-payer health care.

Dr. Irwin Redlener, president emeritus of the Children’s Health Fund and a lifelong champion of vulnerable children, told me that the linguistic efforts reflect “liberals going overboard to create definitions and divisions” — and he, like me, is a liberal.

“It actually exacerbates divisions rather than accomplishing something useful,” Redlener said, and I think he’s right.

I’m all for being inclusive in our language, and I try to avoid language that is stigmatizing. But I worry that this linguistic campaign has gone too far, for three reasons.

First, much of this effort seems to me performative rather than substantive. Instead of a spur to action, it seems a substitute for it.

After all, it’s the blue cities on the West Coast, where those on the streets are often sensitively described as “people experiencing homelessness,” that have some of the highest rates of unsheltered homelessness. How about worrying less about jargon and more about zoning and other evidence-based policies that actually get people into housing?

Second, problems are easier to solve when we use clear, incisive language. The AMA style guide’s recommendations for discussing health are instead a wordy model of obfuscation, cant and sloppy analysis.

Third, while this new terminology is meant to be inclusive, it bewilders and alienates millions of Americans. It creates an in-group of educated elites fluent in terms like BIPOC and AAPI and a larger outgroup of baffled and offended voters, expanding the gulf between well-educated liberals and the 62% majority of Americans who lack a bachelor’s degree — which is why Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have seized upon all things woke.

DeSantis, who boasts that he will oust the “woke mob,” strikes me as a prime beneficiary when, say, the Cleveland Clinic explains anatomy like this: “Who has a vagina? People who are assigned female at birth (AFAB) have vaginas.”

So I fear that our linguistic contortions, however well-

meant, aren’t actually addressing our country’s desperate inequities or achieving progressive dreams, but rather are creating fuel for right-wing leaders aiming to take the country in the opposite direction.

POR CYBERNEWS

F AJARDO – El gobernador Pedro Rafael Pierluisi Urrutia insistió el martes, en que su administración no ha emitido órdenes para despedir a funcionarios públicos que respalden “a otras candidatas”, como lo denunció la comisionada residente Jenniffer González Colón.

“Ah Bueno, yo no opino sobre la gestión legislativa. Los legisladores tienen el derecho de fiscalizar a la rama ejecutiva, lo deben hacer con razonabilidad y prudencia. En cuantpo a esa situación, yo no tengo los pormenores”, dijo el gobernador a preguntas de la prensa.

“Lo que sí, y lo voy a reiterar, yo dirijo la rama ejecutiva y aquí no ha habido instrucción alguna de que aquí se esté castigando de forma alguna a personas por asuntos así, estrictamente político partidistas. Claro, sabemos que hay un personal de confianza de libre remoción que toiene que estar enfocado con la misión de nuestra admi-

nistración. Aquí no ha habido instrucción alguna de mi parte de estar castigando a servidores públicos por razón de que estén apoyando a un candidato o a una candidata a un partido u otro partido. Lo digo porque tengo que decirlo, en el caso de personal de confianza tienen que ser personas identificadas con la misión como el programa de gobierno de mi administración. Si se pierde la confianza sobre un funcionario a ese nivel es suficiente”, añadió.

Por su parte, la comisionada residente Jenniffer González Colón remitió una carta al presidente de la Comisión Anti-Corrupción e Integridad Pública de la Cámara de Representantes, Héctor Ferrer Santiago en la que solicitó mover de fecha la citación por compromisos fuera de la Isla. Expuso que sus fechas hábiles para asistir a vistas públicas podrían ser el jueves, 17 de febrero de 2023 o el viernes, 17 de febrero de 2023.

El pasado 28 de enero de 2023, González Colón acudió a una actividad política en una fin

ca en Las Marías junto al senador Thomas Rivera Shcatz, Gabriel Rodríguez Aguiló, entre otros presentes, y lanzó una advertencia a funcionarios de gobierno que le respaldan su campaña y denunció que éstos supuestamente recibieron amenazas por despedirlos si la apoyan políticamente.

Cámara de Representantes reconoce a la industria del cine

EL CAPITOLIO – En el marco del Día Mundial del Cine, la Cámara de Representantes reconoció el martes a una treintena de ilustres cineastas puertorriqueños en una concurrida ceremonia para celebrar la importante aportación cultural de esta industria en la isla.

La actividad fue convocada por la representante Jocelyne Rodríguez Negrón, autora del Proyecto de la Cámara 1589 que propone declarar el segundo sábado de cada febrero como el “Día del Cine Puertorriqueño”.

La medida forma parte del calendario de órdenes especiales del día y se espera que sea aprobada por el cuerpo legislativo durante los trabajos de la sesión ordinaria.

“Hoy vamos a estar reconociendo esta ardua labor y compromiso que tienen todos y cada uno de ustedes, un grupo de hombres y mujeres extraordinarios que le han dado gloria al cine puertorriqueño”, expresó Rodríguez Negrón, quien representa el Distrito 19 de Mayagüez y San Germán.

La legisladora aseguró que el pro-

yecto de ley no solo busca reconocer el esfuerzo que realizan todos los cineastas puertorriqueños para desarrollar esta industria en la isla, sino que tendrá el objetivo de obligar mayores recursos económicos para su máximo crecimiento.

Entre los invitados especiales del evento se encontraba el presidente del reconocido Puerto Rico Film Festival, Lester Rivé; Jacobo Morales; Blanca Eró; Elia Enid Cadilla; Rossie Acosta; Carlos Nido; José Artemio Torres, y una diversidad de otros.

En un mensaje especial, Rivé repasó la historia del cine en Puerto Rico que comenzó en 1912 cuando Rafael Colorado D’Assoy grabó la primera película titulada “Un drama en Puerto Rico”.

Asimismo, destacó que, durante los pasados cinco años, el cine nacional ha cobrado un sentido de terapia para los puertorriqueños tras las emergencias vividas por los huracanes, terremotos y la pandemia del COVID-19.

“A pesar de todos estos contratiempos, nuestra industria se sacudió y continuó hacia adelante. Puerto Rico ahora

mismo cuenta con los mejores profesionales en la industria, quienes día a día salen a la calle a dar el todo por el todo, y a poner el nombre de nuestra isla en alto con mucho sacrificio y pasión”, manifestó el director.

Por su parte, el distinguido Jacobo Morales, quien carga los sombreros de cineasta, actor, director de cine, poeta y animador, ofreció un mensaje acompañado de su esposa Blanca Eró en el cual elogió el trabajo de sus colegas cineastas que han continuado transformando la industria nacional.

“El cine puertorriqueño debe tener como punto de partida el convencimiento de que va mucho más allá del entretenimiento. El vínculo con nuestra cultura y nuestra identidad es indispensable para seguir abriendo campo en el mundo”, señaló Morales.

Los cineastas posteriormente fueron invitados a comparecer a las gradas del hemiciclo de la Cámara, donde podrán presenciar el momento en que el Proyecto 1589 será aprobado por el cuerpo legislativo. Posteriormente, la medida pasará a su aprobación en el Senado.

POR EL STAR STAFF

Gobernador reitera que no ordenó despedir a funcionarios públicos que respaldan a “otras candidatas”

Wednesday, February 8, 2023

The San Juan Daily Star

How the Grammys bring rebels into the fold

Start at the end, when Lil Uzi Vert stomped out onstage, his hair jelled into spikes, rapping his bizarro viral hit “Just Wanna Rock.” This is how hip-hop works now: An idiosyncratic stylist finds fervor online and builds a cult atop it, a mechanism that couldn’t be further from the Grammys stage.

And yet here he was, anchoring a 12-plus-minute feat of logistics and favorpulling (orchestrated by Questlove) featuring several titans who had previously never touched the Grammy stage. Rakim, never nominated for a Grammy, with a morsel of “Eric B. Is President.” Too Short, never nominated for a Grammy, plowing through “Blow the Whistle.” The Lox, only nominated for featuring on a Kanye West album, performing “We Gonna Make It,” a song reliably certain to ignite a Hot 97 Summer Jam in New York but not usually the purview of an industry gala.

year, the first Spanish-language album so honored.

The memorial segment included a tribute for Takeoff, the Migos rapper, from his groupmate Quavo, a saddening indicator of the Grammys’ growing acceptance of hip-hop. And in her acceptance speech for record of the year, Lizzo framed her unabashedly positive and joyful music as an act of rebellion that paid off.

And then there is the matter of Beyoncé, now the most decorated artist in Grammy history while still feeling like something of an outsider. Claiming that record didn’t quite overshadow her losses in the three major categories she was nominated in — to Bonnie Raitt (nice), Lizzo (sure, OK) and Harry Styles (errr … great rings, beautiful rings).

By JON CARAMANICA

Around midway through the 65th annual Grammy Awards on Sunday night, Madonna came out to introduce a performance by Sam Smith and Kim Petras of their theatrically Gothic collaboration, “Unholy.”

The track, a robust and cheeky song about infidelity with a playfully erotic video, went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October, making Smith and Petras the first nonbinary and transgender artist, respectively, to top the chart. (“Unholy” also won best pop duo/group performance Sunday.)

“Here’s what I’ve learned after four decades in music,” Madonna said dryly, riding crop in hand. “If they call you shocking, scandalous, troublesome, problematic, provocative or dangerous, you are definitely on to something.”

Madonna would know, of course: The first decade of her career, she was aggressively, provocatively and campily pushing the boundaries of pop feminism, religion and sexuality, becoming one of the signature superstars of the 1980s. The Grammys, naturally, all but ignored her. She didn’t win a trophy for one of her studio albums until “Ray of Light,” in 1999. To this day, she has never claimed a Grammy in one of the ma-

jor categories.

And yet here she was, a revered and often-imitated elder, now fully absorbed into the Grammys ritual of baton passing between icons old and new.

The Grammys, more than any of the other major award shows, needs these sorts of intergenerational handoffs to survive. Often it fudges them, by emphasizing and overcelebrating younger artists, like Bruno Mars and H.E.R., who make deeply traditional music.

But the story of pop music is far more often about the mainlining and then mainstreaming of frisky outsider ideas into broad palatability. Innovators and interlopers become the establishment. Those who emerged while pushing back fiercely against their elders eventually become elders.

For the Grammys to last for decades to come — if it even should, but that’s a debate for a different time — it needs to turn rebels into institutionalists.

Nowhere was this more clear Sunday night than in the elaborate and rousing hiphop history revue that anchored the broadcast — a performance that underscored the Grammys’ often-tortured relationship with newness and rebellion, to say nothing of pop music rebels’ often-tortured relationship with the Grammys.

Like all historical surveys, it was both impressively broad and woefully incomplete. Jay-Z was in the audience, not onstage. Drake and West didn’t attend (likely for very different reasons). Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj were MIA. The lineup also brought to mind boatloads of other legends who could have taken a star turn — Cam’ron, Lil’ Kim, UGK, KRS-One, E-40, Master P, Big Daddy Kane — to say nothing of the countless rappers who died before seeing the genre reach its 50th birthday.

Mostly it underscored the uncharitable ways in which hip-hop has been handled by the Grammys and the long-running resistance of hip-hop’s biggest stars to the show’s butter-finger approach to handling them. At the 1989 Grammys, the first to honor hip-hop with an award, several of the nominated artists boycotted because the category was not being televised. But some of those original boycotters, Salt-N-Pepa and DJ Jazzy Jeff, appeared during Sunday’s performance, more evidence of time healing all wounds.

In recent years, the Grammy Awards has ever so slightly sped up its relationship to pop music’s evolution. Opening the show this year was Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican rapper-singer whose 2022 release “Un Verano Sin Ti” was last year’s most streamed LP. It was also nominated for album of the

Beyoncé is a shadow traditionalist, but her short-straw-drawing at the Grammys has fashioned for her something of an outsider lore. She did not perform at this year’s event, and hasn’t for some time, a choice that feels pointed. It’s possible to be the most awarded artist in Grammys history and still be an anti-Grammys rebel.

This goes for her husband as well. JayZ boycotted the Grammys in 1999, but he has shown up from time to time in the years since, largely to support his wife. He’s won 24 Grammys to Beyoncé’s 32.

He was nominated five times this year, but more important, he was the key element in the show-closing performance of “God Did,” a signature DJ Khaled-orchestrated posse cut. What’s notable about this song isn’t that it was a hit — it was not — but that it features a dramatically long, boast-filled, conversation-starting Jay-Z verse.

Jay-Z rapped the whole thing, all four minutes of it, seated at the center of a Last Supper-style table, flanked by his longtime business associates Emory Jones and Juan Perez. He looked relaxed, unbothered, rapping like a benevolent uncle from whom you’re lucky to hear old war stories.

For someone who’s been vocally skeptical about the Grammys over many years, Jay-Z ended the show wholly on his terms, like the final move in a decadeslong chess game. An agitator finally ceded the throne.

Whether he — or Beyoncé — will ever deign to sit in it again remains to be seen.

A 12-minute revue of hip-hop history, a highlight of the Grammys on Sunday, featured a litany of artists who had never touched the awards’ stage before.

By JON PARELES

Astreak of otherworldliness ran all the way through David Crosby’s long, complicated life in music. It was in his voice, a reedy, quavering high tenor that could sound like he was pondering every line he sang. He was also happy to dissolve that voice, and the ego it implied, into shared vocal harmonies: with the Byrds, with Crosby, Stills & Nash (and Young) and with his 21st-century group, the Lighthouse Band.

There was otherworldliness, too, in the hovering harmonies he loved: the hypnotic modal patterns he picked on guitar and the ambiguous jazz chords that could lead in multiple directions. Although Crosby, who died Jan. 18 at 81, sometimes touched down in topical songwriting — a role he described as being a “town crier” — more often, his lyrics were full of what-ifs and reflections on time, consciousness and eternity.

In the 1960s, Crosby was a prime mover in the Los Angeles music scene that spun together folk, rock, country and psychedelia. He was a founding member and a secondary but innovative songwriter in the Byrds. He was an integral part of what became the Laurel Canyon coterie of songwriters in Los Angeles, and he also forged connections to psychedelic San Francisco.

Crosby’s personal life was calamitous enough in the 1970s and 1980s — cocaine and heroin addiction, jail time, medical cri-

David Crosby’s 15 essential songs

ses, financial ruin — for him to chronicle it in two older-but-wiser autobiographies: “Long Time Gone” and “Since Then: How I Survived Everything and Lived to Tell About It.” Throughout his career, close musical collaborations gave way to harsh acrimony.

But his music told different stories. Shaped by the upheavals of the 1960s, his songs held crosscurrents of freedom and disorientation, of seeking and disillusionment, of yearning and alienation, and, later, of seasoned reflection. In 2014, at 72, he restarted what turned out to be a prolific solo career with “Croz,” the first of five studio albums he released in the next seven years; there were live recordings, too. His voice, amazingly enough, held up for his final creative surge. It sounded gentle and selfless, humbled and purified by time.

Here, in chronological order, are 15 songs spanning David Crosby’s six-decade career.

The Byrds, ‘I See You’ (1966)

Is it a love song or a rush of hallucinations? Written by Crosby and Jim McGuinn (who would later rename himself Roger), “I See You” shows their shared interest in Indian music and John Coltrane’s jazz. They sing about “Warm sliding sun through the cave of your hair” over a galloping backbeat, with early hallmarks of Crosby’s songwriting: a modal drone in the verses, a meter shift to change things up.

The Byrds, ‘Everybody’s Been Burned’ (1967)

Crosby sings with bittersweet patience about the pain of love gone wrong, as drums tick along and guitars entwine. But there’s a twist; he’s actually talking himself into taking another chance.

The Byrds, ‘Mind Gardens’ (1967)

An artifact of psychedelia’s experimental heyday, “Mind Gardens” is a parable about protection and openness, with an Indian-tinged vocal line rising above a multitracked, drony web of guitar picking: acoustic and electric, picked and sustained, running forward and backward and completely reveling in disorientation.

The Byrds, ‘Triad’ (1968)

In one of the disputes that led to Crosby leaving the Byrds, the band recorded his taboo-testing song about a menage a trois — “Why can’t we go on as three?” it asked — but refused to include it on “The Notorious Byrd Brothers,” an album that marked the

Byrds’ turn toward country-rock. The song would emerge anyway: first with the Jefferson Airplane, later on “4 Way Street” by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

Crosby, Stills & Nash, ‘Long Time Gone’ (1969)

Written after the murder of Robert F. Kennedy, “Long Time Gone” seethes with bitter frustration, from its ominous organ chords to Stephen Stills’ gnarled guitar fills. There’s open desperation in Crosby’s voice as he exhorts, “Speak out against the madness / You’ve got to speak your mind if you dare.”

Crosby, Stills & Nash, ‘Wooden Ships’ (1969)

Crosby had a lifelong fondness for boats. Writing with Paul Kantner (of Jefferson Airplane) and Stills, in “Wooden Ships” he offered a grim but hopeful post-apocalyptic scenario. Survivors from opposite sides of a war, who don’t even know “who won,” share their meager supplies, deciding they can be “free and easy” on the water.

Crosby, Stills & Nash, ‘Guinnevere’ (1969)

“Guinnevere” was Crosby’s supreme enigma. The lyrics compare an unnamed “milady” to the adored but absent Guinnevere, who “drew pentagrams” on the wall and “had green eyes like yours.” Crosby, Stills and Graham Nash harmonize over two electric guitars picking modal chords, hinting at fleeting syncopations and suddenly declaring, “She shall be free.”

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ‘Almost Cut My Hair’ (1970)

Boomers can remember when the length of a man’s hair signified a political allegiance. While Stills and Neil Young set up a lead-guitar duel behind him, Crosby sings with his most intense near-rasp, feeling paranoia — “like lookin’ at my mirror and seeing a police car” — but deciding he was “letting my freak flag fly” anyway.

Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, ‘Déjà Vu’ (1970)

“Don’t you wonder what’s going on down under you?” the members of this supergroup harmonized at a key moment in this wonderfully complex musical and verbal construction. Guitars, harpsichord, drums, scat-singing and vocal harmonies ebb and flow through the song, all delivered as if it were simple and homespun.

David Crosby, ‘Laughing’ (1971)

In 1971, Crosby released his perfectly

atmospheric solo debut album, “If I Could Only Remember My Name,” backed by members of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, as well as Joni Mitchell, who joined the backup harmonies on this song. Crosby sings about a failed spiritual quest — finding “only reflections of a shadow that I saw” — and Jerry Garcia’s pedal steel guitar floats above him as he finds acceptance.

David Crosby, ‘Orleans’ (1971)

In this elaborate miniature, an eerie chorale of vocal harmonies carries the names of places in France, then guitar counterpoint takes over, sketching a melody just once before letting it fall away.

David Crosby, ‘Holding On to Nothing’ (2014)

There’s more than a hint of Crosby’s lifelong admiration for Mitchell in “Holding On to Nothing,” with its calmly strummed, eccentric chords and asymmetrical melody. From “Croz,” which was his return to making solo albums after 20 years, “Holding On to Nothing” meditates on time, longing, depression and persistence, feeling like “a stranger just passing through.”

David Crosby, ‘The Us Below’ (2016)

In a song from “Lighthouse,” the album that inaugurated Crosby’s years of collaboration with Michael League of Snarky Puppy, Crosby gazes at the vast distances between stars and wonders, “Why must we be eternally alone?” But gradually, layer by layer, guitar patterns and vocals waft in and interlock, suggesting that we’re not.

David Crosby, ‘Curved Air’ (2017)

Even in his last years, Crosby was trying new approaches. “Curved Air” — written with his son, James Raymond — is briskly percussive and rhythmically unpredictable, with flamencolike hand claps and a bass line that talks back to him. The lyrics wish for “a little traction here / A little solid ground,” yet as the melody hops around, Crosby is entirely sure-footed.

David Crosby, Michael League, Becca Stevens and Michelle Willis, ‘Balanced on a Pin’ (2018)

Written with the members of the Lighthouse Band, “Balanced on a Pin” contemplates fragility and mortality: “Landing’s the hardest part / The connection comes apart,” Crosby sings. For much of the song, his only accompaniment is the picking of a lone guitar, suspending his voice above the inevitability of silence.

David Crosby in 1974. Shaped by the upheavals of the 1960s, his songs held crosscurrents of freedom and disorientation, of yearning and alienation and, later, of seasoned reflection.

FASHION

Wednesday, March 4, 2020 20

Wednesday, February 8, 2023 22

By IRIS EDÉN SANTIAGO

’ve said it before. And I’ll say it again. Elie Saab is a never-ending source of fabulosity. Stunning. Mesmerizing. No amount of words will ever do justice to this man’s love affair with perfection. His attention to detail and the way he thinks, creates and reinvents silhouettes is unique. Utilizing beads, crystals, pearls and of course the best and most exquisite textiles, the masterful designer takes you places. His Spring Summer 2023 Haute Couture collection,

are sophisticated, regal, majestic and jawdropping gorgeous is nothing new. The Lebanese couturier has been delivering stunning evening gowns, bridal gowns and caftans for 40 years. Season after season. Always. It just is.

From the 69 couture gowns he presented this week, we especially liked the first group in tones of taupe, ivory, caramel and ecru. We loved the metallic piping around strategic cutouts, the asymmetrical bodices and the halter tops with supersize pussy bows. In fact, large pussy bows were seen in sheaths, columns and ball gowns. Also in formal attire for men.

“We used a lot of fabric in the collec tion. Satin is very present and personally, light fabric like tulle and lace that give volume and character to the dresses,” according to the Lebanese Maison. Saab added green, aqua, rose and cerulean blue to the color palette. Draped embroideries and subtle trans parencies add sensuality to the feminine creations. Some dresses were mod eled with opera coats and luxu rious capes embellished with Asian appliques and images like the naga dragon, crys tal rose lotus flowers, and koi fish.

With evening gowns as unforgettable as these, it comes as no surprise that best dressed women all over the globe wear his label. Among his clients, Queen Rania of Jordan, Nicole

Kidman, Angelina Jolie, Helen Mirren, Priyanka Chopra and Jennifer López.

Elie Saab established his brand in the early 1980s. He started out designing bridal couture. Saab is the first Lebanese to be admitted to the fashion industry’s governing body, Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Cou-

Elie Saab’s grand runway

Eyedrops linked to one death and vision loss among some are recalled

By AMANDA HOLPUCH

The manufacturer of a brand of over-the-counter eyedrops said that it was recalling the product, EzriCare Artificial Tears, after it was linked to a drug-resistant bacteria strain that has caused at least one person’s death and vision loss in five others.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised people to stop using the eyedrops, as the agency investigates an outbreak of a strain of the bacteria pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can cause infections in the blood, lungs and other parts of the body. This strain of the bacteria had never been identified in the United States before the current outbreak and is resistant to a class of antibiotics called carbapenems, which are generally considered a last resort.

The bacteria strain had been found in 55 people in 12 states as of last Tuesday, the CDC said. The agency said that the infections had caused one death, vision loss in five of 11 people who had eye infections, and some hospitalizations.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday night that the recall also included Delsam Pharma’s Artificial Tears, which are made by Global Pharma, the Indian company that manufactures the EzriCare eye drops. Global Pharma said that it was recalling the eye drops “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Global Pharma is fully cooperating with U.S. federal authorities, and is continuing to investigate this matter, but thus far we have not determined whether our manufacturing facility is the source of the contamination,” the company said in an emailed statement.

Most of the people affected by the outbreak used artificial tears before the infections, the CDC said. They had reported using more than 10 brands of artificial tears, and some patients used more than one, but EzriCare Artificial Tears is the most common brand, the agency said.

The CDC said that it had found the drug-resistant bacteria strain in opened bottles of the EzriCare eyedrops collected from patients with and without eye infections. The agency is testing unopened bottles to determine if contamination occurred during the manufacturing process.

The bacteria strain was found in people in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin between May and January, according to the CDC. Of those 55 cases, 35 were linked to four health care facility clusters, the agency said.

The CDC said that people who have used EzriCare Artificial Tears and who have signs of an eye infection should seek medical care immediately. The symptoms can include yellow, green or clear discharge from the eye, redness of the eye or eyelid, increased sensitivity to light and eye pain or discomfort.

Dr. Thomas L. Steinemann, a spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, said that people did not need to be “too terribly concerned” about using other types of eyedrops.

“We use them for tears, we use them for antibiotics, we use them to treat glaucoma.” Steinemann said. “We use eyedrop bottles every day, and I think for the vast majority of users of eyedrop bottles there’s no cause for alarm.”

Steinemann, an ophthalmologist at MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, noted that the CDC report said the EzriCare artificial tears were preservative-free, which means that, if contaminated, they do not have anything to prevent the growth of bacteria.

He said that doctors often recommend preservativefree artificial tears to patients if they are using them more than four times a day because preservatives can worsen eye irritation. He said that he had only ever heard of preservativefree eyedrops that were available in single-use vials that cannot be closed and used again later.

“That to me stuck out when I read the CDC report is that, at least for EzriCare, these products are dispensed in what we call multidose bottles, meaning that people are reusing the bottle,” Steinemann said. “But the bottle doesn’t have any preservatives, which I think might set the stage for either contamination or bacterial overgrowth in the bottle.”

When people use any type of eyedrops, Steinemann said, they should wash their hands, close the bottle after using it and not touch the tip, because that would risk making the drops not sterile. “Don’t touch the bottle to your eye or to your face or to your nose,” he said.

EzriCare, a drug company based in New Jersey, said in

a statement Wednesday that it did not manufacture the eyedrops and was involved only in designing the product’s label and in marketing it to customers.

EzriCare said that it was first told about the CDC investigation Jan. 20 and “immediately took action to stop any further distribution or sale of EzriCare Artificial Tears.” The company said it had also been trying to contact customers to tell them to stop using the eyedrops.

Public health officials have warned that more must be done globally to stem the spread of drug-resistant infections, which occur when bacteria and fungi evolve to outsmart the antibiotic and antifungal drugs that have been developed to destroy them. The more antibiotics and antifungal medicines are given to people and livestock, the more likely resistance will occur, health officials have said.

Nearly 30,000 people in the United States died in 2020 from drug-resistant infections, according to an analysis by the CDC, 15% more than in 2019. The increase was driven mostly by the coronavirus, which in the early days of the pandemic was a mystery to medical professionals. Many turned to antibiotics to try to treat the illness before vaccines and other treatments were available.

Each year, more than 700,000 people across the world die from drug-resistant infections. The United Nations warned in 2019 that, without concerted action, these infections could kill 10 million people annually by 2050 and trigger a global economic crisis.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the bacteria strain linked to EzriCare Artificial Tears had been found in 55 people in a dozen states as of last Tuesday.

LEGAL NOTICE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

LIME HOMES LTD.

Plaintiff V. ELIZABETH JAMESON HODGES SEYMOUR, FELIX DELGADO MEDINA AND THEIR CONYUGAL PARTNERSHIP

Defendants

Civil: 16-CV-3001. PAD. Re: FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE IN REM. NOTICE OF SALE.

TO: ELIZABETH JAMESON HODGES

SEYMOUR, FELIX DELGADO MEDINA AND THEIR CONYUGAL PARTNERSHIP, ANY OTHER PARTY WITH INTEREST OVER THE PROPERTY MENTIONED BELOW; GENERAL PUBLIC.

WHEREAS: Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff to recover from defendants the sum of $284,655.44 in principal, interest rate of 6.9140% per annum since September 1, 2015. Such interest will continue to accrue until the debt is paid in full. Also advances made under the mortgage note including but not limited to insurance premiums, taxes and inspections as well as 10% 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 (as described in the Property Registrar in the Spanish language): Mansiones Playa de Húcares, B2 Calle Marina, Naguabo, PR 00718. URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbani-

zación Playa de Húcares, en el barrio Santiago y Lima del municipio de Naguabo. Puerto Rico, que se describe en el plano de urbanización, con el número, área y colindancias que se relacionan a continuación: número del solar B-2; área de 1,023.24 metros cuadrados. En lindes al NORTE, con el solar 1, en una distancia de 33.77 metros; al SUR, con el solar 3, en una distancia de 33.78 metros; al ESTE, con la calle #2, en una distancia de 30.00 metros y al OESTE, con el solar #6, en una distancia de 30.00 metros. Enclava una casa. La propiedad consta inscrita al folio 200 del tomo 188 de Naguabo, finca número 10,586 del Registro de la Propiedad de Humacao. The mortgage deed is recorded at page 93 of volume 234 of Naguabo, property #10586, Property Registry of Humacao.

WHEREAS: This property is subject to the following liens: Senior Liens: None. Junior Liens: None. 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 14TH DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:45 AM. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $289,220.87. 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 21ST DAY OF FEBRUARY OF 2023, AT: 8:45 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $192,813.91, 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 28th day of February of 2023, at: 8:45 am, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $144,610.44, which is onehalf of the minimum bid in the first public sale. Should there be no award or adjudication at the third public sale, the property may be awarded to the creditor for the entire amount of its debt if it is equal to or less than the amount of the minimum bid

of the third public sale, crediting this amount to the amount owed if it is greater. 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. WHE-

REAS: 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 21st day of December of 2022. PEDRO

A. VÉLEZ-BAERGA, SPECIAL MASTER, SPECIALMASTERPR@GMAIL.COM, 787-6728269.

LEGAL NOTICE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

FINANCE OF AMERICA REVERSE, LLC.

Plaintiff Vs. NILDA LUZ SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILDA

L. SANTIAGO MEDINA

A/K/A NILDA SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILSA

SANTIAGO MEDINA A/K/A

NILDA LUZ SANTIAGO

A/K/A NILDA L.

SANTIAGO A/K/A NILDA

SANTIAGO A/K/A NILSA

SANTIAGO; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Defendants

Civil Action No.: 17-cv-1627.

NOTICE OF SALE.

To: NILDA LUZ

SANTIAGO MEDINA A/K/A

NILDA L. SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILDA

SANTIAGO MEDINA

A/K/A NILSA SANTIAGO

MEDINA A/K/A NILDA

LUZ SANTIAGO A/K/A

NILDA L. SANTIAGO

A/K/A NILDA SANTIAGO

A/K/A NILSA SANTIAGO;

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

GENERAL PUBLIC.

WHEREAS: Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff to recover from defendants the principal sum of $86,409.11, plus interest at a rate of 5.060% per annum until the debt is paid in full. The defendant Nilda Luz Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilda L. Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilda Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilsa Santiago Medina a/k/a Nilda Luz Santiago a/k/a Nilda L. Santiago a/k/a Nilda Santiago a/k/a Nilsa Santiago 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% ($17,100.00) 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 número seis de la Manzana H, Urbanización Santa Mónica, Barrio Pájaros de Bayamón, Puerto Rico, compuesta de 325.00 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número 5, en 25.00 metros; por el SUR, con el solar número 7, en 25.00 metros; por el ESTE, con la Calle número 6, en 13.00 metros y por el OESTE con el solar número 21, en 7.00 metros y con el solar número 20, en 6.00 metros, con un total la distancia de 13.00 metros.” Property Number 19,829 recorded at page 146 of volume 438 of Bayamon Sur, Registry of the Property of Puerto Rico, Section I of Bayamón. The mortgage being foreclosed is recorded at page 37, volume 1,933 of Bayamon Sur, property 19,829, 12th inscription, Registry of the Property of Puerto Rico, Section I of Baya-

mon. 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 $171,000.00, due on March 30, 2094 pursuant to deed number 84, issued in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on June 9, 2014, before notary Magaly Rodriguez Batista, and recorded, at page 37 of volume 1,933 of Bayamon Sur, property number 19,829, 13th 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 14TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2023 AT 8:35 AM. The minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $171,000.00. 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 21ST DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2023 AT 8:35 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum $114,000.00, which is two-thirds 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 28TH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 2023 AT 8:35 AM, and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $85,500.00, 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 13th day of December of 2022.

PEDRO A. VÉLEZ-BAERGA, SPECIAL MASTER, SPECIALMASTERPR@GMAIL.COM, 787-672-8269.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE FAJARDO SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Paret Demandante Vs. FERNANDO LUIS

ITURRINO VICENS Y DALMARIS BETANCOURT BETANCOURT

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: FA2019CV00730.

Sala: 303. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA”. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada el 27 de agosto de 2022, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 21 de noviembre de 2022 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 21 de noviembre de 2022 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día

13 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS

3:00 DE LA TARDE, en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Fajardo, Sala Superior, Ave. Marcelito Gotay, Esquina Barriada Jerusalén, Fajardo, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal; todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad:

RÚSTICA: Solar denominado Número Nueve (9) radicado en la Urbanización Extensión de Colinas de Yunque del Barrio Zarzal del término municipal de Río Grande, Puerto Rico, con una cabida superficial de 3,945.7660 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en

una distancia de 57.00 metros con el solar número ocho (8) de la referida urbanización; por el SUR, en una distancia de 57.00 metros con el solar número diez (10) de la referida urbanización; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 69.224 metros con la calle dedicada a uso público de la referida urbanización; y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 69.224 con la calle dedicada a uso público de la referida urbanización. La propiedad y la escritura de hipoteca constan inscritas al folio 19 del tomo 494 de Río Grande, Finca Número 26270, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección III. Inscripción segunda. DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: EXT. COLINAS DEL YUNQUE, LOTE 9 EL BOSQUE, BO. ZARZAL, RÍO GRANDE, PR 00945. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $40,000.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, el día 20 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 3:00 DE LA TARDE, en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $26,666.66. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA, el día 27 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 3:00 DE LA TARDE, en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $20,000.00. 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 ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia por la suma de $24,482.07 de principal, intereses acumulados por la suma de $8,423.70, los intereses pactados que se continúen generando a partir del 24 de mayo de 2022 en adelante, a razón de 4.94% diarios hasta el saldo total y definitivo; la suma de $1,478.96 por concepto de cargos bancarios y la suma de $4,000.00 por concepto de honorarios de abogados pactados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesa el siguiente gravamen posterior a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: Bitácora: Presentado al Asiento 2022-158515-CR03, el 9 de diciembre de 2022, Demanda

de fecha 24 de junio de 2019, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Fajardo, en el Caso Civil Número FA2019CV00730, seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Vs. Fernando Luis Iturrino Vicens y Dalmaris Betancourt Betancourt, sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca con un balance de $24,482.07 y otras cantidades, o la venta en pública subasta de la propiedad. Pendiente de anotación. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se le advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. 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; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 2102015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy 19 de diciembre de 2022. SANDRALIZ MARTÍNEZ TORRES, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #737. JORGE A. ORTIZ ESTRADA, ALGUACIL REGIONAL INTERINO #622.

LEGAL

NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS

REVERSE MORTGAGE FUNDING LLC.

Demandante Vs.

SUCESION ANDREA

VAZQUEZ GARCIA T/C/C ANDREA VAZQUEZ COMPUESTA POR JOHN

DOE Y JANE DOE COMO POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS; ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMERICA; CENTRO DE RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CG2019CV04402.

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, 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 Caguas, 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 Caguas, el 27 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 10:45 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: RÚS-

TICA: Solar número tres (3) del bloque A, sito en el proyecto de viviendas conocidas como Villas del Bosque, en el Barrio Bayamón del municipio de Cidra, con una cabida superficial de doscientos ochenta y ocho punto ochocientos setenta y seis (288.876) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el Norte, con la Calle Margarita (numero dos (2); por el Sur, con la finca principal; por el Este, con el solar número dos (2) del bloque A; y por el Oeste, con el solar número cuatro (4) del bloque A. Enclava una casa. Inscrita al folio 9 del tomo 425 de Cidra, finca 15,443, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección II. La Hipoteca Revertida consta inscrita al folio 2031 del tomo 518, finca 15,443, Registro de la Propiedad de Caguas, Sección II, inscripción 4ª. Propiedad localizada en: URB. VILLAS DEL BOSQUE, A-3 CALLE MARGARITA, CIDRA, PR 00739. 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: $172,500.00. Fecha de Vencimiento: 30 de noviembre de 2083. 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 $115,000.00, 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 Caguas, el 3 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:45 DE LA MAÑANA, y se establece como mínima para dicha segunda subasta la suma de $76,666.67, 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 $57,500.00, la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado y dicha subasta se celebrará en mi oficina, ubicada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Caguas, el 10 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:45 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 $117,657.11 por concepto de principal, más la suma de $21,354.57 en intereses acumulados al 8 de abril de 2022 y los cuales continúan acumulándose a razón de 3.97% anual hasta su total y completo pago; más la sumas de $4,805.27 en seguro hipotecario; $5,530.00 en tarifas de servicios; $2,075.11 en seguro; $550.00 de tasaciones; $720.00 de inspecciones; $2,700.00 de adelantos pendientes; más la cantidad de 10% del pagare original en la suma de $11,500.00, para gastos, costas y honorarios de abogado. 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 SUBASTA, 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 Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy 19 de enero de 2023. EDGARDO

ALDEBOL MIRANDA, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #282.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO

MIDFIRST BANK

Demandante Vs. LA SUCESION DE ORLANDO RIVERA CUADRADO COMPUESTA

POR DIEGO ORLANDO

RIVERA FELICIANO Y POR LEONARDO

RIVERA FELICIANO Y POR SUS HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS

DENOMINADOS COMO

FULANO Y SUTANA DE TAL; SUCESION DE YASHIRA WALESKA

FELICIANO TORRES COMPUESTA POR

SUS HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS

DENOMINADOS COMO

FULANO Y SUTANA DE TAL; Y EL CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

Demandada

Civil Núm.: FA2019CV00247.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

A: LA SUCESION DE ORLANDO RIVERA CUADRADO COMPUESTA

POR DIEGO ORLANDO

RIVERA FELICIANO Y POR LEONARDO

RIVERA FELICIANO Y POR SUS HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS

DENOMINADOS COMO

FULANO Y SUTANA DE TAL; SUCESION DE YASHIRA WALESKA

FELICIANO TORRES

COMPUESTA POR SUS HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS

DENOMINADOS COMO FULANO Y SUTANA DE TAL; Y EL CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM), Y AL PUBLICO EN GENERAL:

El que suscribe, Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Fajardo, hago constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia dictada con fecha de 26 de agosto de 2021 y por edicto el 1 de septiembre de 2021, de la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia emitida el 27 de octubre de 2021 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia expedido el 28 de octubre de 2021, procederé a vender y venderé en pública subasta y al mejor postor la propiedad que se describe a continuación:

URBANA: Solar número diez (10) del bloque cuatro “L” (4-L) de la Urbanización Alturas de Monte Brisas, localizado en el Barrio Quebrada Fajardo, del municipio de Fajardo, Puerto Rico, con un área superficial de trescientos treinta y ocho (338.0) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con el solar número once (11), en una longitud de veintiséis (26.0) metros; por el SUR, con el solar número nueve (9), en una longitud de veintiséis (26.0) metros; por el ESTE, con el solar número cuarenta (40), en una longitud de trece (13.0) metros; y por el OESTE, con la calle número siete (7) en una longitud de trece (13.0) metros. Enclava edificación. FINCA NUMERO:

11,525, inscrita al folio 70 tomo 278 de Fajardo, Registro de Fajardo. Esta hipoteca consta inscrita al folio #130 del tomo #460 de Fajardo, finca #11525, inscripción 5ta. La dirección física de la propiedad es: Urbanización Alturas de Monte Brisas, Calle 7 #4-L10, Fajardo, Puerto Rico. El producto de la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la suma de $69,464.35 que compone la deuda del principal, más el interés anual de 7.00% sobre el balance del principal calculado desde el 1 de agosto de 2018, hasta el pago de la deuda en su totalidad. Los intereses continuaran devengándose hasta el pago total y completo de la deuda. Los demandados adeudan los cargos por mora, equivalentes al 4.0% de todos los pagos atrasados más de 15 días de la fecha de vencimientos y los créditos adelantados hechos de acuerdo con el pagaré hipotecario y la escritura de hipoteca; La venta en pública subasta de la referida propiedad se verificará libre de toda carga o gravamen POSTERIOR que afecte la mencionada finca. La PRIME-

RA SUBASTA se llevará a efecto el día 6 DE MARZO DE 2023

A LAS 3:30 DE LA TARDE, en la sala del referido Alguacil, sita en el edificio que ocupa el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Fajardo. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA subasta es de $97,231.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 13 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 3:30 DE LA TARDE, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA subasta será de $64,820.66 equivalente a dos terceras (2/3) partes del tipo mínimo estipulado para la PRIMERA subasta. Si no se produce remate ni adjudicación en le PRIMERA ni en la SEGUNDA subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA día 20 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 3:30 DE LA TARDE, en la oficina a antes mencionada del alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo fijado para esta TERCERA subasta es la mitad de la suma pactada para la PRIMERA subasta a saber $48,615.50. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titulación del inmueble y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los preferentes, si los hubiere, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistente. Entendiéndose que el rematante lo acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de estos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. No constan inscrito en el Registro de la Propiedad acreedores que tengan derechos o cargas sobre el bien hipotecado con anterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante. Se les advierte a los licitadores que la adjudicación se hará el mejor postor, quien deberá consignar el importe de su oferta en el acto mismo de la adjudicación, en moneda curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América, entiéndase en efectivo, cheque certificado o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal. Tome conocimiento la parte demandada y toda aquella persona o personas que tengan interés inscrito con posterioridad a la inscripción del gravamen que se está ejecutando; y para conocimiento de los licitadores y el público en general, se publicará dos (2) veces en un periódico de circulación diaria en la Isla de Puerto Rico y se fijará, además, en los lugares públicos correspondientes. Una vez efectuada la venta de dicha propiedad, el Alguacil procederá a poner al licitador victorioso en posesión física de la propiedad dentro del plazo de veinte (20) días contados a partir de la venta en pública Subasta. Además, el Alguacil procederá a darle posesión del material al adjudicatario, en los casos que fuere necesario, proceda el lanzamiento

del demandado o terceras personas de la propiedad subastada y forzar puertas o ventanas, romper cerraduras, candados, cortar cadenas y tomar cualquier otra medida propia. De igual forma, el Alguacil sacará cualquier propiedad mueble o personal de los demandados o de terceras personas que se encuentren en la mencionada propiedad. Además, los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado estarán de manifiesto en la secretaría del tribunal durante las horas laborables. EXPIDO, el presente EDICTO, en Fajardo, Puerto Rico, a 23 de diciembre de 2022. SANDRALIZ MARTÍNEZ TORRES, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR #737, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE FAJARDO. JORGE A. ORTIZ ESTRADA, ALGUACIL REGIONAL #622.

LEGAL NOTICE

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO MMG PR CFL, LLC

Plaintiff Vs. ALBA DIANA VILAR VELEZ

Defendants Civil No.: 11-1517. (SSC). Re: COLLECTION OF MONIES, FORECLOSURE OF MORTGAGE. NOTICE OF SALE. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, COMMONWEALTH OF PUERTO RICO, SS.

To: ALBA DIANA VILAR VELEZ; DEPARTAMENTO DE LA VIVIENDA DE PUERTO RICO; CONSEJO DE TITULARES DEL CONDOMINIO MARINA

III AND THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL:

Judgment was entered in favor of plaintiff for the sum of $83,966.01 in principal, $7,287.79 in accrued, plus accrued interest as of October 10,2011, which continue to accrue at 6.00% per annum until payment in full. Late charges of $396.91, and any disbursements made by plaintiff on behalf of defendant in accordance with the mortgage deed, plus costs, and ten (10) percent attorney’s fees; Pursuant to the judgment, the undersigned Special Master was ordered to sell at public auction for United States 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, Federico Degetau Federal Building, Chardón Street, Hato Rey, San Juan, Puerto Rico or any other place designated by said Clerk, to cover the sums

adjudged to be paid to the plaintiff, the following property:

URBANA: Propiedad Horizontal: Apartamento residencial localizado en el primer piso (segundo nivel) del Edificio B del Condominio Marina III Barceloneta, sito en el barrio Pueblo del término municipal de Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, con un área aproximada de 95.941 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 83.2666 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en 46’4” con áreas comunes, pasillo y escaleras; por el SUR, en 46’4” con el apartamento #801; por el ESTE, en 17’10” con la calle Juan de la Torres y por el OESTE, en 21”3” con área de estacionamiento. Consta de sala-comedor, cocina, balcón 3 dormitorios, 2 baños, roperos (closets) y lavandería (laundry). Su puerta principal de entrada está situada en su lindero Norte. Estacionamiento: Le pertenece el uso exclusivo de dos estacionamientos identificados con el #901 en el área descubierta del estacionamiento y en el plot plan con una cabida superficial de 270.00 pies cuadrados, equivalentes a 25.08 metros cuadrados; siendo sus colindancias por el NORTE, con el estacionamiento #1001; al SUR, con el estacionamiento, # 801; al ESTE, con área de rodaje y al OESTE, con área verde. El área total de este apartamento, incluyendo el estacionamiento privado es de 1,165.941 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 108.346 metros cuadrados. Porcentaje: Elementos comunes generales: 2.3518%. Inscrito al Sistema Karibe de Barceloneta, Finca 15881, Registro de la Propiedad Puerto Rico de Manatí. Physical address: Apt. 901-B Cond Marina III, Barceloneta, PR 00617. The property is subject to the following Junior liens: Mortgage in favor of Departamento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, or to its order, for principal amount of $40,000.00, with no annual interests, due on demand, constituted by deed #92, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 23, 2007, before Miguel Bauza Rolon, with restrictive covenants for the sale of the property for ten (10) years. Mortgage in favor of Departamento de la Vivienda de Puerto Rico, or to its order, for principal amount of $12,500.00, with no annual interests, due on demand, constituted by deed #93, executed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on July 23, 2007, before Miguel Bauza Rolon, with restrictive covenants for the sale of the property for six (6) years.

JUDICIAL ATTACHMENT: Filed in the Court of First Instance, Manatí Section, Civil Case number CD2011-753, regarding collection of monies, filed by Consejo de Títulares del Condominio Marina III versus Alba Diana Vilar Velez, in the amount

San Juan

of $6,005.09, pursuant to judgment entered on January 26, 2012 and order of attachment dated March 26, 2012 with the corresponding Writ dated March 27, 2012. Annotated at Karibe System of Barceloneta, property 15,881 on August 31, 2021, Annotation “A”. 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 or preferential liens to the one being foreclosed upon, including but not limited to any property tax liens (express, tacit, implied or legal), or homeowner associations dues, to the extent specified under the applicable Condominium Law, shall continue in effect. It being understood 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. The present property will be acquired free and clear of all junior liens. THEREFORE, the FIRST PUBLIC SALE shall be held on the MARCH 3RD, 2023, AT THE 10:30 A.M., and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $100,000.00. In the event said first public auction does not produce a bidder and the properties is not adjudicated, a SECOND PUBLIC AUCTION shall be held on the MARCH 10TH, 2023, AT THE 10:30 A.M. and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $66,666.66, 2/3 parts of the minimum bid for the 1st public sale. If said second auction does not result in the adjudication and sale of the property, a THIRD AUCTION will be held on the MARCH 17TH, 2023, AT THE 10:30 A.M. and the minimum bid that will be accepted is the sum of $50,000.00, ½ of the minimum bid for the 1st public sale. Upon confirmation of the sale, an order shall be issued canceling 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 the Clerk of the United States District Court, Federal Building, Chardon Avenue, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. In San Juan, Puerto Rico, on January 25th, 2023. AGUEDO DE LA TORRE, SPECIAL MASTER.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

CENTRO JUDICIAL DE AIBO-

NITO SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V.

SUCESIÓN DE HÉCTOR FÉLIX ORTIZ ORTIZ COMPUESTA

POR EVELYN ORTIZ

tencia dictada en este caso que, una vez efectuada la subasta y vendido el bien inmueble, los adjudicatarios sean puestos en posesión del mismo dentro del término de veinte (20) días por el Alguacil de este Honorable Tribunal y los actuales poseedores lanzados del referido inmueble. Y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general, se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley, mediante edicto, en un periódico de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, una vez por semana, por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía, y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto de Subasta para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 2 de febrero de 2023. EDWIN E. LÓPEZ MULERO, ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOT ICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE SAN JUAN

SUN WEST MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC

Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN

MILAGROS NESBIT T/C/C CARMEN M. NESBIT COMPUESTA POR

TAI NESBIT, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2021CV04948.

Salón Núm.: 508. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA. EDICTO DE SUBASTA.

Al: PÚBLICO EN GENERAL.

A: SUCESIÓN DE CARMEN MILAGROS NESBIT T/C/C CARMEN

M. NESBIT COMPUESTA

POR TAI NESBIT, FULANO DE TAL Y SUTANO DE TAL; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES.

Yo, ERIK F. OSUNA ACEVEDO ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, Alguacil

del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de San Juan , a los demandados, acreedores y al público en general con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, por la presente CERTIFICO, ANUNCIO y HAGO CONSTAR: Que el día 9 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, procederé a vender en Pública Subasta, al mejor postor, la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe y cuya venta en pública subasta se ordenó por la vía ordinaria mediante Sentencia dictada en el caso de epígrafe, la cual se notificó y archivó en autos el día 27 de marzo de 2022. Los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 16 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 11:00 DE LA MAÑANA; y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 27 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 11:00

DE LA MAÑANA, en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que ha sido liberado por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de San Juan , en el caso de epígrafe con fecha de 5 de mayo de 2022, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble que se describe a continuación: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Family

Unit number one thousand and two (1002) of Baldorioty Plaza

Condominium number 212 of South Marginal Street Baldorioty de Castro Avenue, corner Diez de Andino Street, Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico; which family unit is located in the tenth floor with its balcony facing Diez de Andino Street. It is an irregular rectangular shaped Apartment measuring forty four feet nine inches, equivalent to thirteen meters and sixty four centimeters long by twenty six feet five inches, equivalent to eight meters and five centimeters wide, making a total area of one thousand one hundred and forty six point ninety nine square feet, equivalent to one hundred and six point sixty square meters as specifically in Exhibit B-1002 of the deed. Its boundaries are as follows: NORTH, twenty six feet five inches equivalent to eight point zero five

meters with interior common elements of the building such as concrete bearing walls and interior proper elements of the Apartment such as block partition walls separating it from family unit number 1001.;

SOUTH, twenty six feet five inches equivalent to eight point zero five meters with interior common elements of the Building such as concrete bearing walls and interiors proper elements of the apartment such as block partitions separating it from family unit number 1003.;

EAST, forty four feet nine inches equivalent to thirteen point sixty four meters with exterior common elements of the Building such as concrete bearing walls and windows walls and exterior proper elements of the apartment such as block partitions separating it from the exterior Diez de Andino Street;

WEST, forty four feet nine inches equivalent to thirteen point sixty four meters with exterior common elements of the Building such as concrete bearing walls and windows walls and exterior and interior proper elements of the apartment such as block partition walls and entrance doorway separating it from and leading restricted common hallway. The main entrance door is on the west side and communicates with the restricted common hallway of the tenth floor. This unit has a percentage of one thousand eight hundred eighty eight hundred thousand eight hundred eight hundred thousandths in the common elements and twenty five percent in the common limited. This family unit contains the following rooms and subdivisions, a coat closet foyer, utility closet, master bath, bathroom closet, master bedroom, livingdining room, bedroom number one, linen closet, bedroom number one closet, kitchen pantry, hall bedroom number two, bedroom number two, closet and secondary bath. Finca Número 18,209, inscrita al folio 41 del tomo 499 de Santurce Norte, Sección I de San Juan.

Dirección de la Propiedad: Apt 1002 Cond. Baldorioty Plaza, San Juan PR 00907. La subasta se llevará a cabo para satisfacer, hasta donde alcance, el importe de las cantidades adeudadas a la parte demandante conforme a la sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: $101,492.77 de principal, intereses pactados y computados sobre esta suma al tipo de 4.25% anual hasta su total y completo pago, contribuciones, recargos y primas de seguro adeudados y la suma de $10,880.00, equivalente al 10% de la suma principal original pactada, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; más recargos acumulados hasta la fecha en que se pague la deuda; más cualquie-

ra suma de dinero por concepto de contribuciones, primas de seguro hipotecario y riesgo, así como cualesquiera otras sumas pactadas en la escritura de hipoteca, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la escritura número 205 otorgada el día 15 de septiembre de 2015, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, ante el Notario Público Christian Castillo Moreno y consta inscrita al tomo Karibe de Santurce Norte, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico Sección I de San Juan. Por la presente se notifica a los acreedores que tengan inscritos o anotados sus derechos sobre los bienes hipotecados con posterioridad a la inscripción del crédito del ejecutante o acreedores de cargos o derechos reales que los hubiesen pospuesto a la hipoteca del actor y a los dueños, poseedores, tenedores de o interesados en títulos transmisibles por endoso o al portador garantizados hipotecariamente con posterioridad al crédito del actor que se celebrarán las subastas en las fechas, horas y sitios señalados para que puedan concurrir a la subasta si les conviniere o se les invita a satisfacer antes del remate el importe del crédito, de sus intereses, otros cargos y las costas y honorarios de abogado asegurados quedando subrogados en los derechos del acreedor ejecutante. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta del inmueble antes descrito será la suma de $108,800.00 según se establece en la escritura de hipoteca antes relacionada. En caso de que el inmueble a ser subastado no fuera adjudicado en su primera subasta se ordena la celebración de una segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, en la cual, la cantidad mínima será una equivalente a 2/3 parte de aquella, o sea la suma de $72,533.33; desierta también la segunda subasta de dicho inmueble, se ordena la celebración de una tercera subasta en la cual, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado para la primera subasta, es decir la suma de $54,400.00. La propiedad se adjudicará 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, entiéndase efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, y que las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio

del remate. La propiedad no está sujeta a gravámenes anteriores y/o preferentes según surge de las constancias del Registro de la Propiedad en un estudio de título efectuado a la finca antes descrita. Una vez efectuada la venta de dicha propiedad, el Alguacil procederá a otorgar la escritura de traspaso al licitador victorioso en subasta, quien podrá ser la parte demandante, cuya oferta podrá aplicarse a la extinción parcial o total de la obligación reconocida por la sentencia dictada en este caso. La propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores. Si el producto de la venta fuere insuficiente para satisfacer la cantidad reclamada, se procederá a la ejecución de la sentencia en contra de la parte demandada por el remanente de las sumas no satisfechas, mediante embargo y venta en ejecución de cualesquiera otros bienes propiedad de la parte demandada en cantidad suficiente para dejar cubierta y totalmente satisfecha a la parte demandante cualquier deficiencia o parte insoluta de la sentencia dictada a su favor según dispuesto en la sentencia dictada en este caso. Se dispone, conforme con la sentencia dictada en este caso que, una vez efectuada la subasta y vendido el bien inmueble, los adjudicatarios sean puestos en posesión del mismo dentro del término de veinte (20) días por el Alguacil de este Honorable Tribunal y los actuales poseedores lanzados del referido inmueble. De ser ello necesario, el Alguacil podrá diligenciar el Acta de Subasta que se expida en horas laborales, de día, los 5 días de la semana y podrá romper cualquier cerradura o candado que dé acceso al inmueble objeto de este desalojo. Y para la concurrencia de licitadores y para el público en general, se publicará este Edicto de acuerdo con la ley, mediante edicto, en un periódico de circulación general en el Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, una vez por semana, por espacio de dos (2) semanas consecutivas con un intervalo de por lo menos siete (7) días entre ambas publicaciones, y para su fijación en tres (3) lugares públicos del municipio en que ha de celebrarse la venta, tales como la Alcaldía, el Tribunal y la Colecturía, y se le notificará además a la parte demandada vía correo certificado con acuse de recibo a la última dirección conocida. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto de Subasta para conocimiento y comparecencia de los licitadores, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan, Puerto Rico, a 2 de febrero de 2023. ERIK F.

OSUNA ACEVEDO ALGUACIL AUXILIAR, ALGUACIL DEL

TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA DE SAN JUAN.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs. SUCESIÓN DE VÍCTOR RODRÍGUEZ CHAULIZANT COMPUESTA POR

FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS, SUCESIÓN DE MERCEDES MORALES

VÁZQUEZ, COMPUESTA POR ZUTANO Y PERENCEJO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS, DEPARTAMENTO DE HACIENDA POR CONDUCTO DE LA DIVISIÓN DE CAUDALES RELICTOS; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIÓN DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: CA2019CV00094. Sala: 409. Sobre: EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA POR LA VÍA ORDINARIA “IN REM”. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO, SS. AVISO DE PÚBLICA SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente anuncia y hace constar que en cumplimiento de la Sentencia en Rebeldía dictada el 19 de julio de 2019, la Orden de Ejecución de Sentencia del 15 de agosto de 2022 y el Mandamiento de Ejecución del 13 de enero de 2023 en el caso de epígrafe, procederé a vender el día 2 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, localizada en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Centro Judicial de Carolina, Sala Superior, en la Avenida 65 Infantería, Carretera Número Tres (3), Kilómetro 11.7 (Entrada de la Urbanización Mansiones de Carolina) Carolina, Puerto Rico, al mejor postor en pago de contado y en moneda de los Estados Unidos de América, cheque de gerente o giro postal a nombre del Alguacil del Tribunal; todo título, derecho o interés de la parte demandada sobre la siguiente propiedad:

URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Villa Fontana, situada en el Barrio Sabana Abajo de Carolina, Puerto Rico, que se describe con el Número Dos (2) del bloque “EL” con un

área de 315.80 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con los Solares veinticuatro (24), veinticinco (25) y veintiséis (26), distancia de 16.54 metros; por el SUR, con la Calle Número Cuarenta y Siete (47), distancia de 12.16 metros; por el ESTE, con el Solar Número Uno (1), distancia de 21.79 metros; y por el OESTE, con el Solar Número Seis (6), distancia de 22.31 metros. En dicho solar enclava una vivienda de concreto para una familia. La propiedad consta inscrita al folio 1 del tomo 617 de Carolina, Finca Número 32275 BIS, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección I. La escritura de hipoteca consta inscrita al folio móvil del tomo 898 de Carolina, Finca Número 32275 BIS, Registro de la Propiedad de Carolina, Sección I. Inscripción novena. DIRECCIÓN FÍSICA: VILLA FONTANA, EL2 VÍA 26, CAROLINA, PR 00983-3908. Número de Catastro: 20-088016-493-02-001. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta será de $64,928.00. De no haber adjudicación en la primera subasta se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA, el día 9 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será de dos terceras partes del tipo mínimo fijado en la primera subasta, o sea, $43,285.33. De no haber adjudicación en la segunda subasta, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 16 DE MAYO DE 2023, A LAS 9:00 DE LA MAÑANA en el mismo lugar, en la cual el tipo mínimo será la mitad del precio pactado, o sea, $32,464.00. 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 ésta es mayor. Dicho remate se llevará a cabo para con su producto satisfacer a la demandante el importe de la Sentencia por la suma de $36,553.89 de principal, más intereses sobre dicha suma al 7% anual desde el 1 de octubre de 2017 hasta su completo pago, más $213.76 de recargos acumulados, más la cantidad estipulada de $6,492.80 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogados, así como cualquier otra suma que contenga el contrato del préstamo. Surge del Estudio de Título Registral que sobre esta propiedad pesan los siguientes gravámenes posteriores a la hipoteca que por la presente se pretende ejecutar: a. Hipoteca: Constituida por Víctor Rodríguez Chaulizant y su esposa, Mercedes Morales Vázquez, en garantía de un pagaré a favor de Citibank N.A., o a su orden, por la suma de $16,000.00

sus intereses al 2.5% anual y vencedero a la presentación, según consta de la Escritura Número 367, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el 7 de octubre de 1998, ante el Notario Alejandro Oliveras Rivera. Inscrita al Folio móvil del tomo 901 de Carolina, Finca Número 32275 BIS, inscripción décima. Nota: Sujeta a condiciones que aceleran su vencimiento. b. Aviso de Demanda: Pleito seguido por Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Vs. Víctor Rodríguez Chaulizant, Mercedes Morales Vázquez y la Sociedad Legal de Bienes Gananciales, compuesto por ambos, ante el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala de Carolina, en el Caso Civil Número CA2019CV00094 sobre Cobro de Dinero y Ejecución de Hipoteca, en la que se reclama el pago de hipoteca, con un balance de $36,553.89 y otras cantidades, según Demanda de fecha 10 de enero de 2019. Anotada al Tomo Karibe de Carolina. Anotación A. Se notifica al acreedor posterior o a su sucesor o cesionario en derecho para que comparezca a proteger su derecho si así lo desea. Se les advierte a los interesados que todos los documentos relacionados con la presente acción de ejecución de hipoteca, así como los de Subasta, estarán disponibles para ser examinados, durante horas laborables, en el expediente del caso que obra en los archivos de la Secretaría del Tribunal, bajo el número de epígrafe y para su publicación en un periódico de circulación general en Puerto Rico por espacio de dos semanas y por lo menos una vez por semana; y para su fijación en los sitios públicos requeridos por ley. 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; entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate y que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravámenes posteriores tal como lo expresa la Ley Núm. 2102015. Y para el conocimiento de los demandados, de los acreedores posteriores, de los licitadores, partes interesadas y público en general, EXPIDO para su publicación en los lugares públicos correspondientes, el presente Aviso de Pública Subasta en Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 20 de enero de 2023. MANUEL VILLAFAÑE BLANCO, PLACA #830, ALGUACIL, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAROLINA, SALA SUPERIOR.

tes a la fecha de publicación de este Edicto; si dejaren de así hacerlo, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia contra ustedes concediendo el remedio solicitado sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO bajo mi firma y el sello del Tribunal de Carolina, Puerto Rico, hoy 01 de febrero de 2023. LCDA.

MARILYN APONTE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. RUTH M. COLÓN LUCIANO, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR DEL TRIBUNAL.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA

FIRSTBANK

PUERTO RICO

Parte Demandante Vs.

DAVID E. MOREIRA PÉREZ T/C/C DAVID

MOREIRA PÉREZ SU

ESPOSA; WANDA I.

IRIZARRY SOTOMAYOR

T/C/C WANDA IVETTE

IRIZARRY SOTO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS

Parte Demandada

Civil Núm.: BY2022CV02649. Salón Núm.: (0409). Sobre:

EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA Y COBRO DE DINERO (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS, ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: DAVID E. MOREIRA

PÉREZ T/C/C DAVID

MOREIRA PÉREZ SU ESPOSA; WANDA I.

IRIZARRY SOTOMAYOR

T/C/C WANDA IVETTE

IRIZARRY SOTO Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE GANANCIALES COMPUESTA POR

AMBOS: Y AL PÚBLICO

EN GENERAL:

El Alguacil que suscribe, certifica y hace constar que en cumplimiento de Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que me ha sido dirigido por la Secretaría del Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, procederé a vender en pública subasta y al mejor postor, por separado, de contado y por moneda de curso legal de los Estados Unidos de América. Todo pago recibido por el (la) Alguacil por concepto de subastas será en efectivo, giro postal o cheque certificado a nombre del (de la) Alguacil del Tribunal de Primera Instancia. Todo derecho, título, participación e interés que le corresponda a la parte demandada o cual-

quiera de ellos en el inmueble hipotecado objeto de ejecución que se describe a continuación:

URBANA: Solar radicado en la Urbanización Extensión Villa San Antón, situada en el Barrio San Antón de Carolina, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número cuatro del Bloque K, con un área de ochocientos ochenta y seis metros cuadrados con noventa y ocho centímetros, en lindes por el NORTE, distancia de cuarenta y siete metros cincuenta y tres milésimas de otro, con los solares ocho, nueve y diez del bloque L; por el NORESTE, distancia de diecinueve metros doscientos cuarenta milésimas de otro, con el solar cinco del bloque K; por el SURESTE, distancia de veintiocho metros quinientos cincuenta y cuatro milésimas de otro, con el solar tres del Bloque K y once metros con calle número diez; y por el NOROESTE, distancia de treinta y tres metros trescientos siete milésimas de otro, con solares diecisiete, dieciocho y diecinueve del Bloque M. Consta inscrita al folio 92 del tomo 546 de Carolina, finca número #22,047, Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Carolina. La propiedad objeto de ejecución está localizada en la siguiente dirección: Ext. Villa San Antón, K-4 Ernesto Rodríguez, Carolina, P.R. 00979. Se informa que la propiedad a ser ejecutada se adquirirá libre de cargas y gravamen posterior, una vez sea otorgada la escritura de venta judicial y obtenida la Orden y Mandamiento de cancelación de gravamen posterior. (Art. 51, Ley 210-2015). En relación a la finca a subastarse, se establece como tipo mínimo de licitación en la Primera Subasta la suma de $243,000.00, según acordado entre las partes en el precio pactado en la Escritura de Hipoteca ## 29 otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de junio de 2004, al ante el notario José A. Candelario Lajara e consta inscrita al folio 55 del tomo 1348 de Carolina, finca #21,439, inscripción 7ma. La PRIMERA SUBASTA, se llevará a cabo el día 10 DE ABRIL

DE 2023 A LAS 11:45 DE LA

MAÑANA, en mis oficinas sitas en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Carolina, el tipo mínimo para la primera subasta es la suma de $243,000.00. Si la primera subasta del inmueble no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA el día 17 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 11:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo sitio y servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes del precio pactada para la primera subasta, o sea, la suma de $162,000.00. Si la segunda subasta no produjere remate, ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 24 DE ABRIL DE 2023

A LAS 11:45 DE LA MAÑANA, en el mismo lugar y regirá como tipo mínimo de la tercera subasta la mitad del precio pactado para la primera, o sea, la suma de $121,500.00. Dicha subasta se llevará a cabo, para con su producto satisfacer a la parte demandante el importe de la Sentencia dictada a su favor, a saber: Suma Principal: $184,007.45, la cual se desglosa a continuación: una suma principal de $173,423.53, con intereses a 6.75% anual, desde el 1ro de septiembre de 2020, hasta el presente y los que se continúen acumulando hasta su total y completo pago, más la suma de $10,583.92 (piggy back), como balance diferido, la cual no genera intereses, más los cargos por demora que se corresponden a los plazos atrasados desde la fecha anteriormente indicada a razón de la tasa pactada de 5% de cualquier pago que éste en mora por más de quince (15) días desde la fecha de su vencimiento, más una suma equivalente a $24,300.00, por concepto de costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más cualquier otra suma que resulte por cualesquiera otros adelantos que se hayan hecho la demandante, en virtud de las disposiciones de la escritura de hipoteca y del Pagaré hipotecario. Para más información, a las personas interesadas se les notifica que los autos y todos los documentos correspondientes al procedimiento incoado, estarán de manifiesto en la Secretaría del Tribunal, durante las horas laborables.

Este EDICTO DE SUBASTA, se publicará en los lugares públicos correspondientes y en un periódico de circulación general en la jurisdicción de Puerto Rico. Se entenderá que todo licitador acepta como bastante la titularidad y que las cargas y gravámenes anteriores y los referentes, 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. Se procederá a otorgar la correspondiente Escritura de Venta Judicial y el Alguacil pondrá en posesión judicial al nuevo dueño, si así se lo solicita dentro del término de veinte (20) días, de conformidad con las disposiciones de Ley. Si transcurren los referidos veinte (20) días, el tribunal podrá ordenar, sin necesidad de ulterior procedimiento, que se lleve a efecto el desalojo o lanzamiento del ocupante u ocupantes de la finca o de todos los que por orden o tolerancia del deudor la ocupen. Expedido en Carolina, Puerto Rico, a 30 de enero de 2023. GRETCHEN

M. JEREZ SEDA, ALGUACIL PLACA #568.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL GENERAL DE JUSTICIA SALA SUPERIOR DE CAROLINA BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V. SUCN AGUSTIN RIVERA TIRADO Y OTROS

Demandado(a)

Civil: CA2019CV02173. Sala: 403. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO ORDINARIO. NOTIFICACIÓN DE SENTENCIA POR EDICTO.

A: FULANO Y MENGANO DE TAL, POSIBLES HEREDEROS DESCONOCIDOS DE AGUSTIN RIVERA TIRADO, CON DIRECCION E IDENTIDAD DESCONOCIDA.

(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 28 de noviembre de 2022, 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 31 de enero de 2023. En CAROLINA, Puerto Rico, el 31 de enero de 2023. LCDA. MARILYN APONTE RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA. LILLIAM ORTIZ NIEVES, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE CAGUAS SALA SUPERIOR BANCO POPULAR DE PUERTO RICO

Demandante V.

JAY OMAR DELGADO ORTIZ, SU ESPOSA JOHANA SEPÚLVEDA

FLORES T/C/C JOHANNA

SEPÚLVEDA FLORES Y LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES

COMPUESTA POR AMBOS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: CG2019CV02376. Sala: 703. 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, Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, 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 12 de enero 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 cuatro B del Bloque E de la Urbanización Jardines de San Lorenzo, localizada en el Barrio Quemados de San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, con cabida superficial de trescientos metros cuadrados. Colinda por el NORTE, en veinticinco metros con el solar tres A de la Urbanización; por el SUR, en veinticinco metros, con el solar cuatro A; por el ESTE, en doce metros, con la Calle número uno de la Urbanización; y por el OESTE, en doce metros, con los solares siete A y siete B de la Urbanización. Sobre el descrito solar enclava una estructura de dos pisos, describiéndose la planta baja como sigue: Unidad residencial cuatro B del Bloque E de la Urbanización jardines de San Lorenzo, edificada sobre el solar cuatro B del Bloque E, construida de concreto y bloques de hormigón con un área de construcción cubieta de mil cuatrocientos cuarenta y siete punto setecientos veintinueve pies cuadrados, equivalentes a ciento treinta y cuatro punto cinco mil diecisiete metros cuadrados. Contiene tres habitaciones dormitorios, sala-comedor, cocina, baño y un espacio de aparcamiento cubierto. Los sistemas sanitarios y de drenaje pluvial de la propiedad son comunes en algunos puntos, de acuerdo a los planos y especificaciones con aquellos provistos, para las siguientes unidades colindantes cuatro A guión E, cuatro C guión E y cuatro D guión E. La planta alta es considerará como un derecho de superficie que constará como finca independiente donde se indica en la nota al margen. Inscrita al folio 159 del tomo 211 de San Lorenzo, finca #11,038. Registro de la Propiedad de Puerto Rico, Sección II de Caguas. La propiedad ubica según pagaré en: E4 1 St. Jardines de San Lorenzo, PR. El producto de

la subasta se destinará a satisfacer al demandante hasta donde alcance, la SENTENCIA dictada 31 de enero de 2020 y notificada el 10 de febrero de 2020 en el presente caso civil, a saber la suma de $60,697.69 por concepto de principal; generando intereses a razón de 7.00% desde el 1ro de octubre de 2017; 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 $7,700.00 para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado; y demás créditos accesorios garantizados hipotecariamente. 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 29 DE MARZO DE 2023 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en el Centro Judicial de Caguas, Caguas, Puerto Rico. Que el precio mínimo fijado para la PRIMERA SUBASTA es de $77,000.00. Que de ser necesaria la celebración de una SEGUNDA SUBASTA la misma se llevará a efecto el día 5 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la SEGUNDA SUBASTA será de $51,333.33, 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 12 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 9:15 DE LA MAÑANA, en la oficina antes mencionada del Alguacil que suscribe. El precio mínimo para la TERCERA SUBASTA será de $38,500.00, 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 Caguas, Puerto Rico, hoy día 31 de enero de 2023. ÁNGEL GÓMEZ GÓMEZ, ALGUACIL PLACA #593, DIVISIÓN DE SUBASTAS, TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA, SALA SUPERIOR DE CAGUAS.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE AGUADILLA SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN SEBASTIÁN ORIENTAL BANK COMO AGENTE DE SERVICIO DE THE MONEY HOUSE, INC.

Demandante Vs. LA SUCESION DE ELEUTERIO AROCHO

MEDINA COMPUESTA

POR ALEJANDRO, MILDRED, JENNY Y ELEUTERIO JR.

TODOS DE APELLIDOS

AROCHO; FULANO Y FULANA DE TAL COMO

POSIBLES HEREDEROS

DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESION; CENTRO DE RECAUDACIONES DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (CRIM)

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SS2022CV00266. Sala: 0002. Sobre: COBRO DE

DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA (VÍA ORDINARIA). EDICTO DE SUBASTA. El Alguacil que suscribe por la presente CERTIFICA, ANUNCIA y hace CONSTAR: Que en cumplimiento de un Mandamiento de Ejecución de Sentencia que le ha sido dirigido al Alguacil que suscribe por la Secretaría del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE SAN SEBASTIAN, SALA SUPERIOR, en el caso de epígrafe procederá a vender en pública subasta al mejor postor en efectivo, cheque certificado en moneda legal de los Estados Unidos de América el 7 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA, en su oficina sita en el local que ocupa en el edificio del TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA CENTRO JUDICIAL DE AGUADILLA, SALA SUPERIOR DE SAN SEBASTIAN, todo derecho, título e interés que tenga la parte demandada de epígrafe en el inmueble de su propiedad que ubica en: BARRIO SALTOS, SR 445 KM 3.4 INT. LOT G SAN SEBASTIAN, PR 00685 y que se describe a continuación: RÚSTICA: SOLAR G: Sita en el Barrio Saltos de San Sebastián, Puerto Rico, denominado en el Plano de Inscripción Solar “G”, con un área superficial de mil trescientos treinta y cuatro puntos cuatro mil trescientos sesenta y tres (1,334.4363 m.c.) metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, con solar F; por el SUR, con solar B; por el ESTE, con Uso Público; y por el OESTE, con camino municipal. La propiedad antes relacionada consta inscrita al Folio 185 del Tomo 352 de San Sebastián, finca número 18,549, Registro de la Propiedad de San Sebastián. El tipo mínimo para la primera subasta del inmueble antes relacionado, será el dispuesto en la Escritura de Hipoteca, es decir la suma de $97,896.00. Si no hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta del inmueble mencionado, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 14 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. En la segunda subasta que se celebre servirá de tipo mínimo las dos terceras partes (2/3) del precio pactado en la primera subasta, o sea la suma de $65,264.00. Si tampoco hubiere remate ni adjudicación en la segunda subasta se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA en las oficinas del Alguacil que suscribe el día 21 DE MARZO DE 2023, A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA. Para la tercera subasta servirá de tipo mínimo la mitad (1/2) del precio pactado para el caso de ejecución, o sea, la suma de $48,948.00. La hipoteca a ejecutarse en el caso de epígrafe fue constituida mediante la es-

RECAUDACION DE INGRESOS MUNICIPALES (“CRIM”).

Yo, MARIBEL LANZAR VELÁZQUEZ, Alguacil de este Tribunal, a la parte demandada y a los acreedores y personas con interés sobre la propiedad que más adelante se describe, y al público en general, HAGO SABER: Que el día 12 DE ABRIL DE 2023 A LAS 10:30 DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina, sita en el Tribunal de Primera Instancia, Sala Superior de Bayamón, en la oficina del Alguacil de Subastas en el Cuarto Piso, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, venderé en Pública Subasta la propiedad inmueble que más adelante se describe 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 Bayamón durante horas laborables. Que en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación en la primera subasta a celebrarse, se celebrará una SEGUNDA SUBASTA para la venta de la susodicha propiedad, el día 19 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30

DE LA MAÑANA y en caso de no producir remate ni adjudicación, se celebrará una TERCERA SUBASTA el día 26 DE ABRIL DE 2023, A LAS 10:30

DE LA MAÑANA en mi oficina sita en el lugar antes indicado. La propiedad a venderse en pública subasta se describe como sigue: URBAN: Lot located in Pueblo Ward of the Municipality of Dorado, Puerto Rico, forming part of DORADO DEL MAR DEVELOPMENT, which is described in the plot plans of said Development, with the number, area and boundaries related as follows: Lot number: Eleven dash V(11-V). Area FIVE HUNDRED TWENTY SIX POINT

EIGHT THREE FIVE (526.835)

SQUARE METERS. Bounded: by the NORTH, in thirty one point two seven (31.27) meters, with lot number Twelve (12); by the SOUTH, in thirty point nine five four (30.954) meters, with lot number Ten (10); by the

EAST, in seventeen point cero cero (17.00) meters, with Dorado del Mar Country Club; by the WEST, in seventeen point cero cero (17.00) meters, with Street number Nine (9) of the Development. The aforesaid lot contains a reinforced concrete single family dwelling. La escritura de hipoteca se encuentra inscrita al folio 29 del tomo 245 de Dorado, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta, finca número 4,295, inscripción décimo tercera. Modificada la hipoteca de la

inscripción 13ra., en cuanto al principal que será ahora por la suma de $128,604.25. La suma dee $25,720.85 es diferida a ser pagada al vencimiento de la obligación, sin acumulación de intereses; la diferencia o sea la suma de $102,883.40, con un interés de 5.50% anual, comenzando el 1ro. de agosto de 2016 y venciendo el 1ro. de julio de 2046. Ampliada parcialmente por la suma de $12,604.25, según la escritura número 292, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 30 de junio de 2016, ante el Notario Público Orlin P. Goble, inscrita al tomo Karibe de Dorado, Registro de la Propiedad de Bayamón, Sección Cuarta, finca número 4,295, inscripción décimo quinta (15ta.). La dirección física de la propiedad antes descrita es: Urbanización Dorado del Mar, V-11, Madre Perla, Dorado, Puerto Rico. La subasta se llevará a efecto para satisfacer a la parte demandante la suma de $88,018.26 de principal, intereses al 5.50% anual, desde el día 1ro. de enero de 2022, hasta su completo pago, más la cantidad de $12,860.42, estipulada para costas, gastos y honorarios de abogado, más recargos acumulados, todas cuyas sumas están líquidas y exigibles. Que la cantidad mínima de licitación en la primera subasta para el inmueble será la suma de $128,604.25 y de ser necesaria una segunda subasta, la cantidad mínima será equivalente a 2/3 partes de aquella, o sea, la suma de $85,736.17 y de ser necesaria una tercera subasta, la cantidad mínima será la mitad del precio pactado, es decir, la suma de $64,302.13. La propiedad se adjudicará 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 las cargas y gravámenes preferentes, si los hubiese, al crédito del ejecutante continuarán subsistentes, entendiéndose que el rematante los acepta y queda subrogado en la responsabilidad de los mismos, sin destinarse a su extinción el precio del remate. La propiedad a ser vendida en pública subasta se adquirirá libre 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 Bayamón, Puerto Rico, a 30 de enero de 2023. Maribel Lanzar Velázquez, Alguacil Placa #735, Alguacil Del Tribunal, Sala Superior De Bayamón.

CIA SALA DE HUMACAO ORIENTAL BANK

Demandante V. JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE RAFAEL SANABRIA COLÓN

Demandados

Civil Núm.: HU2022CV01696. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO, EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA E INTERPELACIÓN. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS. EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO MIEMBROS DESCONOCIDOS DE LA SUCESIÓN DE RAFAEL SANABRIA COLÓN. 471 ROSA COMM. RÍO ABAJO, HUMACAO, PR 00791; B2 CALLE SALUSTIANA COLÓN, CAGUAS, PR 00727; 2B CALLE SALUSTIANA COLÓN, URB. IDAMARIS GARDENS, CAGUAS, PR 00727; LOT 471 CALLE ROSA, BARRIO RÍO ABAJO, HUMACAO, PR 00791.

POR LA PRESENTE se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva dentro de los 30 días de haber sido diligenciado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. 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 el Lcdo.

Javier Montalvo Cintrón, Delgado & Fernández, LLC, PO Box 11750, Fernández Juncos Station, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00910-1750. Tel. [787] 274-1414. DADA en Humacao, Puerto Rico, a 31 de enero de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL. IVELISSE M. MONCLOVA CRUZ, SECRETARIA AUXILIAR.

SALA DE SAN JUAN FIRSTBANK PUERTO RICO

Demandante Vs. FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION COMO SUCESOR EN DERECHOS DE DORAL MORTGAGE CORP.; JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE COMO POSIBLES TENEDORES CON INTERÉS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: SJ2023CV00681. Sobre: CANCELACIÓN DE PAGARÉ HIPOTECARIO EXTRAVIADO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO.

A: JOHN DOE Y RICHARD ROE (PERSONAS DESCONOCIDAS CON POSIBLE INTERÉS).

En este caso la parte demandante ha radicado Demanda para que se decrete judicialmente el saldo de un pagaré a favor de Doral Mortgage Corp., o a su orden, por la suma principal de $24,000.00, con intereses al 9 1/4% anual, vencedero el día 1 de mayo de 2007, constituida mediante la escritura número 711, otorgada en San Juan, Puerto Rico, el día 10 de abril de 1992 ante el Notario Hiriam Amundaray Rivera, e inscrita al folio 251 del tomo 1,320 de Río Piedras, finca número 36,513, inscripción 1ra, Registro de la Propiedad Sección Segunda de San Juan, y está garantizado por hipoteca sobre la propiedad sita en Apartamento #7 Condominio Margaritas 873 Esteban González Río Piedras, Puerto Rico que se describe como sigue: URBANA: PROPIEDAD HORIZONTAL: Apartamento marcado con el número 7 del plano de inscripción perteneciente al primer nivel de la construcción separada (antiguo garaje) con un área superficial de 528 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 49.05 metros cuadrados. En lindes por el NORTE, en una distancia de 24 pies equivalentes a 7.3170 metros, con pared de carga que da hacia los terrenos de la señora María Aregy Mathelin; por el SUR, en una distancia de 24 pies equivalentes a 7.3170 metros. con área comunal de detrás del edificio de tres plantas; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 22 pies equivalentes a 6.7073 metros. con solar de Jorge González Carrera: por el OESTE, en una distancia de 22 pies equivalentes a 6.7073 metros, con área de estacionamiento.

Dependencias: El mismo consiste de una sala-comedor, un dormitorio, “closet”, una cocina un baño. De la sala se tiene acceso al área de estacionamiento del cual se obtiene acceso a la Calle Esteban González. La

sala-comedor tiene un área de 180 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 16.68 metros cuadrados.

El dormitorio tiene un área de 204 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 18.96 metros cuadrados.

El baño cuenta con un área de 55 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 5.11 metros cuadrados.

La cocina tiene un área de 36 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 3.34 metros cuadrados. Dicho apartamento tiene el área de estacionamiento marcado con el número 7 en el plano de inscripción, el cual posee una cabida superficial de 120 pies cuadrados equivalentes a 11.75 metros cuadrados y el cual colinda por el NORTE, en una distancia de 15 pies equivalentes a 4.57 metros, con pared de edificio de tres pisos; por el SUR, en una distancia de 15 pies equivalentes a 4.52 metros, con solar número 24; por el ESTE, en una distancia de 8 pies equivalentes a 2.44 metros, con área comunal y por el OESTE, en una distancia de 8 pies equivalentes a 2.44 metros, con el área comunal hacia la Calle Esteban González. A este apartamento le corresponde una participación en los elementos comunes generales de 15.1318977%. Inscrita al folio 251 del tomo 1,320 finca 36,513 de Río Piedras, Registro de la Propiedad Sección Segunda de San Juan. La parte demandante alega que dicho Pagaré se ha extraviado, según más detalladamente consta en la Demanda radicada que puede examinarse en la Secretaría de este Tribunal. Por tratarse de una obligación hipotecaria, y pudiendo usted tener interés en este caso o quedar afectado por el remedio solicitado, se les emplaza por este Edicto que se publicará en un (1) periódico de circulación general una (1) sola vez y que si no comparecen a contestar dicha Demanda radicando el original de la misma a través del Sistema Unificado de Manejo y Administración de Casos (SUMAC), al cual pueden acceder utilizando la siguiente dirección electrónica: https://unired.ramajudicial.pr, salvo que se representen por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberán presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del Tribunal Superior de Puerto Rico, Sala de Utuado, con copia al abogado de la parte demandante, Lcdo. Jorge García Rondón, de PMB 538, 267 Sierra Morena, San Juan, Puerto Rico 00926 dentro del término de treinta (30) días contados a partir de la publicación del Edicto, se les anotará la rebeldía y se dictará sentencia en su contra concediendo el remedio solicitado en la Demanda sin más citarles ni oírles. EN TESTIMONIO DE LO CUAL, expido el presente Edicto por Orden del Tribunal, bajo mi firma y sello del Tribunal, en San Juan,

Puerto Rico, hoy 1 de febrero de 2023. Griselda Rodríguez Collado, Secretaria Regional. Adelle Rivera Aponte, SubSecretaria.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA SALA DE HUMACAO PALMAS DEL MAR HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

Parte Demandante V. MISURI ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

Parte Demandada Civil Núm.: HU2022CV01653. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉIRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., SS.

A: MISURI ASSOCIATES

LIMITED PARTNERSHIP. POR LA PRESENTE, se le emplaza y requiere para que notifique a:

GONZÁLEZ & MORALES LAW OFFICES, LLC PO BOX 10242

HUMACAO, PR 00792

TELÉFONO: (787) 852-4422

FACSÍMIL: (787) 285-4425

Email: jrg@gonzalezmorales.com abogados de la parte demandante, cuya dirección es la que deja indicada, con copia de su Contestación a la Demanda, copia de la cual le es servida en este caso, dentro de los TREINTA (30) días de haber sido diligenciado este Emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día del diligenciamiento. 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.prm salvo que se represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar su alegación responsiva en la secretaría del tribunal. Debe saber que en caso de no hacerlo así podrá dictarse Sentencia en Rebeldía en contra suya, concediendo el remedio solicitado en la demanda o cualquier otro, si el Tribunal, en el ejercicio de su sana discreción, lo entiende procedente.

EXTENDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA y el Sello del Tribunal, hoy día 2 de febrero de 2023. IVELISSE C. FONSECA RODRÍGUEZ, SECRETARIA REGIONAL AUXILIAR. ARSENIA MARTÍNEZ SÁNCHEZ, SUB-SECRETARIA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIDRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE FAJARDO

MMG I PR CDGY, LLC

Demandante V. FELIX JUAN ESCOBAR

RODRIGUEZ ET ALS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: FA2022CV01178.

Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S.

A: CLAUDIA MICHELLE RABAZA VAZQUEZ POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA CON FELIX JUAN ESCOBAR RODRÍGUEZ.

POR LA PRESENTE, se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los TREINTA (30) días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día de publicación. Se le advierte que al tiempo de hacerse la primera publicación de este edicto se le estará enviando por correo certificado una copia del emplazamiento y de la demanda al lugar de su última dirección conocida. 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 represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar alegación responsiva en la secretaria 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 sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Se le requiere que notifique su contestación a la parte demandante, por conducto de sus abogados, Lcda. Ana J. Bobonis Zequeira a su dirección Fernández Chiqués LLC PO Box 9749 San Juan, PR 00908, Tel. (787) 722-3040, Fax (787) 722-3317, Email: ana@ffclaw. com, dentro del término provisto o se le podrá anotar la rebeldía en su contra y se le dictará sentencia en su contra, conforme se solicita en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y SELLO DE ESTE TRIBUNAL. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 1 de febrero de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE SERRANO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

LEGAL NOTICE

ESTADO LIDRE ASOCIADO DE PUERTO RICO TRIBUNAL DE PRIMERA INSTANCIA

SALA DE FAJARDO MMG I PR CDGY, LLC

Demandante V. FELIX JUAN ESCOBAR RODRIGUEZ ET ALS

Demandados

Civil Núm.: FA2022CV01178. Sobre: COBRO DE DINERO Y EJECUCIÓN DE HIPOTECA. EMPLAZAMIENTO POR EDICTO. LOS ESTADOS UNIDOS DE AMÉRICA, EL PRESIDENTE DE LOS EE.UU., EL ESTADO LIBRE ASOCIADO DE P.R., S.S.

A: FELIX JUAN ESCOBAR RODRÍGUEZ POR SI Y EN REPRESENTACIÓN DE LA SOCIEDAD LEGAL DE BIENES GANANCIALES COMPUESTA CON CLAUDIA MICHELLE RABAZA VAZQUEZ .

POR LA PRESENTE, se le emplaza para que presente al tribunal su alegación responsiva a la demanda dentro de los TREINTA (30) días de haber sido publicado este emplazamiento, excluyéndose el día de publicación. Se le advierte que al tiempo de hacerse la primera publicación de este edicto se le estará enviando por correo certificado una copia del emplazamiento y de la demanda al lugar de su última dirección conocida. 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 represente por derecho propio, en cuyo caso deberá presentar alegación responsiva en la secretaria 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 sana discreción, lo entiende procedente. Se le requiere que notifique su contestación a la parte demandante, por conducto de sus abogados, Lcda. Ana J. Bobonis Zequeira a su dirección Fernández Chiqués LLC PO Box 9749 San Juan, PR 00908, Tel. (787) 722-3040, Fax (787) 722-3317, Email: ana@ffclaw. com, dentro del término provisto o se le podrá anotar la rebeldía en su contra y se le dictará sentencia en su contra, conforme se solicita en la Demanda, sin más citarle ni oírle. EXPEDIDO BAJO MI FIRMA Y SELLO DE ESTE TRIBUNAL. En Fajardo, Puerto Rico, hoy día 1 de febrero de 2023. WANDA SEGUÍ REYES, SECRETARIA. IVELISSE SERRANO GARCÍA, SECRETARIA DE SERVICIOS A SALA.

On a winding path, Carlos Beltrán will return to Mets

By DAVID WALDSTEIN

Carlos Beltrán’s eventful post-playing career has taken yet another interesting turn. Just three years after being fired as manager of the New York Mets, the former star outfielder will return to the club as a member of its front office.

Beltrán, who came up short last month in his first time on the writers’ ballot for the Baseball Hall of Fame, will join general manager Billy Eppler’s staff to help build the Mets roster and develop the organization’s talent base. The New York Post first reported Beltrán’s return to the club, but no public announcement is expected until final details of the deal have been worked out.

A former player joining a front office is far from unusual, but this is just the latest twist for Beltrán in the five years since he retired as a player. He spent three months as the Mets’ manager, but was fired without ever managing a game after being outed as a chief architect of the Houston Astros’ signstealing scandal. As a New York Yankees broadcaster, he spoke for the first time about his role in that scandal. Most recently, he endured a disappointing showing on his first Hall of Fame ballot, being named on 46.5% of ballots despite being the most prominent of the year’s first-time finalists.

This next chapter has Beltrán as the latest person of note to join one of the New York teams’ front offices in an offseason in which both clubs have sought to bolster their staffs with so-called baseball people. The Yankees brought in two veteran baseball executives, Omar Minaya and Brian Sabean, to support Brian Cashman, the team’s general manager, who was working without a contract before agreeing to a four-year deal in December.

Eppler and Beltrán had an existing bond from their time together with the Yankees, when Eppler was an assistant general manager and Beltrán played for the team from 2014-16.

It is not yet known what Beltrán’s job duties will be with the Mets. But his insights and understanding of the game, including pitching, could be useful in

talent assessment and strategic outlook.

A return to the Mets may come as a surprise to some, but many faces have changed since he was first brought in to be manager in November 2019. Back then, he was to report to Brodie Van Wagenen, who was the team’s general manager, and the Wilpon family’s ownership group, which had yet to sell the team to Steven Cohen.

After an investigation by Major League Baseball detailed Beltrán’s role in the 2017 Houston Astros cheating

scandal — a scandal which was first revealed by The Athletic — the Mets fired Beltrán after less than three months on the job. He did not oversee a single practice.

Beltrán, now 45, was the only player named in MLB’s report. The report said he encouraged and helped devise the scheme with Alex Cora, who was an Astros coach. Cora moved on to manage the Red Sox to the 2018 World Series championship, was let go in 2020 for his involvement in the scandal, then

brought back to manage Boston in 2021. Beltrán has said he never dreamed of becoming a manager when he was younger, but when the job was offered he felt a responsibility, as a former player from Puerto Rico, to take it, do well and make it easier for others to do so. It has been reported that manager Buck Showalter, who was the National League manager of the year in 2022 in his first season with the Mets, had considered adding Beltrán to his coaching staff for that year, but Beltrán chose to remain as a commentator with the YES Network.

In his seven years as a Met, Beltrán put up sensational numbers. He had an .869 on-base plus slugging percentage, 149 home runs, 208 doubles and 100 stolen bases. He put up 31.1 wins above replacement for the Mets, according to Baseball Reference, which placed him seventh in Mets history overall and third among Mets position players, trailing only David Wright and Darryl Strawberry.

He made five All-Star teams as a Met and came in fourth in NL Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2006, a year in which the Mets made the National League Championship Series. Many Mets fans remember Beltrán striking out looking at a nasty curveball from Adam Wainwright of the St. Louis Cardinals to end Game 7 of that series instead of his many other accomplishments with the team.

In 2011, the Mets traded Beltrán to the San Francisco Giants for Zack Wheeler, a pitching prospect at the time. Beltrán, who came up with the Kansas City Royals, played six more seasons, spending time with the Cardinals, the Yankees, the Texas Rangers and the Astros.

In 20 years, Beltrán amassed 435 home runs, a .279/.350/.486 slash line and was regarded as an exceptional center fielder. His overall numbers are close to those of Scott Rolen, but Rolen was the only player elected into this year’s class for the Hall of Fame. Rolen received 76.3% of the vote, while Beltrán’s 46.5% placed him behind Todd Helton, Billy Wagner, Andruw Jones and Gary Sheffield, all of whom had more than 50%.

Carlos Beltrán played for the Mets and the Yankees during his 20-season career.

A lot has changed with the Mets since Beltrán was introduced as the team’s next manager in November 2019. Brodie Van Wagenen, the team’s general manager, was fired and Jeff Wilpon and his family sold the club to Steven A. Cohen.

Looking for an edge, and some fun, bettors favor Super Bowl props

By DAVID HILL

Rufus Peabody plans to bet more than $1 million dollars on this weekend’s Super Bowl, but he won’t be wagering on who will win the game.

“That’s essentially a coin flip,” he explained.

Peabody is an economics graduate of Yale University who used to work as a consultant to casino sportsbooks, helping them set betting lines. Now, he is a professional gambler who will be betting his considerable bankroll on props.

Props are bets on essentially any outcome in a game besides the victor or the points total. They can include anything from whether there will be a missed extra-point attempt (3.5 to 1) to if an offensive lineman will score a touchdown (35 to 1).

There are props that are affected by every play of the game, and even some props that have nothing to do with the game at all, like the length of the national anthem or the color of the Gatorade poured on the winning coach. Depending on the sportsbook, prop bets can account for at least half of the betting handle on the Super Bowl, which the American Gaming Association estimates is more than $7 billion in the United States alone.

Peabody and other professionals, or sharp bettors, prefer props because they’re able to find good value given the vast menu of offerings. The public, or square bettors, bet props as a way to potentially win a lot of money on a minor outlay.

“They want to be rooting for something pretty specific with a lottery payout,” Peabody said.

Peabody and some sharp bettors stay away from betting the winner or the total score, turning instead to props because they provide a better edge: There is so much money bet on who will win and what the score will be that bookmakers are able to adjust the lines very close to what the probabilities say.

Props, on the other hand, are myriad in number, opening the door to potential market inefficiencies. While Peabody makes his living on placing

lots of bets with 2% edges, he doesn’t think the average fan cares that much about price. They’ll trade a small edge for a good sweat.

Super Bowl prop bets have long been offered by sportsbooks, but traditionally on only a small number of outcomes, like the first team to score or the total number of field goals made. Today’s ever-expanding menu of props, however, can trace its origin to the January 1995 Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and the San Diego Chargers.

After a string of lopsided Super Bowls during the early 1990s, bookmakers set the point spread between the 49ers and the Chargers at 19.5 points. (The 49ers won, 49-26, covering the spread easily.)

“I mean, that’s just unimaginable these days,” said Jay Kornegay, who was the director of the race and sports book for the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas at the time.

So he and a few of his staff, working on dry-erase boards in a hot and cramped office, decided they would try to make what was expected to be another boring Super Bowl a little bit more exciting. They came up with 150 different prop bets, more than three times what most sportsbooks were offering at the time.

“It was so popular,” Kornegay said, “that I’m pretty sure we were violating fire codes in that little sportsbook of ours.”

Before the 1995 Super Bowl, Kornegay estimates that props represented around 5% of the total handle his and other Nevada sportsbooks did on the game. Kornegay continued to add more props every year, and their popularity steadily grew.

Last Thursday night at the Westgate SuperBook, where Kornegay now works, they released more than 2,000 props for this year’s Super Bowl at what has become a yearly tradition for Las Vegas sports bettors, who line up to be the first to place their wagers. Kornegay expects more than 70% of the bets the book will take for the Super Bowl this year will be on props.

The rapid expansion of regulated sports betting across the country has helped drive the popularity of props

in recent years. While Nevada sportsbooks once had a virtual lock on the regulated market, today they compete with a slew of operators in 33 states and in the District of Columbia. More than 100 million Americans now have access to legal sports betting, and the American Gaming Association estimates that at least 46 million of them bet on the NFL this season.

As last year’s Super Bowl kickoff grew near, the mobile sportsbook DraftKings reported it was taking 21,000 bets per minute. Mega-operators like DraftKings are able to offer as many props as Kornegay’s SuperBook Sports, if not more, and their customers have come to expect it.

“We’re never going to be able to duplicate the same size of menu or even come close to that, frankly,” said Jeffrey Benson, the sportsbook operations manager at Circa Sports, Las Vegas’ largest sportsbook. Rather than try to compete with the sheer volume of the big operators, Benson decided to compete for originality, crowdsourcing Circa’s prop menu on social media.

He asked bettors on Twitter which props they’d like to see offered and Benson and his team chose dozens of their favorite responses, including “Will Travis Kelce get more receiving

yards than Jason Kelce snaps played?” and “Will any player score 8 points on one drive?”

The SuperBook’s menu evolves from year to year as well. “At this point in time, it’s very tough to come up with new propositions,” Kornegay said, “but we came up with a couple new ones.”

This year, the book will offer props on whether either team will convert a fourth down in its own territory, something unthinkable a decade ago, but now an increasingly common occurrence in the NFL “The Eagles have done it like four times,” Kornegay said.

Offering an original Super Bowl prop bet is not without risk, however. Benson and Chris Bennett, Circa’s director of risk, are a two-person team when it comes to pricing these new props. They don’t worry too much about whether or not they get the price right or wrong, instead letting the market do the work while they adjust odds as the bets are placed.

“There’s nothing more disappointing to us than when we spend some time on a proposition and it doesn’t create a lot of interest,” Kornegay said. “If it doesn’t get a lot of interest, meaning a lot of bets, there’s a good chance you won’t see that one next year.”

Like a record, LeBron James’ age is just a number

By KRIS RHIM

LeBron James headed into Saturday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans needing 63 points to break the NBA career scoring record. It was a large number for anyone to reach in a single game, especially a 38-yearold in his 20th NBA season.

And yet spectators wearing purple-and-gold jerseys and T-shirts displaying James’ No. 6 flooded Canal and Bourbon Streets in New Orleans before Saturday’s game, and then they piled into the Smoothie King Center, most of them hoping to witness NBA history.

Larry Unrein, a New York native who traveled to three of the Los Angeles Lakers’ last four games, came to New Orleans a day after his 40th birthday, hoping for a belated gift.

“He could break it, dude,” Unrein said before the game. “He’s 38, and he’s playing like he’s 24. I turned 40 yesterday and aspire to take care of my body, drink tons of water and stretch.” Unrein, who skateboards in his free time, said James was inspiring him to skate into old age.

An employee at the arena named Anita, who would not give her last name but said she had been working there for 10 years, was nervous that the record might be broken on the Pelicans’ home floor. “We can’t let him do it here,” she said. “It ain’t about the King tonight.”

No one, really, should have thought that James, at this point in his career, would score 63 points Saturday. (His career high is 61 points, in a game against Charlotte in 2014.) But James has provided many miracles in his career. That he is competing at such a high level at 38 seems to be just one more — a feat that is altering perceptions of athletic limits and athletic primes.

James fell short of the scoring record Saturday, finishing with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, and the Lakers (25-29) lost to the Pelicans (27-27), 131-126. James moved to within 36 points of passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who scored 38,387 points from 1969 to 1989, and tickets for the Lakers’ home game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night soared in anticipation that James would break the record then.

On Saturday, James made plays that explained why many supporters will always believe that another miracle is on its way. He played 40 minutes, more than any of his teammates. It was the third time in his last four games that he played at least 40 minutes, a figure, he said, that was “catching up to him.”

“I’m tired as hell,” he said after the game. “But I’ll be ready to go on Tuesday.”

“I think it’s historic on a lot of different levels,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said earlier this season. “For him to be at this point of his career and still able to produce at the level in which he’s producing, I just think all of us, just really being able to witness it, be a part of it — it shows his competitive spirit, his no-quit mentality.”

A moment of “How is LeBron doing this at this age?” came in the third quarter, with the Lakers leading by 7 and

forward Herbert Jones barreling toward the rim. James took a charge, flying onto his back from the impact of Jones’ crashing into him. Many NBA players, especially stars and older players, are reluctant to take a charge, given the risk of injury or, more simply, the wear and tear on the body over a long season. Even Kobe Bryant, who was known for his toughness and mentality when he played for the Lakers, was publicly against taking charges.

Bryant’s reasoning was that great players such as Scottie Pippen and Larry Bird were injured after taking many charges throughout their careers, while others, including Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, didn’t take charges and avoided significant long-term injuries.

But there was James, nearly 40, taking a charge on a player listed at 6 feet 7 inches and 206 pounds.

With just under three minutes remaining in Saturday’s game and the Lakers losing by 4, James dived for a ball heading out of bounds, launching himself above courtside fans. It was the second time he had done so in recent weeks. He did not save the ball, but players of his age and status would be excused for not even making the effort. James would not excuse himself: There he was, his blue-and-pink shoes among the fans’ faces in the crowd.

“I think it inspires them out there to do their jobs,”

Ham said this season about the impact of James’ play on his teammates.

James aggressively attacked the basket throughout the night, bumping and fighting through fouls to make layups and sprinting past players for scores. On multiple occasions, younger teammates passed up layup opportunities to give the ball to their much older, but somehow much more explosive, teammate, who threw down dunks that ignited fans, many who wore his jersey and some who wore New Orleans colors.

James was not perfect. He often settled for 3-point shots, including an off-balance one late in the game, which he missed and seemed foolish to take. He finished 1 for 7 from long range. Defensively, he, like his teammates, did little to stop the Pelicans’ 42-point barrage in the third quarter, which sparked their win.

As James went to the free-throw line with 18 seconds left and the Lakers losing by 6, he missed his first attempt. If the game wasn’t over already, it was effectively over after that.

But Anita, the stadium worker, wasn’t buying it. She thought James was too good to miss a free throw. This had to be part of a script: “He’s just doing that,” she said, “so he could get that record in L.A.”

LeBron James had 27 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists in a Lakers loss to the Pelicans on Saturday night in New Orleans.

Sudoku

How to Play:

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

Crossword

Answers on page 38

Wordsearch

Aries (Mar 21-April 20)

As the Moon angles towards racy Mars, you’ll have plenty to say today. Make use of this energy by scheduling zoom calls, giving a presentation or enjoying a gathering with friends. You’ll also speak your mind, and won’t be worried if you upset someone in the process. If you want things to go smoothly or to impress, consider the effect your words might have and try to tone them down.

Taurus (April 21-May 21)

You’re always looking for ways to grow your money. The continued presence of motivating Mars in your financial zone is working its magic, and helping you come up with ways to increase your cash flow. The Moon’s edgy angle with the red planet, could coincide with a scheme that may be lucrative if you take your time, but could fall flat if you’re in too much of a hurry.

Gemini (May 22-June 21)

As long as Mars is powering through your sign, you’re unstoppable. You know what you want, and even if you’ve tried and failed in the past, you’re still keen to have another go. With the Virgo Moon casting an awkward glance your way, thoughts of what could go wrong may temporarily stifle your resolve. Get going anyway! The details can wait until later, Gemini.

Cancer (June 22-July 23)

It’s a day to get something out of your system so you can feel the relief and move on. Don’t choose any old person though, as it has to be someone you trust to keep your secrets. If you know a friend who fits the bill, arrange to meet for coffee and let it all out. You’ll find that answers and insights will show up once you get talking or afterwards when you’re at peace.

Leo (July 24-Aug 23)

The current star map can see you stepping up to the plate by helping a friend who might benefit from a recommendation. If you know of an opportunity that may be no good for you, but that they could excel at, then let them know, Leo. Similarly, someone could do the same for you, by putting in a good word with a boss or authority figure who can make the most of your abilities.

Virgo (Aug 24-Sep 23)

Many heads may be better than one, especially if you’ve been wracking your brains and getting nowhere, Virgo. There’s no need to put yourself under pressure to come up with creative solutions, when brainstorming can give you the edge you need. A lively blend of energies involving the Moon and Mars, suggests a group chat could have you up and running very soon.

Libra (Sep 24-Oct 23)

Venus’s presence in the emotional sign of Pisces, could be a call to work with your feelings rather than ignore them. If events have stirred you up recently, don’t push them away, but be willing to acknowledge them, as this might help you let them go. Plus, a movie could sound promising. Suffering from digital overload? Meeting friends in the flesh may be better, Libra.

Scorpio (Oct 24-Nov 22)

Someone may be saying one thing, but their body language or the tone of their voice could be conveying something else completely. Why might this be? While this person can be nice enough, they may feel awkward just because they don’t know you very well. Over time Scorpio, they might begin to trust you and feel more comfortable, then your friendship will really take off.

Sagittarius (Nov 23-Dec 21)

A sociable mood might inspire you to arrange an event, whether virtual or in real life. Mars in Gemini adds an animated touch to such gatherings, and its influence can help expand your network of friends and associates. Feel a greater need than ever to keep moving? Jupiter in Aries means you’ll have plenty of energy, so the more active you are in dayto-day life, the better.

Capricorn (Dec 22-Jan 20)

Ready to contemplate your income? Your natural genius is very much to the fore, and it’s worth focusing on those opportunities that bring stability and security, even if it means trying something completely new. Putting the effort in now can see you working towards future financial rewards that will allow you more freedom to save and spend on whatever you want.

Aquarius (Jan 21-Feb 19)

You may be keen to befriend someone who can boost your image or help you accomplish something. Do you feel guilty about your motives? If so Aquarius, you also have much to offer. Cosmic forces suggest you could both benefit from this alliance, making it a win-win situation. And any awkwardness can swiftly melt away, with this bond flourishing long into the future.

Pisces (Feb 20-Mar 20)

With feisty Mars in your home zone, this can be a good time to give your partnership a little nudge if things have become too routine lately. Today, lively lunar ties can act as a catalyst that encourages you to make time for each other in a way you can both feel good about. Plus, the Moon’s face-off with Venus, is perfect for a romantic date night. It will do you so much good.